The Malaysian Grand Prix weekend didn’t fairly settle the 2024 MotoGP world championship battle, but it surely got here fairly near doing so.
The place do the title protagonists match into his best-to-worst rating of each rider’s Sepang efficiency, and who else impressed or dissatisfied?
1 Jorge Martin
Certified: 2nd Dash: 1st Completed: 2nd
The Malaysian Grand Prix won’t fairly have been the weekend the place Jorge Martin received the title mathematically, however after we look again on the season we’ll certainly conclude it was the one the place he dealt the decisive blow to Pecco Bagnaia’s hopes.
Very good within the dash, as we’ve come to anticipate from him, each his willingness to put all of it on the road early on in Sunday’s fundamental occasion however to then additionally pivot into taking the secure factors in second shows the measure of the person he’s grown up into over the previous 12 months, and it’s that maturity that has ensured 2024 is now unlikely to finish the way in which 2023 did.
2 Alex Marquez
Certified: third Dash: 4th Completed: 4th
Provided that he didn’t step on the rostrum as soon as at Sepang, it could be a shock to see Alex Marquez that includes so extremely within the rankings – however truthfully, via means of elimination, it’s arduous to recommend that anybody else however Martin had a greater weekend.
Completely the most effective of the remainder behind the factory-spec bikes and his brother (and properly away from Franco Morbidelli’s GP24), he didn’t put a foot flawed the way in which that Marc and Bagnaia did, nor did he fail to ship on expectations like Enea Bastianini.
All in all, a really strong weekend for the Gresini rider, and one wherein he was unfortunate to not be rewarded with a trophy to take house.
3 Enea Bastianini
Certified: sixth Dash: third Completed: third
A extremely constant occasion for Bastianini regardless of him not fairly feeling on top of things all weekend.
Lacking one thing from his entrance finish feeling on the manufacturing unit Ducati, he may have very simply ended up within the Sepang gravel reasonably than twice on the rostrum.
He won’t have had the tempo he anticipated, and he could be heading again to Europe dissatisfied – however loads of others would have been very happy to take his outcomes, together with even Marc Marquez because the pair proceed to battle for third within the championship.
4 Fabio Quartararo
Certified: eighth Dash: fifth Completed: sixth
As soon as once more delivering performances that he actually has no enterprise doing on the present Yamaha, Fabio Quartararo’s Sunday effort was made all of the extra spectacular by coming mere minutes after a terrifying crash that pressured him to race his spare bike with a drained and sluggish engine, and with tyres that he’d already rejected as not feeling fairly proper earlier within the weekend.
An necessary reminder of his expertise at the same time as issues begin to look good (if not fairly nice) once more for the 2021 world champion and his employer.
5 Pecco Bagnaia
Certified: 1st Dash: DNF Completed: 1st
Clearly, the one factor holding Bagnaia from a top-three spot on this record is the obtrusive error that got here on Saturday: his unforced crash out of second place within the dash that was more than likely the dying knell for his title defence.
Issues falling aside within the dash was perhaps not an excessive amount of of a shock given how weak he’s been in comparison with Martin within the shorter races all season, and even his dominant win after placing his title rival in his place within the opening laps on Sunday wasn’t sufficient to counteract the magnitude of his error 24 hours earlier than.
6 Pedro Acosta
Certified: thirteenth Dash: ninth Completed: fifth
You’ve received to offer Pedro Acosta credit score the place it’s due: after a spate of crashes out of podium fights in current rounds, he lastly conceded final weekend that he wanted to be extra ready to accept high 5 outcomes as an alternative.
And, ever the short learner, that’s precisely what he did at Sepang, taking house a good end in the principle occasion after being unable to get the higher of his fellow KTMs within the dash, and wrestling again management of the highest non-Ducati spot within the championship standings from 2025 team-mate Brad Binder within the course of.
7 Marc Marquez
Certified: fifth Dash: 2nd Completed: DNF
Loads of efficiency all weekend from Marc Marquez at the same time as he continues to battle in opposition to 2024-spec Ducati equipment on a year-old bike that was at a visual drawback on the lengthy straights of Sepang.
