Johann Zarco says he was happy to give Francesco Bagnaia a helping hand in the MotoGP title race rather than push for a Thailand Grand Prix victory on Sunday.

Miguel Oliveira secured his second win of the season on a wet day in Buriram following a delayed start due to heavy rain, with Bagnaia third behind Jack Miller.

Zarco moved up to fourth as he thrived in drier conditions late in the race, but the Pramac Racing rider resisted the temptation to push for victory at the risk of damaging Bagnaia's title hopes.

With Fabio Quartararo only able to finish 17th, Ducati's Bagnaia reduced the defending champion's lead in the standings to only two points with three races to go.

Zarco said: "I was waiting for it to get drier, but it came a bit too late. The amount of water at the beginning of the race was difficult for me.

"The others had a bit more pace and I could not attack too much, I was sliding, so I've lost positions.

"Then it took time to get dry, if it could get dry a bit earlier I would have taken the advantage much earlier and could think about the victory.

"Four laps from the end I was there and two laps from the end almost fighting for the podium, but also hesitating a bit with Pecco as he is doing a great championship.

"I didn't want to make a mistake in the Ducati group. I was really hoping for victory today in these conditions, but I stayed fourth and it's good enough for me."

He added: "It's kind of being clever in the championship. I have lost too many points many races ago.

"I need to race to try to catch a victory, but I have nothing to fight for [in the championship battle], so that's why.

"We are a big group at Ducati, I think if we can sometimes give help in some way, I'm pretty glad the race has been like that."

Aleix Espargaro finished back in 11th and is 20 points adrift of Quartararo, while rookie Marco Bezzecchi crossed the line in 16th after starting on pole for the first time.

Fabio Quartararo endured a Thailand Grand Prix nightmare as Miguel Oliveira secured his second victory of the season on a wet Sunday in Buriram.

Quartararo's lead over Francesco Bagnaia in the battle for the MotoGP title is down to only two points with three races to go after the reigning champion could only finish 17th.

Bagnaia had been 18 points adrift of the championship leader after crashing out on the final lap in Japan last weekend, but reduced the deficit by taking third place at the Chang International Circuit, where Aleix Espargaro finished back in 11th

Oliveira secured a brilliant win after starting back in 11th, with Jack Miller second and Bagnaia holding on for the final podium spot under pressure from Johann Zarco and Marc Marquez.

Rookie Marco Bezzecchi retained his lead following a delayed start due to heavy rain, but had to drop into second behind Miller as punishment for exceeding track limits at Turn 1.

Quartararo plummeted from fourth to 17th on the opening lap, with title rival Bagnaia briefly in second before Miller passed him.

Espargaro made contact with Brad Binder early in another exhilarating race, with Luca Marini sliding off into the gravel and Oliveira moving into second spot as the track dried out.

Marquez surged into fourth place as Quartararo continued to struggle, while Espargaro's title hopes suffered another blow when he was given a long-lap penalty for his clash with Binder.

Oliveira powered past Miller to take the lead 11 laps from the finish and there was no catching the Red Bull KTM rider, as he won for the first time since the second round of the season in Indonesia.

TOP 10

1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) 41:44.503
2. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.703
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +1.968
4. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +2.490
5. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +2.958
6. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) +13.257
7. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +14.566
8. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) +14.861
9. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +15.365
10. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +18.097

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 219
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 217
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) 199
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) 180
5. Jack Miller (Ducati) 179

Teams

1. Ducati 398
2. Aprilia Racing 321
3. Red Bull KTM 285
4. Pramac Racing 278
5. Monster Energy Yamaha 250

Miguel Oliveira described his victory in Indonesia as an emotional rollercoaster as the Red Bull KTM rider triumphed in tricky conditions.

Oliveira finished more than two seconds clear of world champion Fabio Quartararo in a curtailed race at the Mandalika International Street Circuit, which started over an hour late due to torrential rain.

Quartararo qualified in pole position but was passed by Oliveira and Jack Miller, who held the early lead before the Portuguese made the most of superior pace.

The 27-year-old then navigated the wet track superbly to claim a fourth race win in MotoGP and back up his claims in the build-up that he can compete for the title.

"Emotionally, it was a rollercoaster," he said in parc ferme. "The start was perfect and in wet conditions, it is so difficult to find the limit.

"I followed Jack and knew I could be faster. I opened [a gap] and then it was a matter of managing it to the end.

"It hasn't been easy, the last few months haven't been easy for me. I promised my daughter I'd get a trophy in Indonesia – this one's for you.

"Let's go to Argentina, let's see what we can do, but now I'm really happy to be here."

Quartararo dropped to fifth before a supreme ride in the second half of the race saw him end a run of four consecutive non-podium finishes.

The Monster Energy Yamaha star felt the points could prove valuable come the business end of the season.

"I didn't expect it," he said. "Honestly, since the warm-up, I felt that we had something more than usual because we know that with wet conditions we always have more difficulties.

