Andrea Dovizioso won a rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday to keep the MotoGP title race alive as Marc Marquez's coronation was delayed with a fourth place finish. Italian Dovizioso overtook team mate Jorge Lorenzo with four laps remaining to claim his sixth win of the campaign at Sepang circuit and give Ducati a 1-2 finish for the first time this year.
Johann Zarco grabbed third on his non-works Yamaha, nursing a soft rear tyre to the finish, frustrating Marquez's hopes of sealing his fourth MotoGP title with a race to spare.
Dovizioso's win is only likely to stall the championship leader's triumph for another two weeks as Honda-riding Marquez will take a 21-point lead over the Italian into the final race in Valencia. Reigning champion Marquez moved to 282 points and with 25 up for grabs in Spain, should wrap up the title if his bike stays on two wheels.
"It was a truly perfect weekend," Dovizioso told reporters after the race. "We were quick in every session, both in the dry and in the wet, and today in the rain we dominated."
The Italian, who also won in Sepang last year, was quick to praise his Ducati.
"Here at Sepang, Jorge and I really had a bike advantage because our Desmosedici was very fast, and we managed to administer the gap in the best possible way, even though track conditions were very difficult because there wasn't much grip."
Marquez remains hot favorite to lift his fourth premier class title, but MotoGP can and will brutally punish mistakes. With a 33-point lead reduced to 21 the Catalan is not taking anything for granted.
"We need to keep focused, to train well this week, and to work to be at 100% on Sunday in Valencia without relaxing too much with the advantage we have," he said after the race.