Crashes gave and so they took away, with Bagnaia’s fall on Saturday selling him into an sudden second earlier than his personal downfall from third on Sunday.
However the reassuring message from the weekend as a complete must be that Marquez has nonetheless very a lot received the tempo to be a frontrunner in 2025 on higher equipment.
8 Alex Rins
Certified: ninth Dash: eleventh Completed: eighth
Consider it or not, Alex Rins was dissatisfied along with his best-ever Yamaha efficiency on Sunday, but when something that’s an indication that there’s nonetheless loads extra to return from the venture.
Lastly beginning to discover his manner with the bike now, the Yamaha expertise hole means he’s nonetheless a couple of steps behind team-mate Quartararo, however with the pair delivering a really robust second half of the season and with loads of thrilling developments within the pipeline for them, Rins is now very a lot justifying the workforce’s determination to place its religion in him.
9 Maverick Vinales
Certified: twelfth Dash: 14th Completed: seventh
The Maverick Vinales thriller continues, with good and dangerous outcomes for the Aprilia rider seemingly coming at random and with grand prix outcomes bearing little or no relation to his qualifying efficiency or the place he completed the dash!
It wasn’t a simple weekend for Aprilia amid its recurring temperature woes, and Saturday’s dash hunch was a results of these issues for Vinales – which makes his sudden return to significantly better type in the principle race much more of a thriller!
11 Franco Morbidelli
Certified: 4th Dash: sixth Completed: 14th
Franco Morbidelli ought to have been a lot increased in each the rankings and within the outcomes, however his Sunday crash was a very unforced error, the kind that he merely shouldn’t nonetheless be making on a GP24.
Sure, others additionally didn’t see the chequered flag on the identical equipment this weekend, however with Morbidelli there at all times appears to be one thing lacking from his general weekend that’s stopping him from actually utilising the potential of the most effective bike on the grid the way in which that everybody else who has it may well.
10 Johann Zarco
Certified: eleventh Dash: DNF Completed: eleventh
One other respectable weekend the place Johann Zarco as soon as once more ended up within the well-deserved spot of high Honda, as he continues to stroll the high-quality line between asking for an excessive amount of and never giving sufficient to the RC213V.
It won’t be paying off when it comes to general outcomes simply but, but it surely’s constructing a basis that can take Honda into 2025 in a significantly better manner than it began this season.
12 Augusto Fernandez
Certified: twenty first Dash: thirteenth Completed: tenth
Since beginning to work with new crew chief Alberto Giribuola earlier than the flyaways, Augusto Fernandez has promised potential on quite a few events however has by no means fairly been in a position to ship on it attributable to points each of his making and of KTM’s.
Nevertheless, it lastly all got here collectively for him at Sepang and, true to his phrase, the highest 10 tempo he’s been adamant he has someplace inside him may shine via.
It is a excessive notice as his full-time MotoGP profession nears its finish (for now), and hopefully one he can match at house at Barcelona subsequent outing.
13 Andrea Iannone
Certified: seventeenth Dash: nineteenth Completed: seventeenth
Provided that Andrea Iannone hadn’t sat on a MotoGP bike in 5 years, expectations coming into this weekend’s return to the premier class have been low.
So, to return house not 1,000,000 miles away from having scored factors and under no circumstances that distant from VR46 team-mate Marco Bezzecchi at one of many extra bodily demanding circuits on the calendar isn’t a foul efficiency in any respect.
Hopefully, it signifies that he’ll get a second MotoGP probability on the Barcelona finale, a circuit he’s raced at this yr in World Superbikes and which must be a little bit simpler for him than Sepang.
14 Marco Bezzecchi
Certified: 14th Dash: tenth Completed: ninth
A reasonably uneventful weekend for Bezzecchi that didn’t ship a lot when it comes to outcomes.
What makes it significantly worse for him, although, is the comparability to each the Gresini duo and even to non permanent team-mate Iannone, who was solely 0.3 seconds off in qualifying (although very a lot aided by a tow from Bezzecchi).
