Sepang, Oct 13 (IANS): Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa won the Malaysian MotoGP at the Sepang International Circuit here Sunday, claiming his third victory of the season.

Pedrosa's victory came as his first for almost five months. He narrowly missed out on taking the lead as Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo swept through at the start, but soon came to the top at the end of the first lap. Pedrosa extended his advantage throughout the race to pick up a second successive victory in Malaysia, reports Xinhua.

Pedrosa's teammate Marc Marquez, who started in pole, completed one-two at the podium for his Repsol Honda Team after a nail-biting battle with Lorenzo.

With three races remaining, the results in Malaysia means all three of the rostrum finishers retain mathematical possibilities of clinching the World Championship as Marquez in the lead with 298 points, followed by Lorenzo (255) and Perdosa (244).

Marquez is the only rider who could claim the title in Australia next weekend as the 20-year-old will have the chance to become the first rookie premier class title winner in 35 years.