Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Pedro Acosta has his second chance of wrapping up the Moto2™ World Championship this weekend at Sepang, knowing a finish inside the top four will be enough even if title rival Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) was to take victory.
The Spaniard currently sits 63 points clear of Arbolino with only 50 remaining at the conclusion of this weekend, so the onus is most definitely on the Italian to keep the title fight going to Qatar.
If Acosta doesn’t finish inside the top four, then the maths is simple for Arbolino: he has to finish on the podium for there to be a chance of the title race continuing. If the Italian isn’t on the podium, Acosta is crowned Champion.
If he finishes second, then Acosta needs to be inside the top nine to stop it from going on to Qatar, and if he finishes third, then Acosta needs to be inside the top 13 to clinch the crown.
The odds are most definitely in the favour of the 19-year-old wunderkind to wrap up his second World Championship in only his third year in the Grand Prix paddock at this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, with the 17-lap race getting underway at 12:15 local time (GMT+8).