John McPhee streaked to a first Moto3 win of 2022 from 22nd on the grid in Malaysia after pulling a daring move at Turn 14 on the final tour.
The MAX Racing rider made strong progress early on from towards the back of the field to break into the top ten before having to dig deep to catch the lead group of eight which had stretched clear of the rest, a feat the Scotsman was able to achieve as the race entered its final third.
From then on he managed to stick in the wheeltracks of the leaders though looked to just lack the final touch of speed needed to break onto the rostrum having began the last lap in fifth.
Long-time race leader Sergio Garcia began to battle with pole-man Dennis Foggia and Jaume Masia across the final half-lap though, and after the trio went three-wide at Turn 13 McPhee was able to get a run and dive down the inside of all three at Turn 14 – snatching the lead in the process.
He then judged the final corner to perfection and held the leadership exiting the final bend, allowing him to take the chequered flag to take his first victory in the class since the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano back in 2020 by just 0.048s ahead of team-mate Ayumu Sasaki.
Garcia was therefore forced to settle for the final spot on the podium on his GasGas machine, though with Foggia the big loser of the final lap scrap – the Leopard man dropping to sixth in the end – the Spaniard has now strengthened his grip on second in the riders championship to eight points heading into the final race of the year in Valencia.
Masia claimed fourth for the KTM Ajo outfit ahead of Diogo Moreira, the Brazilian rookie therefore scoring his best result of the year ahead of Foggia.
Daniel Holgado ended up a distant seventh on the sister Ajo entry ahead of the MT Helmet – MSI racing Honda of Ryusei Yamanaka, with Ivan Ortola and Deniz Oncu completing the top ten.
Freshly crowned series champion Izan Guevara looked odds on to fight for a fourth win in the last five races for much of the closing stanza, though a huge moment – which nearly saw him high-side after hitting the rear wheel of Sasaki exiting the final turn – relegated him well down the field to 12th.
Stefano Nepa meanwhile saw a potential strong run come to an end on the second lap after crashing from the top ten at Turn 9 on the second lap, the same bend then claiming David Munoz and Tatsuki Suzuki just a couple circulations later from good positions.
Ricardo Rossi had also looked good to fight for a podium result in the final laps, though a crash from Turn 1 after what looked like potential minor contact from Moreira ended his chances.
