Although having the MotoGP race at Sepang held off until 4:00pm local time in order to allow a better TV time slot for its key European audiences brought a likelihood of rain, the weather luckily held off and a huge crowd of more than 80,000 were treated to a heated battle up front in sweltering conditions. In the end, Marc Marquez overcame a bad start to take his 12th victory of the season, equaling five-time 500cc Grand Prix World Champion Mick Doohan’s record for wins in a single season. It wasn’t easy by any means for Marquez, as Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi made the Repsol Honda rider work for it, staying within easy striking distance for the majority of the race. Early leader Jorge Lorenzo tried to stick with the leading duo, but the heat and humidity forced the Movistar Yamaha rider to back off and take a safe third.
Marquez and Lorenzo actually came together in Sepang’s first turn as they fought for position at the start, forcing Marquez to run wide and lose a good number of positions. Lorenzo quickly scythed his way to the front by the end of the first lap, with Dani Pedrosa, Rossi, and Ducati’s Andrea Dovisioso in tow. Marquez was forced back to sixth behind LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl, but quickly moved past both Bradl and Dovisioso on the first lap to sit in fourth position. Pedrosa lost the front end and crashed on the last turn of the second lap, leaving Rossi to hound Lorenzo, with the Doctor pushing past his teammate on lap nine followed by Marquez a few turns later.
Marquez stalked Rossi and eventually made his way past a lap later when Rossi ran wide in turn 15. The Italian stuck right with Marquez however, and looked like he was waiting until the later laps to possibly make a move for the race win. But Marquez continued his torrid pace that eventually opened up a slight gap with three laps to go, sealing the victory. The pair’s pace also pulled them away from Lorenzo, who admitted that his fitness wasn’t quite up to spec for the conditions.
Marquez concurred on the difficulty of racing in the sweltering conditions. “It was a really difficult race especially for the physical condition,” Marquez remarked afterward. “I did a mistake in the first corner, I brake too late and then I go in because I was running wide and I touch with Jorge. I lose many, many positions. I push really hard on the first two or three laps to overtake the riders. When I was behind the two Yamaha riders I was trying to cool down the brakes, cool down the tires. Then after seven or eight laps I tried my usual race tactics because I tried a different one in Australia and it was no good (laughs). It was difficult for physical condition under the helmet because it was really, really hot.”
Rossi was obviously elated to continue his resurgence this season, especially after struggling in practice. The Italian now holds a firm grip on second place in the championship barring any mishaps at the season finale at Valencia. “I’m so happy because this race is so difficult for the riders, so long, double of the other race. But I feel good, I have a good feeling with my preparation so I know it’s working well. Also this second place is so positive for me because we struggle so much during the weekend and I was never strong. But this morning we improved the bike a lot and this afternoon another step, so my bike for the race was great. It was perfect, I fight a lot and enjoy very much the battle with Jorge and also the battle with Marc at the end. It’s a shame because at one point I thought I could win, or I could at least fight for the win. But unfortunately Marc was a little bit too fast.”
Lorenzo admitted that he wasn’t quite as fit as he would’ve liked for the hot and humid conditions in Malaysia. “It was probably the hottest race in Malaysia in all these 12 years that I compete. I made a good start, I took a lot of risks in the first lap, I tried to push at the maximum the first seven laps. But then little by little my braking was getting worse and worse, also the rear tire was spinning a lot. Valentino’s team improve the setup for the race, he was really, really fast. Especially at the end of the race, I couldn’t keep the same pace I made at the beginning and it was really difficult to fight with these two guys. I wasn’t as fit as Silverstone, for example, or Misano. These three weeks outside Europe, probably I trained a little bit too soft, and I wasn’t very fit.”
MotoGP Sepang race results:
| Pos. | Rider | Country | Team | Machine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
| 2 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 3 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 4 | Stefan Bradl | GER | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda |
| 5 | Bradley Smith | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha |
| 6 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha |
| 7 | Yonny Hernandez | COL | Energy T.I. Pramac Racing | Ducati |
| 8 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati |
| 9 | Hector Barbera | SPA | Avintia Racing | FTR/Kawasaki |
| 10 | Scott Redding | GBR | GO&FUN Honda Gresini | Honda |
| 11 | Hiroshi Aoyama | JPN | Drive M7 Aspar | Honda |
| 12 | Michael Laverty | IRL | Paul Bird Motorsport | ART/Aprilia |
| 13 | Mike Di Meglio | FRA | Avintia Racing | FTR/Kawasaki |
| 14 | Broc Parkes | AUS | Paul Bird Motorsport | ART/Aprilia |
| DNF | Alex De Angelis | ITA | NGM Forward Racing | Forward Yamaha |
| DNF | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | Octo Ioda Racing | Ioda/Aprilia |
| DNF | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
| DNF | Karel Abraham | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Honda |
| DNF | Nicky Hayden | USA | Drive M7 Aspar | Honda |
| DNF | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Ducati Team | Ducati |
| DNF | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | NGM Forward Racing | Forward Yamaha |
| DNF | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | GO&FUN Honda Gresini | Honda |
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