Daily Times

Jorge Martin took a major step towards his first MotoGP world title as he won the sprint race in Malaysia on Saturday and rival Francesco Bagnaia crashed out.

Spain’s Martin extended his championship lead from 17 points to 29, with just the grand prix on Sunday at Sepang and one more race weekend to go.

It was disaster for Italian two-time reigning champion Bagnaia, who started on pole but crashed out early on his Ducati to gift a big advantage to Martin.

Pramac Ducati’s Martin romped home from there for victory and can seal the title on Sunday.

Light rain fell at a sweltering Sepang five minutes before the start of the 10-lap sprint, adding to the tension on the grid.

Bagnaia started in pole with Martin alongside him on the front row, only for the Spaniard to immediately seize the lead at the first corner. With eight laps to go and pushing hard, Bagnaia lost control of his Ducati at turn nine and crashed out. He was unhurt but had his head in his hands.

Bagnaia had dominated Friday practice and clocked a track record to grab pole position for the sprint and the grand prix on Sunday, when a maximum 25 points are up for grabs for the winner. The title tussle is a straight shootout between Martin and Bagnaia.

Bagnaia won the grand prix at a wet Buriram in Thailand last week, ahead of Martin, to shave his rival’s lead and keep the championship alive.

The season finale had been scheduled for Valencia in a fortnight but it was cancelled Friday after deadly flooding in that part of Spain.