Vietti denies Navarro win as Guevara claims surprise third place in Malaysia

Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) takes victory at the Petronas Grand Prix in Malaysia, with the Italian claiming an incredible victory after looking unstoppable on Sunday. Vietti was successful with a time of 1.486 seconds, crossing the finish line in first position ahead of Jorge Navarro (OnlyFans American Racing Team), who capped an incredible weekend by continuing to impress in place of the injured Joe Roberts. Navarro took second place, crossing the line ahead of Izan Guevara, who would later take the podium for the CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team, taking advantage of teammate Jake Dixon on the final lap.

As the lights went down, Ramirez made an incredible start, taking the lead heading into the first turn. However, Vietti then made a key move, snatching the lead into the first turn with OnlyFans American Racing Team’s Marcos Ramirez and Navarro in hot pursuit. Ai Ogura (MT Helmet – MSI) also started working hard at the start, jumping into second place and pushing Ramirez down to third.

Ramirez didn’t wait long to respond, dueling Ogura before making his move at the end of the first round. Meanwhile, Vietti put the hammer down, extending his lead to more than one second in a stunning performance. It was Vietti’s incredible pace, a rhythm that pushed the Italian to the limit, making a decisive mistake in the first corner.

Vietti’s power was now diminished, with Ramirez glued to his rear wheel as Ogura and Navarro began to duel. Navarro made his move on lap 7, relegating Ogura to third as he sought his first podium finish since 2022. The #9 attack didn’t stop there, slipping past Ramirez on lap 9 and soon targeting leader Vietti.

The battle for the final podium spot continued with Ogura responding on lap 10 to take third place. However, the #79 was stopped and retired on lap 11, to the disappointment of the MT Helmets – MSI team. As a result, Ramirez had to fight Jake Dixon and Guevara of the CFMOTO RCB Aspar team, to the delight of the Malaysian crowd.

Once Dixon moved into third, the #96 began to increase his lead over Ramirez to half a second, closing in on the leaders. Meanwhile, Navarro lost ground to Vietti at the front as the number 13 regained his composure and extended his lead to one second.

A little later, Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) continued his recovery from 13th on the grid to work his way up to ninth in a great race. Cane soon fought his way through Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini Moto2) to take eighth place and set his sights on Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in seventh.

No one could match Vietti’s relentless pace in the final lap, allowing the Italian to take his third win of the season after beating Navarro in the Malaysian event. It was a stunning ride for the #9, finishing second while Guevara took the final spot on the podium after Dixon slowed early in the final lap.

Dixon held onto fourth place on the final lap, fighting off Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), with the Italian completing the top five on Sunday. Meanwhile, Ramirez took sixth place, having failed to stay in the top five in the closing laps. The No. 24 showed incredible speed in the early stages to cross the line and beat Oncu, who had a comfortable lead over Cane.

Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) rounded out the top ten, while Gonzalez dropped to 11th place. The Spaniard held off teammate Albert Arenas (Gresini Moto2) with Alonso Lopez (Sync SpeedUp), Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) and Elf Marc VDS Racing’s Filip Salak securing the final points on race day.

Stay tuned to motogp.com for the latest information on the season finale.

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