MotoGP Recap - Marquez closes in on title in Malaysia
06 November 2026Marc Marquez could claim his eighth MotoGP World Championship title at the next round of the 2026 MotoGP season after taking victory in the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia, whilst his main rival, Jorge Martin, was forced to withdraw from the weekend.
The MotoGP paddock welcomed back Honda HRC Castrol riders Joan Mir and Luca Marini this weekend following bouts of illness, whilst Iker Lecuona continued his stint in the BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP garage, riding in place of Fermin Aldeguer who remains focused on recovering from his hand fracture. Augusto Fernandez once again rode with the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP team, in place of Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, who has begun a long stint of recovery following surgery on his shoulder at the end of October.
After withdrawing from the Red Bull Grand Prix of Australia due to his injured fingers, SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team’s Raul Fernandez was initially cleared to participate in Friday’s FP1 session, with the plan being to reassess after the first 45 minutes on track. However, during FP1 it was decided that Fernandez would take no further part in the weekend’s activity, to allow his injuries to heal further before he returns to racing.
Martin withdraws from weekend prior to qualifying
After breaking his wrist in the Sprint last time out, Jorge Martin was initially cleared to ride in FP1, with the intention of being reviewed after the session. After minimal participation in Friday’s sessions, with the aim of preserving energy for Saturday, he was declared fit to participate in the rest of the weekend’s on-track action. However, before Saturday’s Q1 session, it was announced that Martin would be withdrawing from the weekend, to focus on recovery and hopefully be fit to ride at the next round.
Acosta battles to second Sprint win
KTM’s Pedro Acosta took his second Sprint win of the season in tricky conditions at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit, finishing half a second ahead of the field.
It was Alex Marquez who got a great start from pole position, and led the way on Saturday afternoon, with early fighting between Marc Marquez and Ai Ogura seeing Ogura emerge ahead, with Acosta then capitalising on the opportunity and getting through for 3rd, with Marc back in 4th. The end of Lap 2 saw white flags come out, indicating that riders were allowed to swap their bikes due to spots of rain on track. Several riders towards the back of the field took the risk and made the swap, but nobody at the front.
A change in the lead came during Lap 3, when Alex Marquez fell at Turn 14, promoting Ogura to race leader, with Acosta, Marc Marquez, and Marco Bezzecchi just behind him. As the laps counted down, the rainfall increased, but still nobody from the front group came in to swap their bikes, deciding instead to tough out the last few laps. With three laps to go, Acosta took the lead of the race, but Ogura was able to take it back, though Acosta then had the drive to get back out in front, with this time Marc Marquez capitalising on the moment to overtake, and move into 2nd. Two laps remaining, and a second battle between Marc and Ogura had begun, with both riders committing to bold overtakes, though this time it was Marquez who emerged in front, and was able to claim 2nd. To make matters worse for Ogura, the end of the penultimate lap also saw him get overtaken by Bezzecchi, with the Aprilia Racing rider taking the final podium spot.
Marc Marquez takes dominant Grand Prix victory
Marc Marquez achieved his seventh Grand Prix win of 2026 at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit on Sunday, dominating the field to reach the chequered flag 4.172s ahead of his closest competitor. Marquez was ahead into the first corner from 2nd on the grid, with a brief exchange with his brother, Alex, not enough to hold him back from leading the field. Behind the Marquez brothers, Acosta was riding fast in 3rd, and made his first attempt at overtaking to claim 2nd during Lap 3. Alex Marquez was able to get straight back past, displaying brilliant defensive riding to keep his position as the race continued, and Acosta lurked behind him. His next attempt came on Lap 10, and this time was successful, seeing him hold the position to secure a 2nd place finish, with Alex Marquez holding onto 3rd.
Behind the podium finishers, scrapping between the two Aprilia riders competing in the Grand Prix saw Ogura without a front left wing after contact with Bezzecchi during their battle for 4th in the closing laps. Ogura managed to eventually make his way through on Bezzecchi, who then went on to make a mistake on the final lap, running off the track and allowing Enea Bastianini through. Whilst Bezzecchi technically remains within the title fight, finishing 6th on Sunday means his hopes of achieving his first MotoGP World Championship title in 2026 have become a tougher task.
Alonso secures second Moto2 win of 2026
David Alonso claimed his second Moto2 victory of the season on Sunday, with neither of the two main Championship contenders finishing on the podium. It was Alonso’s CFMoto Aspar Team teammate Daniel Holgado who claimed pole position, and got a great start to lead the race, ahead of Angel Piqueras and Izan Guevara. Alonso made the most of the opening laps though, moving up to 3rd early into the opening lap, and up to 2nd on Lap 2. By Lap 6, Alonso was ready to challenge for the lead, and made the pass successfully, before beginning to create a gap back to his teammate. Despite Holgado setting impressive laps towards the end of the race, it wasn’t enough to get him back into contention for the win, even with Alonso having a huge moment at turn 14 with 4 laps to go. He recovered well to build up the gap again, reaching the chequered flag 1.932s ahead of Holgado, with Piqueras picking up his first Moto2 podium in 3rd. Off of the podium, Guevara and Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez finished 4th and 5th respectively, closing the gap between them in the Moto2 Championship standings to just 3.5 points.
Quiles achieves first win as Moto3 World Champion
Sunday’s Moto3 race saw Maximo Quiles secure his first victory since being crowned Moto3 World Champion in Indonesia, marking his eleventh win of the season. Starting from pole position, the newly crowned Champion made a good start, but wasn’t able to get away from the group, with David Almansa riding well during the opening lap to move up from 4th on the grid to take the lead from Quiles early on. The race continued and a group of six riders emerged - Almansa, Quiles, Alvaro Carpe, David Muñoz, Veda Pratama, and home hero Hakim Danish all exchanging positions, aiming for victory. By Lap 5, Quiles was back out in front and began eking out a gap, seeing the remaining riders up front then fighting for the remaining two podium positions. After intense battling, riding on the absolute limit, it was Pratama who secured 2nd, with Carpe taking 3rd, Danish narrowly missing out on a home podium despite a heroic effort.
Yamaha issues statement regarding Grand Prix of Qatar
With conversation ongoing regarding the rescheduled Grand Prix of Qatar, Sunday saw Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd release a statement revealing that they had informed MotoGP Group of the decision to not participate in the 2026 Qatar Grand Prix, citing Yamaha’s ongoing company-wide travel restrictions. The decision means that both of Yamaha’s MotoGP teams will be absent, seeing four bikes missing from the MotoGP grid in Qatar.
MotoGP Group later released a statement in response, explaining that they have provided reassurances and communicated necessary information to all stakeholders, as well as alluding to potential consequences of Yamaha’s decision.
Just four riders remain in contention for the 2026 MotoGP World Championship title after the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia, but after his Grand Prix win, Marc Marquez will have his first chance at securing the title at the next round. Will Marquez secure the title next time out?
