Author Archives: PressBox

Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez locked out the top two spots in Sepang Practice, with Marc still going fastest after an early crash and a 1:57.000 lap that left him 0.109 seconds clear of his brother. Jorge Martin was withdrawn from the rest of the session after a scare at Turn 12, and Aprilia and the doctors decided it was too risky for him to continue after he had been riding with a broken wrist from a crash at Phillip Island the previous Saturday.

Ai Ogura finished third, Pedro Acosta was fourth and Fabio Di Giannantonio was fifth. Marco Bezzecchi, Enea Bastianini, Maverick Vinales, Franco Morbidelli and Joan Mir secured direct Q2 places, while Brad Binder was the only KTM rider outside those spots and had to go through Q1.

Johann Zarco and Pecco Bagnaia both crashed on their final runs. Martin ended the day 21st and last among the classified riders.

Marc Marquez set the pace in opening practice at Sepang as Jorge Martin returned to action six days after his crash at Phillip Island and was cleared to continue the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend after post-FP1 medical checks. Marquez’s lap of 1:58.912 was the only 1m58s time in FP1, with Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta tying for second on 1:59.386, 0.474 seconds back.

Martin completed 12 laps in FP1 and finished 20th, 1.8 seconds off the pace. He went back out at the end of the session for practice starts after his return to the track.

Enea Bastianini finished fourth and Brad Binder was fifth in FP1, while Franco Morbidelli and Alex Marquez were the only other riders within one second of Marquez. Raul Fernandez was declared unfit for the rest of the event and will return to Spain for treatment.

Raul Fernandez was cleared to ride first practice at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang, but after the session he was officially declared unfit and ruled out of the rest of the MotoGP event. He had fractured fingers in the Indonesian Grand Prix, where he still finished on the podium, and later withdrew from the Australian Grand Prix while recovering.

Fernandez said he feels worse now than when he broke two fingers in Indonesia three weeks ago, and that he may stop if he feels unable to ride safely. He said Sepang’s harder braking zones make Malaysia more demanding than Indonesia or Australia, and could complicate his recovery. He added that his priority is getting his fingers healthy rather than thinking about the championship fight.

He also said he is in worse shape than he was in Australia and does not want to take unnecessary risks because the index finger is important for braking. Fernandez said the pain in his hand and ribs is part of the recovery process, and that another setback could force him to miss the final races of the season.

Michelin kept a three-spec rear tyre allocation in place for MotoGP at Sepang, even though the Malaysian Grand Prix venue was supposed to be resurfaced and the work was not completed before the event. The unusual allocation was originally brought in because of the planned resurfacing, and riders had three rear tyre choices for the weekend.

The options were last year’s soft tyre, a new symmetric medium tyre and a hard tyre intended for very high temperatures or heavy wear. The new medium was the only symmetric rear tyre in the allocation, while the other two options had a reinforced right shoulder. Last year’s soft rear tyre remained available for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, and the 2025 medium tyre became this year’s hard rear tyre option.

Piero Taramasso said the soft tyre should offer the most performance, while the medium could be a surprise because it was versatile. He also said Sepang’s straight had been milled and Turns 4 and 12 were slightly damaged, factors that could increase tyre wear and consumption.