It was redemption day for Yamaha's Maverick Vinales, who converted a fantastic start into a much-awaited win in the 2019 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix. The factory Yamaha rider had fallen from the lead on the final lap in the Australian GP but the top spot eluded him for only one week. Vinales' fantastic run made for a spectacle on the Sepang circuit, only to be followed by Honda's Marc Marquez finishing in second place, after starting 11th on the grid after a crash on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso came in third in the penultimate race of the season. The podium finish also saw Marquez notch up another MotoGP record with his total points tally at 395 in 2019, surpassing teammate Jorge Lorenzo's premier class points record of 383 in a single season.
On the podium - Andrea Dovizioso, Maverick Vinales and Marc Marquez
It was a front-row lockout for Yamaha with Petronas Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo on pole position, Vinales in second place and Petronas rider Franco Morbidelli starting third. The factory Yamaha rider though had the strongest start of the three and lead the race right from the outset. It was no looking back for Vinales from thereon as he built up a comfortable lead over the rest of the pack and showed some incredible over the 20-lap race. By the halfway mark, the Spaniard had built a gap of over two seconds of Marquez, who worked his way up the order in the initial laps.
Marquez put up good form after a high slide on Saturday but couldn't match the pace of Vinales, a rare feat given the Honda's pace through the season. Meanwhile, the otherwise aggressive Quartararo had faded from the top positions and dropped to P8. Nevertheless, the rider did recover to P7 before crossing the chequered flag.
Petronas Yamaha riders Morbidelli and Quartararo could not convert a strong start into a podium finish
At the back, the Ducatis were very much in action with Pramac Ducati's Jack Miller briefly leading the pack at Turn 1 while the 10th placed Andrea Dovizioso moved up to P3 on the opening lap. Miller dropped to P2 after the first few corners, while Marquez found an opportunity move past the Ducatis on Lap 3, but couldn't do any better. Vinales, with his aggressive pace, crossed the chequered flag 3.509s clear off Marquez. Meanwhile, spectators were in for a duel for P3 as Dovizioso found competition from Yamaha's Valentino Rossi in the closing stages, as the Italian got too close to the Ducati in the second half of the race but had to ultimately settle for P4. Dovizioso though secured his 101st podium finish in MotoGP.
Coming in fifth was Suzuki's Alex Rins, who recovered from a collision early on with Jack Miller. Petronas riders Morbidelli and Quartararo could not convert their front row start into a podium finish, settling for P6 and P7, after a poor opening lap. Miller dropped down to P8 after the collision with Rins that damaged his bodywork. LCR Honda's Johann Zarco had made a nice comeback into the top 10, only to be taken out by Suzuki's Joan Mir. The latter received a long-lap penalty as a result, which promoted Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci to P9, and dropped Mir to P10.
The battle for third was an engaging one with Rossi charging in on Dovizioso, but the Yamaha rider had to settle for P4
KTM rider Pol Espargaro finished 11th in the race, followed by Francesco Bagnaia of Pramac Ducati and Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia. Honda's Jorge Lorenzo finished 14th with KTM's Mika Kallio taking the final point in the race. Tech3's Hafizh Syahrin and Avintia Ducati's Karel Abraham were the final finishers in the race. Apart from Zarco, the other DNF at Sepang was teammate Cal Crutchlow and Aprilia rider Andrea Iannone.
