MotoGP 2016: Dovizioso becomes ninth different winner at Malaysian Grand Prix

Andrea Dovizioso takes his first win since 2009, also becomes the 9th different winner of the 2016 MotoGP season. 

Andrea Dovizioso became the ninth different winner of the 2016 season as the Italian took his first victory astride the factory Ducati. Today’s win also marks Dovizioso’s second premier class victory after 2009. Joining Dovizioso for the post-race celebrations on the rostrum were Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo in 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively.

The weather in Sepang played a key role in deciding the winner since it was a wet and quite wild race. Although Dovizioso started from pole, he was quickly overtaken by Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and Rossi in the opening laps. Teammate Andrea Iannone also made a quick move on Dovizioso at the start. Iannone managed to fend off the top favourites as he led the race for a good chunk of time. Rossi and Iannone kept tussling for the lead while Dovizioso didn’t let the duo run out of his sight. Behind the trio were Marquez, last race winner Cal Crutchlow and Lorenzo. While Crutchlow gave Marquez some tough time, Lorenzo slipped back further as he yet again suffered from grip issues in the wet.

However, within a few laps there were a few crashes with Crutchlow (running in 5^th that time) being the first one to go down from the leading pack. Marquez followed suit almost immediately as he too crashed out of 4^th position – although Marquez was able to rejoin. Rossi, meanwhile, took the lead from Iannone while Dovizioso also lost no time to move ahead of his teammate. Iannone tried to keep up with his compatriots but crashed out, allowing Lorenzo to move up to 3^rd,

At the front, it was a two-way battle, but against all odds, it was Dovizioso who came out on top. Rossi tried to keep Dovizioso at bay but wasn’t able to match the pace of the Ducati in the wet. This forced Rossi into making a mistake, thereby, giving Dovizioso enough room to pass by and pull a comfortable lead. While Rossi failed to win the race, he still managed to take the 2^nd spot in the championship by finishing ahead of Lorenzo.

Avintia Racing had a dream run today with its riders - Hector Barbera and Loris Baz - taking 4^th and 5^th in the race. Suzuki's Maverick Vinales finished 6^th while Aprilia managed to finish within top ten yet again with Alvaro Bautista taking 7^th spot. Jack Miller took 8^th ahead of Pol Espargaro (9^th) and Danilo Petrucci (10^th).

The season finale will take place in Valencia in two weeks' time on Novemeber 13.