Although Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) finished down in 12th place in Australia, he arrives at Sepang with a great chance of clinching his second Moto2™ title. Zarco now leads closest challenger Tom Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) by 22 points, with Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP40) a further three points adrift.
If Zarco takes the crown in 2016, it will be the first time that a rider has defended the title since the introduction of Moto2™ in 2010. He would also be the first rider to win back-to--back intermediate class Championships since Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) in 2006-2007, and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) in 2004-2005.
To win the title at Sepang the Frenchman needs to have a 25 point lead on completion of the race. Zarco will take the world championship if he...
...wins the race
...is 2nd or 3rd and in front of both Luthi and Rins
...is 4th and Luthi is 6th or worse and Rins is not on the podium
...finishes in the positions 5th to 13th then he needs to finish at least three places ahead of Luthi, and one ahead of Rins
...finishes lower than 13th in the Malaysian Grand Prix then the title chase will go to the final race of the year in Valencia