Lenovo Team Ducati rider Enea Bastianini won the 2023 Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix race at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit in Sepang today. - Named Photo
SEPANG: Lenovo Team Ducati rider Enea Bastianini managed to claim his first victory of the season, after winning the 2023 Malaysian Grand Prix (MotoGP) race, here today.
Bastianini, who started from third place, successfully overtook teammate and world champion Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin of the Prima Pramac Racing team on the first lap to lead the race at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC).
The Italian rider crossed the finish line in 39 minutes 59.137 second(s) thus ending his championship drought, having last won it at the Aragon GP, Spain in September 2022.
Yesterday's sprint champion Alex Marquez of Gresini Racing MotoGP who was 1.535s behind finished second, while Bagnaia was third.
Bagnaina's closest competitor Martin only finished the race in fourth place (4:09.633s) while former 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP was fifth (40:14.137s).
Meanwhile Bastianini is very happy to be back on the podium, after facing a difficult season this year due to his previous injuries.
"I feel great right now. It's my first win of the year. It's great because the team has worked really well from start to finish," he said at the press conference after today's race.
Meanwhile Marquez said it was a good week for him in Sepang and wants to continue to show his best in the next race at the Lusail International Circuit, Qatar from Nov 17-19.
With the 2020 MotoGP heading into its season finale, today's results put Bagnaia 14 points ahead of Martin, who has so far collected 398 points.
Even with the points advantage, Bagnaina or better known as Pecco, was happy to overcome Martin in Sepang without any issues.
"It's still a small advantage. We will go to Qatar like we did here and aim to start strong. However, the new circuit surface there makes it more difficult to predict," he said.
After the Qatar GP, the 2023 season will close with a race at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, Spain from 24 to 26 November.
-- BERNAMA
