Celestino Vietti clinched a hard-fought win at the Malaysian Grand Prix, his third of the season, fending off intense pressure from stand-in rider Jorge Navarro. Vietti launched his Red Bull KTM Ajo machine perfectly off the line from P3, seizing an early lead.
His pace was clear as he built a one-second gap, but drama struck on lap six when a front-end fold briefly forced him off the lead. American Racing’s Marcos Ramirez took advantage, though Vietti quickly regained control.
Navarro, subbing in for Joe Roberts, soon emerged as Vietti’s primary challenger. Pushing his American Racing Kalex, Navarro closed the gap to Vietti, but a slight move from Vietti into the corner disrupted Navarro’s momentum, giving the Italian the breathing space he needed. Vietti then pulled clear, crossing the line 1.486 seconds ahead, dedicating the victory to Valencia.
The final podium spot saw late drama as Aspar’s Izan Guevara capitalized on a miscalculation by teammate Jake Dixon, who initially ran third but misjudged the race’s end, allowing Guevara to score his first podium since 2022.
Dixon recovered to finish fourth, just ahead of Marc VDS’s Tony Arbolino in fifth. Ramirez, who had an early lead fight, dropped to sixth after tire wear caught up to him. Deniz Oncu topped the rookies in seventh for Red Bull KTM Ajo, ahead of Aron Canet, who held off Manuel Gonzalez and Diogo Moreira for eighth.
Idemitsu Honda’s Somkiat Chantra recovered from 15th to secure ninth, with rookie Moreira rounding out the top ten. Gonzalez and teammate Albert Arenas finished 11th and 12th, with Alonso in 13th for Speed Up.
