2018 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix: Márquez's ninth win of the year, Martín world Moto3 champion

Ninth win of the year for a Marc Márquez who had not started from pole position. Despite having dominated the qualifying session, which was run in wet conditions and delayed from its scheduled time, the Spanish rider was penalised six places and forced to start from seventh for obstructing Iannone during the latter’s fast lap. However, this circumstance has not been a problem for the Repsol rider’s victory at the 2018 Malaysian Grand Prix Honda.

The race was run on dry tarmac thanks to the race direction bringing the scheduled start times forward in order to avoid the forecast heavy rain and prevent a repeat of the British Grand Prix, which could not be run. A masterstroke (even if it did keep us up rather late), because it allowed us to enjoy a thrilling race from the very start, with a Márquez pushing hard from the moment the lights turned green to make up positions.

Valentino Rossi led the race and looked consistent, but under pressure from the Spanish rider he made a mistake and ended up on the tarmac at Sepang. The Italian’s crash handed Márquez the victory on a plate, his 70th win counting all the categories in which he has raced, and which earns Honda the constructors’ championship. On the podium they were joined by Alex Rins, in his best race of the season, and Johann Zarco, the man who had started from pole position.

Apart from Márquez, the great protagonist for Spanish motorcycling at the 2018 Malaysian Grand Prix was naturally Jorge Martín, as the Madrid rider was crowned world Moto3 champion. To mathematically secure the title Martín had to win the race, and he did, also with some luck on his side, as his rivals, the Italians Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi, finished sixth and fifth respectively. The Spaniard Albert Arenas, on the final lap, overtook Bezzecchi to take fourth place, helping to make the celebrations in the Gresini garage complete.

The Moto2 category title was also made certain, going to Pecco Bagnaia. The Italian had the easier task and only needed to finish third in the race to mathematically secure the title. Had his main rival, the Portuguese Miguel Oliveira, won the race, he would still have had mathematical hopes heading into the final race of the year, but Rossi’s half-brother Luca Marini held firm in first place to claim his first victory in the category.

And so, we have Marc Márquez as MotoGP champion, Pecco Bagnaia as Moto2 champion and Jorge Martín as Moto3 champion. The 2018 Valencia Grand Prix still lies ahead, and although everything is already decided for that race, it will be a great celebration of motorcycling and a farewell to another season of an exciting world championship.