Malaysian Moto3: Mahindra bag points with Pagliani

Pagliani qualified 20th on the grid for the penultimate race of the season, 2.1s behind polesitter and newly-crowned champion Joan Mir.

Mahindra would have been hoping for a third wet race in a row as their MGP30 bike had proven to be quick in damp conditions.

However, it remained bone dry during the entire duration of the 18-lap race, with dark clouds emerging only towards the end. As a result, chances of a topline result were narrow.

Pagliania, nevertheless, managed to make his way through the pack, jumping from 20th to 18th in the opening lap.

He then passed Marcos Ramirez and Nicola Bulega in quick succession, before Niccolò Antonelli’s retirement promoted him to the final points-paying position on lap 9.

For the second half of the race, he successfully managed to fend off pressure from behind, while also closing the gap in front to finish in 15th place.

It was the Italian’s second consecutive points result and third for Mahindra as a constructor.

“A tough race. The heat and temperature here in Sepang is brutal,” he said. “We had to work really hard for 15th, it’s a good reward for the team after an up and down weekend.

“A poor Qualifying meant we had to recover a lot and we were able to do this. It was quite a lonely race as the riders ahead made a gap quite quickly and I could just not close it down. Now we focus on Valencia, one last push!”

Meanwhile, Pagliani’s teammate and Japan podium finisher Marco Bezzecchi was the next highest Mahindra rider in 19th, while Jakub Kornfeil and Patrik Pulkkinen finished 21st and 23rd respectively on rebadged MGP30 bikes.

Maria Herrera, who subbed for an injured Albert Arenas, was classified 24th, while her Aspar teammate Lorenzo Dalla Porta was taken out by a rival rider on the penultimate lap of the race.

“We kept our points record alive, but we’re still a little disappointed,” Mahindra’s Moto3 chief Mufaddal Choonia said.

“We expected another top ten, because this has been a good track for us, after winning the race last year – and especially more so because the previous two flyaways were very encouraging. Now we look forward to going to Valencia.

“It will be a very emotional race for us – the last race before we mark ourselves absent from next year.”