Alex Marquez takes Malaysian Grand Prix pole at Sepang
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 31, 2026
Marquez pole
Marquez put himself in control of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend at Sepang, taking pole position for both the main race and the sprint with a 1 minute 56.493-second lap and edging Marc Marquez by 0.070 seconds. Pedro Acosta completed the front row, adding another rider to the sharp end of the grid. Ai Ogura and Marco Bezzecchi rounded out the qualifying top five.
The result gave Marquez the top starting spot after a day that moved from practice pace to full qualifying speed. He handled the pressure of a tight session and found the lap he needed when it mattered most. That final push mattered because Marc Marquez had already set the tone earlier in the day and looked capable of carrying that form through qualifying. The margin at the top stayed small, but Marquez found enough to separate himself at the finish.
Acosta’s run to the front row added another layer to the fight at the sharp end. He stayed close enough to the Marquez brothers to make the front row a real statement, and Ogura and Bezzecchi kept themselves in the conversation behind them. The qualifying order defined a compact lead group after qualifying. Sepang rewarded speed across the lap, and the top five showed it. Each rider had to manage the heat, the grip and the pressure of a session where a small error could have cost several grid spots. Marquez made the best of it and left qualifying with the first move for the weekend.
Marc Marquez pace
Marc Marquez laid the groundwork before qualifying, leading FP1 at Sepang with a 1:58.912 lap and standing alone as the only rider in the 1:58 range. Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta tied for second, 0.474 seconds back, while Enea Bastianini took fourth and Brad Binder finished fifth. That opening session showed how quickly the front-runners adapted to the track and how much pace was already available early in the day. Marc Marquez immediately put down a benchmark lap and forced the rest of the field to chase.
He kept that momentum into Friday practice, where he again went fastest with a 1:57.000 lap. Marquez finished second, 0.109 seconds behind his brother, and Ai Ogura claimed third. Acosta took fourth and Fabio Di Giannantonio finished fifth. That practice order confirmed the pace that had started in FP1 and showed that Marc Marquez remained a reference point for the session even as the gap narrowed. The Marquez brothers again sat at the top, and the closing gaps around them suggested a competitive qualifying.
Friday practice also sorted the riders who earned direct passage to Q2. Bezzecchi, Bastianini, Maverick Vinales, Franco Morbidelli and Joan Mir all secured those spots, a group that gave the next stage of qualifying a strong and varied lineup. Their results mattered because direct entry to Q2 kept a rider out of the earlier pressure and gave a cleaner shot at the front of the grid. Across the day, Marc Marquez set the pace in both sessions, Marquez stayed close and a tight group of challengers kept the times compressed enough to leave room for a late change in order. The rhythm of the day belonged to speed, precision and a narrow margin between the leading names.
Jorge Martin exit
Jorge Martin’s weekend took a sharp turn at Sepang. He returned to action six days after fracturing his wrist at Phillip Island, completed 12 laps in FP1 and finished 20th, then withdrew from the Sepang MotoGP weekend after the broken wrist. His brief return showed the extent of the challenge he faced as he tried to get back on track after the injury. He put in the laps, but the weekend did not continue for him.
Raul Fernandez also left the event after being declared unfit during FP1. He returned to Spain for treatment, removing another rider from the weekend picture before the field settled into its competitive rhythm. Those developments changed the shape of the session behind the front-runners and cut down the number of riders able to carry momentum into qualifying. Even with those setbacks, the rest of the field kept pushing through practice and qualifying, where the front row and the top five showed how tight the competition remained. Sepang produced a clear headline at the top with Alex Marquez on pole, but it also brought a difficult day for riders working through injury and fitness issues.