"When it's completely wet and with traction, I know my potential, but today I was better than I expected. I saw an opportunity and took it.

"These are super important points. It was my first podium with a full wet floor."

Fabio Quartararo was left baffled as to why his leather race suit split open as he slipped from pole position to a fourth-place finish at the Catalan Grand Prix.

MotoGP championship leader Quartararo was aiming to seal back-to-back wins in Barcelona following his triumph on the circuit in 2020, but the Monster Energy Yahama driver slipped up early on and failed to finish on the podium.

Miguel Oliveira got Red Bull KTM's first win of the season, and the third race victory of his career, with Johann Zarco and Jack Miller completing the top three.

Quartararo was second until the final three laps, when Zarco made a daring overtake and caught the Frenchman out.

To complicate matters, Quartararo's suit had opened, with the 22-year-old's chest protector also slipping out.

He cut two corners as he battled with Miller for third, and was handed a three second penalty which cost him a third straight podium position at the Catalan Grand Prix.

"What happened I don’t know, I just know that I had the leathers completely open," he explained to reporters.

"I tried to just put it in a normal position again, I couldn't do it. So was difficult to ride, but unfortunately, it happens.

"It happened today, so Alpinestars is looking at how it's possible because at the end of the race it was possible to close it again.

"But it's like this, it was not our day but I can be happy with this fourth position… well, third, but finishing fourth."

Former MotoGP champion Casey Stoner tweeted his thoughts on the incident, insisting Quartararo should have been disqualified from the race.

"Well, I think I already have a penalty that I don't agree [with], demoted three seconds from P3 to P4," Quartararo said when Stoner's comments were put to him.

"I think this penalty is quite enough. It's finished, the race is finished, everything is safe.

"So, I think right now it's not enough to talk anymore because the race is finished. I think there's no point to talk anymore about these possible things."

It was a race which belonged to Oliveira, with the Portuguese rider holding the lead for 23 laps.

"The most difficult thing about the race was the mental ability to stay calm, it was so easy to be aggressive or to just override the tires at the beginning," he said in a news conference.

"I felt like that was the key, stay calm and the race will come to me."

Elsewhere in a frantic race, six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez crashed out on Turn 10, which also claimed Valentino Rossi and Aleix Espargaro.

Marquez has now failed to finish the last three races, a career first for the 28-year-old.

Marc Marquez did not finish a MotoGP race for the third straight time, a career first, as Miguel Oliveira triumphed at the Catalan Grand Prix.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marquez has not had the best of luck since returning from an injury that kept him out for the majority of 2020 and, after crashing in the Italian Grand Prix last week, the Spaniard suffered a similar fate on Sunday.

Marquez, aiming for a fifth consecutive podium finish in his home grand prix, spun out of control at turn 10, shortly after Danilo Petrucci and Pol Espargaro had crashed out, with Aleix Espargaro soon joining his younger sibling.

Aleix Espargaro, sixth at the time, fell foul of the same corner that did for Marquez, who desperately tried to right his bike but was swiftly ushered away by track emergency staff as he followed up retirements in France and Italy.

Turn 10 subsequently claimed another big name, Valentino Rossi, who managed his best finish of the season at the Italian Grand Prix (10th) but ended up skidding off the track here.

Yet up ahead, it was a demonstration of complete control from Oliveira (Red Bull KTM), who led for 23 laps in total after capitalising on a mistake from early front-runner Jack Miller.

The Australian had himself pounced on an error by championship leader Fabio Quartararo, who had claimed his fifth consecutive pole and was aiming for a career-first fourth win of a single season.

Yet despite fighting back to close the gap on Oliveira, Quartararo could not win in Barcelona as he did in 2020, and ultimately had to settle for fourth place, missing out on a third straight podium finish at the circuit.

Johann Zarco's daring overtake with three laps to go did the initial damage for Quartararo, who lost part of his protective leathers as he attempted to hold off Miller's challenge for third, but the Monster Energy Yamaha driver was handed a three second penalty.

It is Miller's first appearance on the Barcelona podium in seven attempts in MotoGP, while Zarco has surpassed his previous best tally of three top-three finishes in a single season.

Yet the day belonged to Oliveira, the Portuguese rider holding steady to clinch a third MotoGP race win.

TOP 10
1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM)
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.175
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) +1.990s
4. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +4.815s
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +5.325s
6. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) +6.281s
7. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +8.175s
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +8.378s
9. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) +15.652s
10. Enea Bastianini (Reale Avintia Racing) +19.297s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 118
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 101
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) 90
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 88
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 76

Teams
1. Monster Energy Yamaha 192
2. Ducati 178
3. Pramac Racing 124
4. Suzuki Ecstar 99
5. Red Bull KTM 97

What's next?

The MotoGP schedule takes in Germany, with Chemnitz's Sachsenring hosting the German Grand Prix in two weeks' time.