The Malaysian Grand Prix has finished with the result least expected by Marc Márquez, who started from pole position and while fighting for third place, withdrew due to mechanical problems. The best of the Repsol riders was, once again, Esteve Rabat, who finished seventh, ten places in front of Cameron Beaubier, who was just a step away from scoring. Scott Redding, who also had mechanical problems, headed back to the pit lane eight laps from the end.
The race had started very well for Marc Márquez, who defended his privileged position on the grid very well when the red light went off. The Repsol rider was up front on the first turn, defending himself from the rest of the group, in which Rabat made great progress, climbing into fifth. However, in the first lap, problems were noticed on Márquez’s KTM, who was passed by Efrén Vázquez.
Soon, a group of six riders was out up front, which Julián Simón headed in the second lap, driving ahead to open a gap with his rivals. He was chased by Bradley Smith and the rest of the group, which was joined by another three rivals, starting a hard-fought battle for third place. The riders in the group overtook each other constantly, and the first one to pull out was Jonas Folger, after touching Márquez in a turn ten laps from the end.
However, three laps later, and after crossing the line fourth, Márquez had to use the clutch at the end of the straight when he noticed that the engine of his KTM was having problems. With this withdrawal, Esteve Rabat climbed a position to eighth, after falling behind in the group. An eighth place, which became seventh when Efrén Vázquez fell two laps from the end. A good result for Esteve Rabat in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
His teammate, Scott Redding, saw once again how luck turned its back on him and after a bad start from seventeenth place, from which he dropped four places; he headed back to the pit lane eight laps from the end. One of the riders who did finish, but out of the points, was Cameron Beaubier. The Repsol rider started twenty-fourth and had a spectacular start, climbing seven positions in the first lap. In the following laps, he dropped a few places, but lap-by lap, he managed to reach the end, on the threshold of the points, in seventeenth position.
Marc Márquez, withdrawn >> Audio
“I started the race raring to go because in the practices I set a good pace, but from the start I noticed that something was wrong, because at times the bike didn’t go so fast. Above all, in the fast turns, when I touched the gas, the engine was very aggressive. I noticed that something strange was happening, although I managed to adapt to the bike and ride well, the engine failed. In Estoril, I made the mistake, this time it was a mechanical problems and it’s a shame. Let’s see if we can repeat this weekend in Valencia and finish it off on Sunday”.
Esteve Rabat, 7th at 15.114 sec. >> Audio
“I had a good race, and we’ve been putting in good performances since Misano, in which, in spite of having a few problems, we were always in the front group. Today, I rode with the group throughout the race, until I made a mistake at the end and went wide, without being able to catch up with them. There was nobody behind me and I decided not to risk it. The bike went quite well, thanks to a very good chassis set up. The engine wasn’t going too badly either. I made a mistake, but we finished, and that’s positive”.
Scott Redding, withdrawn
“We continued to have the same problems as we’ve had all weekend and in the last few races: the engine didn’t work well, it didn’t go fast and in the race I was fighting for twentieth place. I know that I should be fighting for a place among the first ten and not so far back and so far out of the points, therefore, in the end I decided to withdraw and go back to the pit lane, as I could hardly keep up with the pace. We hope to finish the season in Valencia in two weeks time with a good final”.
Cameron Beaubier, 17th at 1´07.131 >> Audio
“I am happy that I finished the race, but I’m very disappointed with the pace that I set and my lap-by-lap. I had a decent start and was following several riders, but then I started dropping positions and couldn’t keep up with their pace. I had problems in the middle of the turns and they opened the gap and I couldn’t do anything to prevent it. In the end, I was going around the track alone lap after lap, riding slowly and not feeling confident, leaving the line in the middle of the turns. I hope it goes better in Valencia”.
