Image: Supplied.

Spaniard Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) claimed his 70th career win after taking victory at the 2018 Shell Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

The MotoGP champion looked set to lock horns with nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), until the latter crashed out of the lead in the closing laps.

As a result, it was Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) who completed the podium at the Sepang International Circuit.

When the lights went out it was Rossi who got a stellar launch from P2, with pole man Zarco slightly sluggish off the line. ‘The Doctor’ got a comfortable hole-shot, with Zarco managing to brake late to slot into second. Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) was able to leap-frog Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) into third at the start.

The premier class riders then settled, but this came after Marquez and teammate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) exchanged paint on the opening lap. The 2018 champion would soon start to make his way forward though, despite a hairy last corner moment at the end of the opening lap that led to Iannone crashing out directly behind.

At the front, Rossi and Zarco were off as Yamaha had a 1-2 in the opening exchanges, but Marquez hunted them down after making his way past Miller. The Honda rider was on the tailpipes of Zarco’s M1 machine and soon enough he managed to slice his way through.

Turn 14 was the chosen destination after a slight error from the number five machine, with arch-rival Rossi now in his sights. But the number 46 was in an excellent rhythm at the forefront as the gap between the duo hovered at three-quarters of a second, with Zarco beginning to lose touch at the halfway stage of the race.

With eight to go, Rossi was still pumping in the lap times to keep the gap above a second to Marquez, with Zarco now over three seconds behind his fellow Yamaha rider. However, the gap then dipped below the one-second barrier with seven to go – the seven-time champion hunting down the nine-time champion with menace.

Five to go and the gap at 0.7s, we set ourselves for a grandstand finish between two of the sports all-time greats. But then, disaster for Rossi. A return to victory after 26 races went begging as he lost the front of his YZR-M1 at turn one with four laps to go.

You could hear the hearts of thousands break as he picked up his stricken Yamaha in front of the official Rossi grandstand. This left Marquez with a lonely ride home in second, but the battle for P2 and three between Zarco and Rins was far from finished.

Last lap time, Zarco led onto it, but Rins was soon past, with the Frenchman having no answer to the Suzuki. Rins would cross the line to take his fourth podium of the season, Zarco took his first since Jerez.

After a less than impressive start, Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) recovered to string together a strong latter half of the grand prix to finish fourth, with Pedrosa crossing the line fifth on his final racing visit to the Sepang International Circuit.

It was a subdued race for one of the pre-race favourites Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). The winner here for the last two seasons couldn’t replicate those results as he took sixth, but after Rossi’s crash, the Italian has sealed P2 in the points.

Angel Nieto Team’s Alvaro Bautista was seventh, he led fellow Desmosedici rider Miller as the Australian slipped down to eighth after a strong start. Ninth was his teammate Danilo Petrucci, but arguably ride of the day went to Malaysian Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3).

Starting 23rd, the home hero was able to get a stunning start as he got himself up to 12th on the opening lap, eventually claiming 10th to close Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) down in the battle for ‘Rookie of the Year’ honours.

Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) clinched the 2018 Moto2 World Championship at after finishing in third position at Sepang. It marked the first-ever title for Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team.

The Italian finished behind title rival Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to seal the title, with teammate Luca Marini making it a memorable day for VR46 as he secured his maiden GP victory. Australia’s Remy Gardner (Tech3 Racing) was again competitive, but exited mid-race.

In Moto3, Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) was crowned world champion in Malaysia after claiming a stunning race victory, with main championship rival Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PruestelGP) slipping down to P5 on the final lap to hand the title to the Spaniard.

Martin took victory by 3.5 seconds in a dominant performance, as Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) was P2, with teammate Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) recovering in the latter stages to grab a podium that means he becomes the most successful Moto3 rider in history.

Detailed results