It was a must win in many ways for Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso as the paddock arrived at Sepang International Circuit, and the Italian kept calm under intense pressure to secure his sixth win of the season – and take the Championship fight down to the wire. Slicing through the rain to catch and pass teammate Jorge Lorenzo, Dovizioso was seven tenths clear of the Majorcan at the flag in a 1-2 for Ducati – and key rival Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) crossed the line in fourth. Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) completed the podium after a stunning start, wrapping up the title of top Independent Team rider.
It was Marquez who took an incredible initial holeshot from the third row, but the reigning Champion headed wide along with Lorenzo – allowing Zarco to slice through into the lead. Once there, the Frenchman lit it up to escape into the distance, and Lorenzo moved through to chase the Tech 3 rider down. Marquez slotted into third, with Dovizioso initially the man to lose out – but the Italian soon began to move through.
Zarco’s lead began to diminish, Dovizioso passed Marquez, and then both Ducatis were able to pass the Frenchman. It seemed Marquez would have the pace to take third from Zarco, but the reigning Champion couldn’t make up the ground. At the front, Lorenzo was holding firm as the two red machines streaked away – but the number 99 then suffered a moment at Turn 15 with a foot off the footpeg. ‘DesmoDovi’ saw his chance to strike, then facing down some nervous laps as the end of the race neared. Lorenzo managed to bring it back to seven tenths over the line, with Zarco back on the rostrum in third.
Marquez was eight seconds further back in fourth, with polesitter and teammate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) completing the top five after a more promising showing in the wet for the former winner at the venue in similar conditions. Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) put in a superstar performance in the wet as he was forced to start from the back after a technical problem with his number one bike, and moved up to take sixth over the line – a gain of over 15 places.
Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was close to his compatriot by the end of the race to take seventh and only four tenths back, ahead of a more lonely finish for EG 0,0 Marc VDS rider Jack Miller into P8. Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) had a tough race for ninth, with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory) giving KTM another consecutive top ten finish after another impressive race.
Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) took P11, with the points scorers completed by Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing), Hector Barbera (Reale Avintia Racing) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda.)
It’s now truly everything or nothing for the two title challengers, and the Championship comes back to Europe for the final showdown at Valencia. Marquez leads by 21 points, so it’s a long shot for ‘DesmoDovi’…but never, ever say never.
SHELL MALAYSIA MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX
MotoGP Race Classification 2017
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 148.2 | 44’51.497 |
| 2 | 20 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 148.2 | +0.743 |
| 3 | 16 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 147.7 | +9.738 |
| 4 | 13 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 147.3 | +17.763 |
| 5 | 11 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 146.6 | +29.144 |
| 6 | 10 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | 146.6 | +30.380 |
| 7 | 9 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 146.6 | +30.769 |
| 8 | 8 | 43 | Jack MILLER | AUS | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 146.3 | +35.238 |
| 9 | 7 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 146.2 | +38.053 |
| 10 | 6 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 146.1 | +39.847 |
| 11 | 5 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 145.9 | +42.559 |
| 12 | 4 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 145.8 | +44.602 |
| 13 | 3 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | 145.6 | +48.696 |
| 14 | 2 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 145.5 | +50.058 |
| 15 | 1 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | 145.5 | +50.705 |
| 16 | 60 | Michael VAN DER MARK | NED | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 145.2 | +56.397 | |
| 17 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 145.1 | +58.391 | |
| 18 | 53 | Tito RABAT | SPA | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 143.7 | +1’25.571 | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 22 | Sam LOWES | GBR | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 133.5 | 11 Laps | ||
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 144.3 | 12 Laps | ||
| 76 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 144.1 | 15 Laps | ||
| 42 | Alex RINS | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 0 Lap | |||
MotoGP World Standing 2017
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | SPA | 282 |
| 2 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | ITA | 261 |
| 3 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | SPA | 226 |
| 4 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | ITA | 197 |
| 5 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | SPA | 185 |
| 6 | Johann ZARCO | Yamaha | FRA | 154 |
| 7 | Jorge LORENZO | Ducati | SPA | 137 |
| 8 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | ITA | 121 |
| 9 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | GBR | 104 |
| 10 | Jonas FOLGER | Yamaha | GER | 84 |
| 11 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | SPA | 75 |
| 12 | Jack MILLER | Honda | AUS | 73 |
| 13 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | GBR | 64 |
| 14 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | SPA | 62 |
| 15 | Andrea IANNONE | Suzuki | ITA | 60 |
| 16 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | SPA | 55 |
| 17 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | SPA | 46 |
| 18 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | FRA | 45 |
| 19 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 30 |
| 20 | Tito RABAT | Honda | SPA | 29 |
| 21 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | SPA | 27 |
| 22 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | GBR | 24 |
| 23 | Michele PIRRO | Ducati | ITA | 18 |
| 24 | Mika KALLIO | KTM | FIN | 11 |
| 25 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | GBR | 5 |
| 26 | Katsuyuki NAKASUGA | Yamaha | JPN | 4 |
| 27 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | FRA | 1 |
| 28 | Michael VAN DER MARK | Yamaha | NED | |
| 29 | Takuya TSUDA | Suzuki | JPN | |
| 30 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Honda | JPN | |
| 31 | Broc PARKES | Yamaha | AUS |
Credits : Photos and content courtesy of MotoGP.com
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Malaysian motorcycling history was made as 850 Royal Enfield motorcycles came together for the largest Royal Enfield gathering in Malaysia to date, officially recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records. ![]()
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historic occasion.![]()
The milestone was achieved through a Parade Ride and mass gathering, giving riders the![]()
opportunity to celebrate not just a record, but the shared spirit and brotherhood that defines![]()
the Royal Enfield community in Malaysia. ![]()
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@royalenfieldpj @royalenfieldmy
Season 8 of the Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia Vios Challenge drew to a close with the crowning of three new overall champions amidst the backdrop of an intense and fiercely-fought two days of racing at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit. ![]()
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@tgrmalaysia
BMW Group Malaysia & Universiti Malaya: Giving EV Batteries a Second Life for Rural and Community Electrification![]()
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BMW Group Malaysia, in collaboration with Universiti Malaya, is taking a meaningful step toward sustainable innovation by exploring the second-life use of electric vehicle (EV) batteries to support rural and community electrification. This initiative focuses on repurposing EV batteries that are no longer used in vehicles but still retain significant energy storage capacity. ![]()
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#bmw #um @bmwmalaysia @university_malaya
