Italy's Andrea Dovizioso today clinched the rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix with a flawless display at the Sepang International Circuit here to keep his Championship title hopes alive.
Starting from the third position, Dovizioso of Ducati Team clocked 44:51:497 to win his sixth title this season. He had earlier won at Italy, Catalunya, Austria, Great Britain and Japan.
After this victory, the 31-year-old Italian is now 21 points away from title favourite Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), who finished fourth after starting at the seventh position.
"We did everything perfect. It wasn't easy. I am so happy to show everybody that we can be competitive, with all the work in this track. It was a perfect weekend for us," said Dovizioso, who had won the Malaysian GP last year also.
"Our bike worked very well. I thought there was a lot of rubber on the ground after Moto 2 and 3. I was not comfortable after the practice. I took time to understand my positive and negative. I had to concentrate to stay with Lorenzo. I didn't expect it to be so competitive this weekend."
Spaniard Marquez, who had a lead of 33 points ahead of the race, will have to fight it out with Dovizioso at the final race at Valencia on November 12th to clinch the Championship.
Among others, Dovizioso's teammate Jorge Lorenzo finished second, France's Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) ended the race at the third spot, while Marquez's teammate Dani Pedrosa, who had topped the qualifying round, finished fifth.
Talking about the next race in Valencia, Dovizioso said: "He has a good track record there. We can be competitive but to overcome 21 points, well something has to happen. He had a great year and even in this difficult conditions he managed to finish 4th.
"Marquee is very strong. We knew it will be difficult. We tried to do the maximum. I couldn't watch at the screen as I had to concentrate. I think Marc will be competitive from the start and we have to be fast and win the race in Valencia."
Rain lashed the Sepang International Circuit ahead of the Moto GP as the riders lined up for the race in wet conditions.
Marquez moved to the third position early in the race but he was toppled by Dovizioso with 16 laps to go.
Zarco, who was leading early on, slipped to the second in the 14th lap before Dovizioso surpassed him in the 12th lap.
With five laps to go, Dovizioso then overtook Lorenzo and held to his pole position till the end.
In Moto 2, Franco Morbidelli, who had eight wins, five poles and 10 podiums this season, became the first Italian rider to clinch the 2017 World Championship title after securing his crown at Sepang International Circuit.
In Moto3, Joan Mir (Leopard Racing), meanwhile, secured his Championship title with another impressive performance as he surpassed early leader Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3).
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
