Team) from Fernandez and the
ever-improving Manuel Gonzalez
(Yamaha VR46 Master Camp
Team).
Cameron Beaubier's penulti-
mate race of his Grand Prix career
netted seventh place on the Amer-
ican Racing Kalex. Teammate
Sean Dylan Kelly came home
18th, while Joe Roberts (Italtrans
Kalex) failed to finish.
MOTO3
In his penultimate Moto3 World
Championship race, John
McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna
Max) produced a phenomenal
ride to come from 22nd on the
grid to first in Malaysia to claim his
ROUND 19 / OCTOBER 21-23, 2022
SEPANG INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / SEPANG, MALAYSIA
P72
MOTOGP I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
DUCATI'S TEAM
ORDERS
Ducati bosses were faced with an
almighty dilemma on Sunday. At
one point Marco Bezzecchi was on
course to pass Fabio Quartararo
for third, meaning if Francesco
Bagnaia won, he'd seal the crown.
The only thing was Enea Bastianini
was in no mood to give his com-
patriot space. Tense discussions
between Sporting Director Paolo
Ciabatti, Team Manager Davide
Tardozzi and General Manager
Gigi Dall'Igna took place mid-
race, where Ciabatti later revealed
they established Bastianini would
be asked to back off if Bezzec-
chi gained third. As Quartararo
held onto the place, these orders
weren't given. Nevertheless,
reports that Ciabatti entered into a
heated argument with Bastianini's
personal manager Carlo Pernat
soon after the race circled on
Sunday night, with factory bosses
dismayed at the rider's approach.
For his part, Bastianini insisted he
was pushing to overtake Bagnaia
on the final lap, but only if he could
do so cleanly. Asked if he fully
intended to win on the final lap
and put his own interests ahead
of Ducati's, he smiled: "Yes. You
know me."
Briefly...
Marc Marquez (93) admitted the
heat of Malaysia would make for the
toughest race of his comeback and
he soldiered on to seventh place.
