Marc Marquez dominates Sepang: The world title could be decided in Qatar

• Marc Marquez wins in Sepang 4.172 seconds ahead of Pedro Acosta and Alex Marquez, his 80th victory in MotoGP
• In the championship he now leads by 44 points over Jorge Martin and 67 points over Marco Bezzecchi
• Alex Marquez will undergo shoulder surgery on Monday and will miss Qatar

Heat, a slippery surface and tyres that fade after just a few laps: the Malaysian Grand Prix was above all a race of patience. And that is exactly where Marc Marquez was ahead of everyone else on Sunday. The Spaniard took the lead at the very first corner, never gave it up and crossed the line more than four seconds clear. In the title fight of the 2026 MotoGP season, the decision is now much closer. His closest rival Jorge Martin was absent through injury, and Marco Bezzecchi lost two places in the closing stages, of all times, after a collision with the only other Aprilia rider in the field and a mistake of his own.

How did Marc Marquez win the Malaysian Grand Prix?

Marc Marquez won from start to finish, setting the pace himself from the front and looking after his tyres. He started second on the front row and moved past his brother Alex, who had started from pole position, under braking into the first corner.

Still on the opening lap, Alex struck back on the inside going uphill towards Turn 4. With a full tank, however, he braked too late, ran wide off the racing line and Marc was immediately back in front. After that, there was no further change at the front.

The fact that Marquez rode noticeably slowly in the early laps was intentional. With track temperatures above 50 degrees, all 20 riders had opted for the soft Michelin compound front and rear. On Sepang’s rough surface, which offers little grip, it was clear that the rear tyre would be the decisive factor. Marquez explained after the race that the first three laps had been the most important for him in order to save the tyre. Alex, behind him, had used up a lot of rubber because he had to defend against the chasing pack.

After this cautious opening phase, Marquez gradually increased the pace and was usually the fastest man on track. By half distance his cushion was already almost two seconds, and at the finish it was 4.172 seconds. On the straights, according to his own account, he used the rear ride-height device from the very first lap, the system that lowers the rear of the bike and thus reduces drag and load. But that only works if you are at the front, he said.

Speaking after the race, Marquez himself drew a comparison that says a lot about this weekend: “This weekend I take Alex Marquez skills in Malaysia because I was riding exactly like he ride last year when he won.” Alex had won the 2025 Grand Prix in Sepang.

Why could nobody threaten Marc Marquez?

Behind Marquez, the chasers held each other up for a long time, while he was able to ride his own rhythm undisturbed at the front. Pedro Acosta in particular was stuck behind Alex Marquez for almost half the race.

The KTM braked late and hard, but Alex’s Gresini Ducati was faster on the straights. Acosta tried several times to get into the slipstream out of the last corner and out of Turn 14, but Alex fended him off under braking into Turn 1 and Turn 15 every time. It finally worked on lap 10: Acosta went up the inside at the tight left-hander of Turn 9, braking from a long way back.

After the race, Acosta described this spot as the only place where an overtake was possible at all. He said he had deliberately held back a little behind Alex to save his tyres and attacked from half distance. As soon as he was past, he pulled away from Alex and even gained time on Marc on individual laps. It was still not enough for victory. Marquez responded with faster lap times and extended the gap again. “Marc was unbeatable today”, said Acosta.

For the KTM rider it was still a strong weekend. On Saturday he had won the sprint, and on Sunday he took his seventh Grand Prix podium of the season. This is all the more remarkable because no other KTM rider was able to fight for the podium in Sepang. Acosta said he wanted to give everything on this bike until the very last day. In 2027 he moves to the Ducati factory team and will become Marc Marquez’s teammate.

Alex Marquez brought third place home. After crashing out of the lead in Saturday’s sprint, the main thing for him was to finish and score points. He thanked his mechanics, who had rebuilt the badly damaged bike overnight. “It was the maximum today”, he said. It was his first podium since Misano.

What happened between Ogura and Bezzecchi?

Ai Ogura and Marco Bezzecchi, the only two Aprilia riders in the race, made heavy contact on lap 18, after which Ogura was through. For Bezzecchi, who needed every point in the title fight, it was a heavy blow.

Bezzecchi had made a good start from fifth on the grid and spent a long time in fourth place behind Alex Marquez. However, he was unable to mount a serious attack on the Gresini rider. He tried once at Turn 14, and Alex countered immediately. In the final third, Bezzecchi was too slow, and Ogura was closing in from behind.

The Japanese rider first tried at Turn 9, but slid sideways under braking on the rough surface and had to release the brake. On lap 18 he attacked again at Turn 1. The two Aprilias banged together side by side, and Ogura lost an aero part from the left fairing. At Turn 3 he finally made the pass stick. The scene looked dangerous. Had Bezzecchi crashed, the title fight would practically have been over for him.

It got even worse. On the final lap, Bezzecchi ran off the track at Turn 14 and rolled across the asphalt run-off area. Enea Bastianini on the Tech3 KTM took advantage and claimed fifth place. Bezzecchi was left with sixth. Sepang therefore remains a difficult track for Aprilia: Bezzecchi has never stood on the podium here in any class, and Aprilia is also still waiting for a MotoGP podium in Malaysia.

