Marc Marquez wins Malaysian GP as Jorge Martin sits out with wrist fracture
Marc Marquez won the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang on Sunday, BBC Sport reported, and he now holds a 44-point lead in the MotoGP world championship. His rival Jorge Martin did not race.
The win was by more than four seconds. Pedro Acosta finished second and Alex Marquez third. It was Marc Marquez's first victory in Malaysia since 2018, and his seventh win of the 2026 season, according to SuperSport. Points are awarded to the top finishers in each race, and he now has 399 in total.
Martin, the 2024 champion, missed the race with an injury. He had fractured a wrist in a crash at the Australian Grand Prix the week before. He tried to ride in the morning practice session on Sunday, but he could not take part in the race itself. Martin had already cut short Friday's practice, and the official MotoGP site recorded him completing 12 laps in the first practice session.
Marc Marquez rides for the Ducati Lenovo Team. He is the reigning champion and has now won the title seven times in his career. He started the weekend as the man to beat, and he was quick throughout. On Friday he set the fastest time in practice, edging his brother Alex by 0.109 seconds, though he had crashed at turn 15 earlier in the session.
Qualifying decides the starting grid, and it was Alex Marquez who took pole position, the fastest lap that gives a rider the front spot. He beat his brother by just 0.070 seconds, according to MotoGP's official report. Saturday's sprint, a shorter race held the day before the main event, went to Acosta. Marc Marquez finished second there and took a 19-point lead over Martin, as Reuters reported. That lead has since grown to 44 points.
The title could be settled soon. Marc Marquez needs to extend his lead to 74 points at the Qatar Grand Prix next week. If he does, he will be champion with two rounds still to run.
For fans, the Malaysian weekend was a story of pace and mishap. Marquez was fast on every session, and Martin's absence removed the rider most likely to challenge him. Next week's race in Qatar will show whether the gap can grow.
