Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso took victory in today’s wet Sepang MotoGP race today, becoming the ninth race winner in the 2016 season ahead of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.
Dovizioso took advantage of front end grip problems for Rossi and passed him into turn one with five laps to go, immediately pulling a gap and crossing the line with a four-second advantage to take his second ever win in the class while Rossi secured second in the title chase.
Lorenzo, who has struggled all year in wet conditions, bagged the final podium spot as crashes for Cal Crutchlow, Marc Marquez and Andrea Iannone promoted him from sixth place.
It was the Spaniard who got the holeshot from Marquez - who ran carbon discs even though it was raining - with Dovizoso, Rossi and Iannone trailing.
Marquez was quickly past, riding around the outside of the Yamaha at turn two, and Dovizoso followed him before passing Marquez for the lead.
Rossi could see through the spray that Marquez was trying to get away and he nicked second with a pass on both Lorenzo and Marquez at turn nine. Dovizoso then ran wide and Rossi took the lead.
Iannone snuck into second place past his Ducati team-mate after passing Marquez, and all this happened on just the first lap.
Iannone got onto the rear wheel of Rossi quickly and passed him for the lead at turn 12 on lap two as Britain’s Cal Crutchlow was looking every which way for a route past former champion Jorge Lorenzo.
It took the LCR Honda man four laps to make the pass and he immediately opened a gap as he set off after Marquez while Rossi and Iannone traded paint for the lead .
Crutchlow passed Marquez for fourth with 15 to go as the lead ding-dong continued. Rossi passed Iannone at turn one but the power of the Bologna Bullet put him back at the front on the back straight where he stayed until lap 11 when Rossi re-took the lead.
Marquez, meanwhile, found his rhythm and went back past Crutchlow at turn 15 but it was disaster for the Phillip Island winner as he crashed out with eight to go, losing the front at turn two while Dovizioso passed Iannone for second.
With seven left to run, Marquez lost the front at turn 11 but re-mounted in 16th place while Iannone went down on the same lap. It is the fourth time the Italian has crashed out of a podium place.
Two laps later, Rossi’s front end problems saw him run wide and Dovizioso pounced to take his second-ever MotoGP win, the first being his victory at Donington Park in 2009.
Hector Barbera got the better of Avintia Ducati team-mate Loris Baz for fourth place while Maverick Vinales ended his day in sixth. Alvaro Bautista bagged seventh place with Jack Miller eighth. Pol Espargaro ninth and Danilo Petrucci tenth.
Marquez fought back to take 11th, one ahead of Eugene Laverty. Bradley Smith finsihed in 14th with Scott Redding taking a point in 15th.