The fact that only two Aprilias were on the grid was due to injuries in the team. Jorge Martin had broken his right radius in a crash during the sprint at Phillip Island. He still tried to ride in Sepang, but withdrew after the second free practice session and flew back to Spain to prepare for Qatar. He himself considers his title chances to be gone. Raul Fernandez also withdrew due to ongoing problems with his finger injury.

How did the race go for the other riders?

At the 2026 MotoGP Malaysia round, Luca Marini took seventh place on his return, while Pecco Bagnaia had a weak race in 13th. Four riders did not finish.

Marini had missed the Grand Prix at Phillip Island because of a virus. In Sepang he worked his way forward from 13th on the grid on the very first lap and in the end prevailed in a duel with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who finished eighth. Brad Binder came home ninth, and Franco Morbidelli completed the top ten. The two Yamaha factory riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins followed in eleventh and twelfth.

Bagnaia found no rhythm on his factory Ducati and at times even dropped out of the points. In the end he finished 13th ahead of Maverick Vinales and Iker Lecuona. Jack Miller went away empty-handed in 16th.

At Honda, the race ended early for three riders. Joan Mir, who made his comeback in Sepang after a long break, pulled into the pits after nine laps and parked his bike. For the LCR team it was a complete failure: rookie Diogo Moreira crashed at the final corner on lap 13, and Johann Zarco was running seventh when a technical problem stopped him four laps from the end. Augusto Fernandez, who is standing in for the injured Toprak Razgatlioglu on the Pramac Yamaha, had already crashed on lap 2.

On the podium, Marc Marquez, Acosta and Alex Marquez skipped the usual champagne shower. With this, the all-Spanish podium wanted to remember the victims of last week’s serious train accident near Toledo. A black ribbon of mourning could be seen on the Spanish flag.

What does Marc Marquez need in Qatar to win the title?

Marc Marquez will be world champion in Qatar if he scores at least 30 points more than Jorge Martin and at least eight points more than Marco Bezzecchi this weekend. Up to 37 points are available from the sprint and the Grand Prix combined.

After Sepang, Marquez has 399 points. Martin follows with 355, Bezzecchi with 332, and Acosta is fourth with 295 points. The weekend in Malaysia brought Marquez 34 points in total, as he had finished second behind Acosta in the sprint. After Qatar, only the races in Portimão and Valencia remain on the calendar.

If Marquez wins the title, it would be his eighth in the premier class and his tenth world title overall. What is particularly remarkable is the road to get there. After the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, he was 102 points behind Bezzecchi and wrote off the title himself at the time. He had injured his right foot at Le Mans and needed shoulder surgery. This season he has stood on a Grand Prix podium seven times, each time on the top step. Sepang was his seventh win of the season and his 80th in MotoGP, leaving him nine wins short of Valentino Rossi’s record.

The situation has also turned among the manufacturers. Ducati took the lead in the constructors’ championship in Sepang and is now eight points ahead of Aprilia. In the team standings, however, Aprilia Racing still has a big lead of 115 points over the Ducati factory team.

Marquez still does not consider the championship decided. “Not many races to go, but many moments to go”, he repeated several times. He wants to stay focused, because Qatar and Portimão are tracks where Bezzecchi is usually very fast. The race in Qatar itself is controversial between riders and organisers because of the situation in the Gulf region, but MotoGP is sticking to the date.

What has Marc Marquez changed in the second half of the season?

Marquez himself does not speak of rehab but of adaptation: he rides differently than last year and, by his own account, has learned to control his instinct.

“It was a great adaptation. I will not say rehabilitation. I will say adaptation this second part of the season, and I’m able to control my instinct. That was my weak point during all my career.”

In the press conference he revealed a curious detail: this year he feels better in right-hand corners than in left-handers, and he does not know why himself. He also sees the reason for his win in Sepang in his approach. Because Martin was absent, he rode in attack mode from the first free practice session. That helps with the setup, and the competition immediately sees who is at the front. Physically, despite the heat, the race was not so much a question of muscles. Because heat and tyre wear demand a lot of feel on the throttle, it is mainly the heart rate that goes up.

After the race, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi praised how cleverly Marquez had ridden from the start and how perfectly he had managed the rear tyre.

Why is Alex Marquez missing the Qatar Grand Prix?

Alex Marquez will undergo surgery on his right shoulder in Madrid on Monday and will therefore skip the Qatar Grand Prix. He plans to return in Portimão.

The problems go back to his heavy crash at the Catalan Grand Prix in May, in which he broke his collarbone. Since his comeback he has ridden every race on painkillers, and recently even those were no longer enough. Three race weekends in a row are impossible for him, the Gresini rider said in the post-race press conference.

During the procedure, the plate will be removed from his collarbone. According to him, however, the bigger problem is the inflammation in the shoulder, from which fluid is to be removed. He therefore speaks of two operations in one. At home he can currently hardly train, and he has practically no muscle left on the shoulder. With the break, he wants to get fit for the last two races in Portimão and Valencia. After that, a fresh start awaits him: in 2027 he will ride for KTM.

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