But in the end, Malaysia was a talisman for the Italian, who leaves the Sepang circuit with a 14-point advantage with 74 points remaining to conclude the Championship. Sunday's race was very calm, without major surprises, with an impressive Bastianini who did not want surprises and took risks from the beginning with the clear goal of winning. 

The Italian did not relent; only an inspired Alex Marquez from Saturday, where he performed even better than the title contenders, shadowed him and fought for the victory. Behind them, in a very different battle, were the two favourites, Bagnaia and Martin. However, the pace of the former was faster than that of the Spanish rider, who gradually lost ground in each lap, missing a magnificent opportunity to complicate Bagnaia's championship.

Martín started very strong in Sepang; in fact, he even took the lead, but in the first corner, he overshot and ended up placing himself out of reach of the best and had to once again race against the odds. He climbed as much as he could, finishing in fourth place, but always with a couple of speeds less than the impressive Bastianini, the conservative and effective Bagnaia, and an Alex Marquez, who, after being the best in the Saturday sprint, took to the track eager to repeat the feat and only managed to get on the podium, which is not bad. 

For several laps, the two title contenders, Bagnaia and Martín, engaged in a duel, with the Spanish rider trying to surpass and overtake his rival. However, every time he could do so, he went wide on the curve and could not intimidate him as much as necessary. The laps passed, and the possibility faded away, while Bagnaia knew how to manage his lead and closely watched Bastianini and Marquez, the two intruders in the title fight. The last laps were almost a carbon copy; Marquez held on to Bastianini's pace, and Bagnaia became cautious since Martín only asked for time. 

The Spaniard finished the race in fourth, almost seven seconds behind. Ennea Bastianini took the victory in Sepang, with Bagnaia turning into a calculator. The Malaysian audience could enjoy the aggression of the Spanish rider, who, despite not having his best day, fought for victory and points against the current world champion and favourite to repeat after increasing the gap by another fourteen points in the standings. There are still the appointments in Doha and the final one on November 26th in Valencia. Two crucial days given the apparent equality between the two contenders. 

Martín comes out a bit more wounded from Malaysia, as after the last stretch of the championship where the Spanish rider showed more strength and made Bagnaia doubt, the Sepang circuit has diminished his confidence. It may even have hurt his pride that Bastianini, the one Ducati bet on before the Spaniard and gave the official bike, took the partial victory. That personal detail may have affected Martin, although his aspirations and his claim throughout the year speak for themselves and have allowed him to assert himself.