MotoGP: Live coverage of the Malaysian Grand Prix, Round 17 of the world championship

DANI Pedrosa has won a controversial Malaysian MotoGP, but the full focus is on the incident between Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez.

Repsol Honda Team's Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa (C) celebrates with second placed Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo (L) and third placed Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Italian rider Valentino Rossi (R) on the podium after winning the Malaysian Grand Prix MotoGP motorcycling race at the Sepang International Circuit on October 25, 2015. AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN

DANI Pedrosa put in one of the greatest rides of his MotoGP career to utterly dominate the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

Unfortunately for the Spaniard, his ride will only garner a minimal amount of attention, thanks to the events of the battle for third behind him.

On Lap 6, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez’s fearsome scrap turned ugly.

SANCTION: Rossi penalised for his clash with Marquez

RESULTS: Click here for provisional results from the Malaysian GP

VIDEO: Rossi and Marquez collide during the Malaysian GP

WHAT ROSSI SAID: ‘Marquez was playing dirty games; I didn’t kick him’

WHAT MARQUEZ SAID: ‘It’s no racing incident; he push me with his leg’

The pair had been squabbling frenetically for several laps, all the while Jorge Lorenzo was escaping up the road in second place.

The chopped, jostled and leaned on each other, until Rossi ran wide entering Turn 14 with Marquez on his outside.

The net result was that Marquez crashed while Rossi rode away.

It will live in memory as one of the greatest battles ever to happen in a MotoGP race, tainted by ending with one most controversial incidents in the sport’s history.

Pedrosa, after 20 scintillating laps that establish him firmly as a genuine threat among the sport’s elite, beat Lorenzo to the line by 3.6 seconds with a subdued Rossi a further 10 seconds back.

When it came time to spray champagne on the podium, Lorenzo immediately headed for the exit after being booed by the pro-Rossi crowd. Pedrosa looked overjoyed, while Rossi looked decidedly less than joyful.

His points lead has been trimmed to seven - assuming he gets to keep his third placing.

Race direction, led by Mike Webb, will determine what penalty - if any - should be dished out to either Rossi or Marquez.

Almost 10 seconds behind the drama, Bradley Smith turned in another superb ride to fourth place, with Cal Crutchlow rounding out the top five.

Andrea Iannone retired early with a mechanical failure, while his Ducati teammate Andrea Dovizioso crashed out.

Australia’s Jack Miller came home in 19th, but the focus will be on the man who finished third and the man who didn’t finish at all.

It’s going to be a very long two weeks to the championship finale at Valencia.

Originally published as MotoGP: Live coverage of the Malaysian Grand Prix, Round 17 of the world championship