MotoGP Malaysian GP: Full Moto2 and Moto3 results
John McPhee the Moto3 Malaysian Grand Prix as victory went the way of Tony Arbolino in the Moto2 class as the title race took a dramatic turn.
Sunday’s race action began with the 17-lap Moto3 contest, with Max Racing’s McPhee recovering from 22nd on the grid to take a stunning victory at the end of a hugely difficult season for the Scotsman.
McPhee will have to undergo a crew chief change this weekend after his current one, Maurizio Cambarau, was fired after an investigation into an assault incident from 2019 found him guilty – though this won’t take effect until Valencia.
The Scotsman has also endured numerous injury problems and currently does not have a ride in any series for 2023 in his pocket.
Poleman Dennis Foggia led in the early stages of a hectic Moto3 race and led the pack as the final lap got underway.
But McPhee pulled off a daring move on the inside of several riders at the penultimate corner to lead onto the back straight.
His Max Racing team-mate Ayumu Sasaki tried to take the lead away from McPhee at the final corner, but the latter cut back to the inside as Sasaki ran slightly wide to score his first win since 2020 by just 0.048 seconds.
Sasaki held onto second ahead of Aspar GasGas rider Sergio Garcia, which moves him eight points clear of Foggia in their fight for second in the standings heading to the Valencia finale next month.
Ajo KTM’s Jaume Masia was fourth from MT Helmets KTM rider Diogo Moreira and Foggia, with Dani Holgado (Ajo KTM), Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets KTM), MTA KTM’s Ivan Ortola and Tech3 KTM’s Deniz Oncu rounding out the top 10.
New Moto3 world champion Izan Guevara took the chequered flag in 12th after contact with Sasaki exiting the final corner in the closing stages sent him off track.
John McPhee, Husqvarna Max Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Moto3 results
Cla | Rider | Laps | Gap | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John McPhee | 17 | 25 | |
2 | Ayumu Sasaki | 17 | 0.048 | 20 |
3 | Sergio García | 17 | 0.146 | 16 |
4 | Jaume Masia | 17 | 0.245 | 13 |
5 | Diogo Moreira | 17 | 0.319 | 11 |
6 | Dennis Foggia | 17 | 0.371 | 10 |
7 | Daniel Holgado | 17 | 5.817 | 9 |
8 | Ryusei Yamanaka | 17 | 6.034 | 8 |
9 | Iván Ortolá Díez | 17 | 6.230 | 7 |
10 | Deniz Öncü | 17 | 6.732 | 6 |
11 | Xavier Artigas | 17 | 6.789 | 5 |
12 | Izan Guevara | 17 | 9.148 | 4 |
13 | Elia Bartolini | 17 | 13.416 | 3 |
14 | Andrea Migno | 17 | 13.682 | 2 |
15 | Adrian Fernandez | 17 | 14.659 | 1 |
16 | Syarifuddin Azman | 17 | 14.812 | |
17 | Kaito Toba | 17 | 14.990 | |
18 | Joel Kelso | 17 | 20.530 | |
19 | Lorenzo Fellon | 17 | 28.240 | |
20 | Nicola Fabio | 17 | 28.285 | |
21 | Mario Suryo Aji | 17 | 43.055 | |
22 | Ana Carrasco | 17 | 43.250 | |
23 | Joshua Whatley | 17 | 54.110 | |
Taiyo Furusato | 15 | 2 Laps | ||
Riccardo Rossi | 12 | 5 Laps | ||
Carlos Tatay | 12 | 5 Laps | ||
Alberto Surra | 8 | 9 Laps | ||
Tatsuki Suzuki | 4 | 13 Laps | ||
David Muñoz | 3 | 14 Laps | ||
Stefano Nepa | 1 | 16 Laps | ||
Scott Ogden | 1 | 16 Laps | ||
View full results |
Drama struck the 18-lap Moto2 race as the championship battle between Ai Ogura and Augusto Fernandez took another massive twist.
Poleman Ogura trailed MarcVDS’ Tony Arbolino for much of the first half of the race before taking the lead at the start of lap 13.
A mistake for Ogura under braking for Turn 1 next time around allowed Arbolino back through, though Honda Team Asia’s Ogura would rally over the final few laps.
Ogura went for an overtake up the inside of Arbolino at Turn 9 but lost the front as he edged ahead and crashed out.
Ajo KTM’s Fernandez took the chequered flag in fourth to steal a crucial 9.5-point lead over Ogura to set up a final-round showdown in Valencia next month.
Arbolino eased to the chequered flag 11.4 seconds clear of Speed Up’s Alonso Lopez and Aspar GasGas rider Jake Dixon.
Yamaha VR46 Master Camp rider Manu Gonzalez completed the top five ahead of Intact GP’s Marcel Schrotter and American Racing’s Cameron Beaubier.
Aron Canet recovered to eighth for Pons after getting caught up in a Turn 1 tangle between Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra and Ajo’s Pedro Acosta. Intact GP’s Jeremy Alcoba and Speed Up’s Fermin Aldeguer completed the top 10.
Tony Arbolino, Marc VDS Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Moto2 results
Cla | Rider | Laps | Gap | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tony Arbolino | 18 | 25 | |
2 | Alonso López | 18 | 11.411 | 20 |
3 | Jake Dixon | 18 | 11.802 | 16 |
4 | Augusto Fernandez | 18 | 13.206 | 13 |
5 | Manuel Gonzalez | 18 | 14.770 | 11 |
6 | Marcel Schrotter | 18 | 17.166 | 10 |
7 | Cameron Beaubier | 18 | 20.222 | 9 |
8 | Arón Canet | 18 | 24.279 | 8 |
9 | Jeremy Alcoba | 18 | 24.407 | 7 |
10 | Fermin Aldeguer | 18 | 24.482 | 6 |
11 | Filip Salač | 18 | 30.636 | 5 |
12 | Lorenzo Dalla Porta | 18 | 33.595 | 4 |
13 | Albert Arenas | 18 | 34.448 | 3 |
14 | Bo Bendsneyder | 18 | 34.927 | 2 |
15 | Taiga Hada | 18 | 43.757 | 1 |
16 | Keminth Kubo | 18 | 44.940 | |
17 | Marcos Ramirez | 18 | 45.182 | |
18 | Sean Dylan Kelly | 18 | 48.818 | |
19 | Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin | 18 | 53.121 | |
20 | Borja Gomez | 18 | 54.465 | |
21 | Niccolo Antonelli | 18 | 54.812 | |
22 | Azroy Anuar | 18 | 55.685 | |
Ai Ogura | 17 | |||
Pedro Acosta | 9 | |||
Alessandro Zaccone | 9 | |||
Joe Roberts | 8 | |||
Celestino Vietti Ramus | 5 | |||
Somkiat Chantra | 1 | |||
David Sanchis | 0 | |||
View full results |
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