You get a way that it’s a case of the earlier Bezzecchi can escape this robust season and see what’s doable on an Aprilia, the higher.
15 Jack Miller
Certified: seventh Dash: eighth Completed: DNS
We don’t have a Sunday race to evaluate Jack Miller’s weekend on, however at the very least the Australian was in a position to stroll away from one of many season’s most terrifying crashes on the opening lap.
Nevertheless, it had been a reasonably good weekend up till that time, with a superb qualifying and strong dash efficiency on a circuit that was clearly lending one thing a little bit bit further to the KTM package deal.
You must really feel a little bit dissatisfied for Miller realizing that he was doubtless denied a superb probability for a good farewell to KTM.
16 Luca Marini
Certified: nineteenth Dash: fifteenth Completed: fifteenth
An honest weekend for Luca Marini as he continues his regular progress in the direction of getting the Honda to work for him.
It hasn’t been simple, as anticipated, however to his credit score he’s nonetheless approaching it along with his traditional cheeriness, and at the very least having some extent to point out from his weekend (one thing that was painfully uncommon early within the season) is constant to reward his dedication to the trigger this yr.
17 Aleix Espargaro
Certified: sixteenth Dash: twelfth Completed: thirteenth
Aprilia’s previous foe of excessive temperature and poor warmth dissipation got here again to as soon as once more chew Aleix Espargaro on Sunday, leaving him with blistered palms and a battle simply to make it to the tip of the race.
Nevertheless, it was actually a poor qualifying after one more bike failure that set again his entire weekend and left him properly off the tempo.
18 Brad Binder
Began: tenth Dash: seventh Completed: DNS
One other rider with out a Sunday race to evaluate their entire weekend on, however sadly the explanation that Binder didn’t get to restart after the purple flag was finally his contact with Alex Marquez that triggered the large Flip 1 smash.
Up till that time, he’d been having a reasonably common weekend at a circuit that appeared to offer KTM a little bit of a lift it’s been lacking these days.
19 Lorenzo Savadori
Certified: twenty second Dash: twentieth Completed: 18th
A reasonably standard-issue weekend for Aprilia’s take a look at rider, even when Lorenzo Savadori was formally nonetheless on substitute duties for Miguel Oliveira at satellite tv for pc workforce Trackhouse.
Spending extra of his weekend attempting out new 2025 components than he did engaged on his personal race tempo, it’s a case of creating sacrifices for the better good for the fourth weekend in a row earlier than returning to his day job once more for the winter testing programme.
20 Joan Mir
Certified: twentieth Dash: sixteenth Completed: DNF
It’s nonetheless not simple being Joan Mir, as he as soon as once more demonstrated at Sepang by doing what’s virtually change into a practice and crashing out on Sunday.
The crashes are nonetheless coming from the identical root trigger: pushing more durable than the bike permits.
The plus is that he’s nonetheless motivated sufficient to maintain giving his all. That could be an excessive amount of, thoughts you, and he’s one of many riders for whom the winter break merely can’t come quickly sufficient now.
21 Taka Nakagami
Certified: 18th Dash: seventeenth Completed: DNF
A troublesome weekend for Taka Nakagami. He was fully stymied by vibration points that meant he wasn’t even in a position to see the chequered flag on Sunday and was pressured to retire.
The vibration drawback is partly why Honda introduced the brand new frames that everybody however Nakagami had. But it surely’s nonetheless disappointing to see somebody pulling in from their penultimate race as a full-time MotoGP rider with out a extra urgent technical situation.
22 Raul Fernandez
Certified: fifteenth Dash: 18th Completed: sixteenth
Sure, it was a tricky weekend for Aprilia all spherical, but it surely was even worse for Raul Fernandez.
Although nonetheless very a lot utilizing the tip of the season on the 2024 bike he solely inherited on the midway level of the season to organize for subsequent yr, that’s nonetheless probably not a ok excuse for reasonably common performances all through the flyaway races.
He was anticipated by now to sometimes be difficult the manufacturing unit duo – and that merely hasn’t occurred.
