Malaysian Moto3: Brave last lap brings victory for McPhee

John McPhee gave everything through the final corners to find his first grand prix win of the season in the penultimate race, the Moto3 Malaysian Grand Prix, round nineteen of the championship.

With issues galore this season, including his back injury which saw him miss five rounds all the way to bike issues with brake woes all weekend, John McPhee put himself in the shop window with a special last lap to take his first win since San Marino 2020.

The Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max rider was defeated after qualifying, where he could only manage 22nd .

The man from Oban saw a glimmer of hope in the race and along with Riccardo Rossi, pushed to rejoin the lead group after a strong start.

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With crashes splitting the group there were only six riders in contention by the final lap. Sergio Garcia lead over the line with Jaume Masia ahead heading into the final sector, but the #17, racing hard on his heavily worked on bike with team-mate Ayumu Sasaki, found the inside heading down to the final corner.

Up the inside at that corner again, his brave final move saw him in relief and disbelief as for the fourth time in his Moto3 career and very much against the odds, he became a race winner, emotional as God Save the King rang out over the Sepang circuit.

McPhee becomes only the second rider to win a Moto3 race on three different manufacturer's bikes (Peugeot, Honda and Husqvarna) with Romano Fenati going one better with victory on four different machines.

Sasaki held on for second, just 0.048s slower in a close finale. The Japanese rider set a new in-race lap record as he fought for the win. The #71 dedicated his podium finish, his ninth this season, to Dietrich Mateschitz, Red Bull founder, who had paid a huge part throughout his racing career. He was lucky to finish at all after contact with Izan Guevara early in the race.

The final rostrum spot went to Garcia on the Gaviota GasGas Aspar, shuffled back from first at the start of the highly competitive last lap.

 Masia held the lead even later on the lap but found himself fourth for Red Bull KTM Ajo at the chequered flag. The Spaniard had signalled his race-ready form after topping the damp warm-up session.

Diogo Moreira was a true novice of the track but the rookie held his own for fifth on the MT Helmets - MSI entry.

Dennis Foggia, who also did his share of time at the front of the race, with the lead changing hands regularly - especially in the final corner -was the last of the group in sixth on the Leopard. 

Daniel Holgado faded after being caught to finish seventh at the front of the chasing pack for Red Bull KTM Ajo.

Behind him was Ryusei Yamanaka on the second MT Helmets bike. He had attention from Ivan Ortola but kept the Angeluss MTA rider at bay in ninth.

Dennis Oncu (Red Bull KTM Tech3) made progress from his 21st grid slot to complete the top ten.

Xavier Artigas was eleventh for CFMoto Racing PruestelGP, ahead of newly crowned champion Guevara.

Race to forget for the new champion

Izan Guevara had the kind of race which will give relief that the title is already in the bag in Malaysia.

The GasGas rider got the best start off the line, but a small error saw him drop to the bottom of the top ten. He came through the pack to ride in the lead group again, but his time at the front was not to last.

Running into the back of Sasaki he was sent flat tracking across the grass and somehow managed to stay upright and in the race. Surviving the wet grass he rejoined just inside the top ten again but dropped back to twelfth over the line.

The remaining points on offer went to Elia Bartolini (QJMotor Avintia Racing Team) in 13th, Rivacold Snipers Andrea Migno, who survived contact on the first lap from Holgado for 14th and Adrian Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in 15th.

After his pitlane start with a five second wait added for needing a new engine, Joshua Whatley never really featured. His local wildcard VisionTrack team-mate Syarifuddin Azman was just out of the points in 16th.

Where does that leave the championship?

With the title decided the battle for second place becomes the focus for the final rounds.

Finishing ahead of Guevara sees Foggia move on to 233 points with Garcia on 241, holding second overall.

Moreira lead the rookie standings from Holgado and finished ahead of his rival in the race so holds the advantage after taking over at the last round.

Crashes and penalties

Taiyo Furusato was disqualified from the qualifying result, having been found to be under the bike and rider weight limit. He was dropped from 15th to 18th on the grid. He recovered for 15th but fell on the penultimate lap.

Stefano Nepa was the fist to fall, thrown from his bike and holding his ankle. He was swiftly followed out by Scott Ogden and David Munoz, who was in the lead group.

His turn nine fall was matched by Tatsuli Suzuki on the same lap.

Alberto Surra, Riccardo Rossi and Carlos Tatay all also failed to go the distance.