Dani Pedrosa has claimed victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix which saw a controversial clash between championship leader Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez.
The factory Honda rider led home title contender Jorge Lorenzo but it was Marquez and Rossi that grabbed the headlines when the pair collided while disputing third spot.
Marquez and Rossi were locked in a fierce battle as they produced a series of tight overtaking moves.
However, the battle reached boiling point when Rossi appeared to dive underneath Marquez and drift into the rider forcing the reigning world champion to drop his Honda.
A clearly angry Marquez managed to bring his bike back to the pits to retire from the race, while Rossi went on to finish third.
Race Direction investigated the incident after the race with stewards issuing Rossi with three licence penalty points. He will also be forced to start from the rear of the grid at the Valencia season finale.
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Yamaha has since confirmed they will appeal the decision.
The incident arrives just days after Rossi accused Marquez of intentionally trying to help title rival Lorenzo at the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
At the front there was nothing Lorenzo could do to prevent Pedrosa from taking the win, but the second place finish saw the Yamaha rider cut Rossi’s championship lead to seven points.
Tech 3 Yamaha’s Bradley Smith came through to finish fourth ahead of LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow, while Danilo Petrucci impressed aboard the Pramac Ducati to claim sixth.
Suzuki’s Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales were seventh and eighth, with Pol Espargaro and Stafan Bradl completing the top 10.
Australia’s Jack Miller finished in 17th position while fellow countryman Ant West was 20th.
New South Wales rider Damian Cudlin, who is filling in for the injured Alex de Angelis, retired from the race.
Result: MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang
| Position | Rider | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 40:37.691s |
| 2 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | +3.612s |
| 3 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | +13.724s |
| 4 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 Yamaha | +23.995s |
| 5 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | +28.721s |
| 6 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Ducati | +36.372s |
| 7 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | +39.290s |
| 8 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | +39.436s |
| 9 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 Yamaha | +42.462s |
| 10 | Stefan Bradl | Aprilia Gresini | +44.601s |
| 11 | Scott Redding | Marc VDS Honda | +47.690s |
| 12 | Yonny Hernandez | Pramac Ducati | +52.112s |
| 13 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Ducati | +52.360s |
| 14 | Toni Elias | Forward Yamaha | +53.619s |
| 15 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia Gresini | +53.631s |
| 16 | Nicky Hayden | Aspar Honda | +1:01.431s |
| 17 | Jack Miller | LCR Honda | +1:02.828s |
| 18 | Mike Di Meglio | Avintia Ducati | +1:05.075s |
| 19 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar Honda | +1:09.877s |
| 20 | Anthony West | AB Motoracing Honda | +1:24.749s |
| DNF | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Retirement |
| DNF | Marc Marquez | Honda | Retirement |
| DNF | Loris Baz | Forward Racing | Retirement |
| DNF | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | Retirement |
| DNF | Damian Cudlin | IodaRacing Project | Retirement |
Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentino Rossi | 312 |
| 2 | Jorge Lorenzo | 305 |
| 3 | Marc Marquez | 222 |
| 4 | Daniel Pedrosa | 190 |
| 5 | Andrea Iannone | 188 |
| 6 | Bradley Smith | 171 |
| 7 | Andrea Dovizioso | 153 |
| 8 | Cal Crutchlow | 118 |
| 9 | Danilo Petrucci | 107 |
| 10 | Pol Espargaro | 103 |
| 11 | Aleix Espargaro | 97 |
| 12 | Maverick Vinales | 92 |
| 13 | Scott Redding | 83 |
| 14 | Yonny Hernandez | 53 |
| 15 | Hector Barbera | 33 |
| 16 | Alvaro Bautista | 29 |
| 17 | Loris Baz | 28 |
| 18 | Stefan Bradl | 17 |
| 19 | Jack Miller | 17 |
| 20 | Nicky Hayden | 16 |
| 21 | Eugene Laverty | 9 |
| 22 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | 8 |
| 22 | Michele Pirro | 8 |
| 24 | Mike Di Meglio | 8 |
| 25 | Hiroshi Aoyama | 5 |
| 26 | Takumi Takahashi | 4 |
| 27 | Toni Elias | 2 |
| 28 | Alex de Angelis | 2 |
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