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Malaysian GP

2016 MotoGP Malaysian GP

Malaysia
Oct 28, 2016 to Oct 30, 2016
Sepang International Circuit, MY
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MotoGP Malaysian GP

Sepang MotoGP - Race

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That's a wrap for us from the MotoGP weekend at Malaysia, as Andrea Dovizioso converted pole into his first victory in seven years - in what was far from a straightforward race,

With Marquez crashing out, there'll be lots to fight for in Valencia - Yamaha is now much closer to Honda in the manufacturers' championship and it's now ahead in the teams' title battle.

See you in two weeks' time.
Dovizioso: "Wow, it was... 2009, a long time... the victory is always something different.

"Really nice for it to come in this moment. I struggled a lot during the race, but I really wanted it.

"Happy for the team to get this victory, for Ducati that worked so hard in the last four years."
Rossi: "I did a great battle with Iannone, but when I was able to overtake, I was very optimistic and I felt I could go.

"But when the water became less, I started to have problems with the front tyre on the right. I had two moments and I had to slow down."
Lorenzo: "To be honest, today I've been lucky. Without the crashes, I finish fifth or sixth.

"Finally I got this podium. In the wet, this year with the Michelin was hard for me. Here I could be a bit competitive - maybe in the race less than in qualifying.

"Now the third place in the championship is quite safe if nothing strange happens in Malaysia, so I'm quite satisfied."
Dovi hasn't arrived just yet, but Hector Barbera is currently by far the happiest rider in the pits.

He'd posted two non-scores in his two-race stint with the factory Ducati, but the return to Avintia has gone as well as it could've.
So that's nine winners in MotoGP in 2016 now.

And this is Dovizioso's first win with Ducati after four years of service. He's persevered through some of the tougher seasons - and he's reaped the rewards today.
Finishing order:
1 Dovizioso
2 Rossi
3 Lorenzo
4 Barbera
5 Baz
6 Vinales
7 Bautista
8 Miller
9 P. Espargaro
10 Petrucci
11 Marquez
12 Laverty
13 A. Espargaro
14 Smith
15 Redding
16 Aoyama
17 Bradl
18 Rabat
Then Barbera, Baz, Vinales, Bautista, Miller, Pol Espargaro and Petrucci.

Marquez recovered to 11th there.
Rossi takes second, Lorenzo coasts home in third.
Seven years on, Andrea Dovizioso is back on the top step of the podium!
Despite all of Rossi's woes for laptime right now, he's not under any threat of losing P2 unless he drops it.
Two laps to go. A messy S3 from Dovi there, but he still gains time on Rossi, who is suffering for pace.
Three laps to go. Dovizioso's advantage now four seconds. He is a second quicker than anyone else on track right now.
Dovizioso continuing to pull out a gap over Rossi with each sector.

Four laps between the Italian and a first MotoGP win since 2009.
And Rossi is having issues now, he's a second behind Dovizioso.
Check out the two Avintia bikes in P4 and P5 - Baz and Barbera. They're a bit close on track, too, which the team probably isn't enjoying too much.
Lorenzo is already 10 seconds behind his teammate - but he's heading for a podium.
Current order:
1 Rossi
2 Dovizioso
3 Lorenzo
4 Baz
5 Barbera
6 Vinales
7 Bautista
8 A. Espargaro
9 Miller
10 P. Espargaro
11 Petrucci
12 Laverty
13 Smith
14 Redding
15 Marquez
16 Aoyama
17 Bradl
18 Rabat
The Maniac spills it at Turn 9 and goes into the grass.

Unfortunate, he's put up a valiant fight here on his return from injury.
So that leaves three - Rossi, Dovizioso and Iannone, all within a second.

Seven laps to go.
Iannone dives down the inside of Turn 1, but Rossi retakes the lead!
And Rossi seemed to have built a bit of a gap right after the overtake - but the Ducati's sheer power does not allow him to escape.
Marquez was quickest of all by almost half a second that time around.
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