MotoGP Grand Prix of Malaysia 2019 Results: Vinales Beats Champion Marquez

Maverick Vinales beat 2019 MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez by three seconds at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday to deny the titleholder a sixth successive race victory.

Vinales, 24, clinched his only other first-placed finish of this season at the Dutch Grand Prix in June, and his victory ended a long drought for manufacturer Yamaha at Sepang International Circuit:

The winner dedicated the result to 20-year-old Afridza Munandar, a competitor in the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup who died on Saturday following a crash at Sepang, per BBC Sport:

Andrea Dovizioso completed the podium, finishing three-tenths of a second in front of Valentino Rossi in fourth, per the official MotoGP website.

The MotoGP title was decided in October after Marquez clinched victory at the Thailand Grand Prix, with Ducati's Dovizioso nailed on for second and Vinales in third.

Vinales injected some late energy into the battle for this season's bronze by winning on Sunday, leapfrogging Alex Rins, while the teams title race also remains close ahead of the Valencian Grand Prix:

A frantic start in Selangor saw the top riders jostle for position early on, and Vinales came out ahead of Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, who was on pole for the second time in four races.

Marquez, 26, started 11th on the grid and deserved huge credit for coming back into such close contention, maintaining his record of coming second or higher in every race he's finished this season. 

The six-time MotoGP world champion retired during the Grand Prix of the Americas in April, but the Spaniard otherwise holds a record of 11 wins and six runner-up finishes in 2019.

Despite losing to his compatriot, Marquez was full of post-race compliments for Vinales, who made the most of his early lead:

BT Sport highlighted his second-placed feat also clinched another piece of MotoGP history with one race to go this term:

Briton Cal Crutchlow only had six laps remaining when he crashed on Turn 15 and retired for a fifth time this season, a disappointing end after he came second at the Australian Grand Prix last time out.

Jack Miller—who clashed with Rins at one point—finished eighth after he appeared to lose a piece of his aero-brake late on, an underwhelming finish for the Australian after he came third in his home race.

Marquez has already won the major honour in MotoGP in 2019, but Vinales' performance en route to victory in Malaysia showed there's still plenty to fight for ahead of the season finale in Valencia, Spain, on Nov. 17.