Alex Marquez will start the 2026 Malaysian MotoGP from pole position after beating his brother Marc in qualifying at Sepang. Pedro Acosta put KTM on the front row in third, while Ai Ogura and Marco Bezzecchi placed fourth and fifth respectively. The result gives Alex the leading grid position after a qualifying session in which the two Marquez brothers set the pace at the top of the order.

The picture had been different in final practice. Enea Bastianini led Alex Marquez, with both riders setting their best times during late-session qualifying simulations on new soft tyres. Bezzecchi and Ogura were faster on used tyres, providing Aprilia with a more encouraging indication of its race pace than the headline practice classification suggested. Friday pace-setter Marc Marquez, meanwhile, was only 13th in the session.

Martin ends his Malaysian weekend

Jorge Martin has withdrawn from the remainder of the Malaysian Grand Prix while recovering from a fractured wrist. Aprilia said Martin would continue his recovery from the injury. The rider had returned to the circuit after testing the wrist in FP1, but left the Aprilia pits after only a few laps in FP2 to rest it before Saturday’s running. Raul Fernandez is also absent after a recent finger fracture.

Martin injured the wrist in a crash at Phillip Island while fighting Marc Marquez for victory. The fall cost him the championship lead, leaving Marc ten points clear at Sepang. Martin was then spared an additional points loss when the Phillip Island race was cancelled, after the injury had already ruled him out of that Sunday’s Grand Prix. His withdrawal now removes one of Marc’s closest title rivals from the rest of the Malaysian weekend.

Sepang context

The circuit’s official MotoGP benchmarks remain Francesco Bagnaia’s 1m 56.337s best lap on a Ducati from 2024 and Alex Marquez’s 1m 58.873s fastest race lap, also set on a Ducati, from 2025. Bagnaia won last year’s Sprint and Alex won the Grand Prix; the leading Aprilia in that race was Ogura in tenth. Bezzecchi also stood out during this year’s pre-season test, finishing as the only Aprilia rider in an all-Ducati top six, with Alex fastest and Marc fourth behind Fabio di Giannantonio.

Aprilia’s prospects are further shaped by the wider rider situation. Bezzecchi enters the Sprint 50 points behind the championship leader and is positioned as the team’s main challenge to Ducati at a circuit where the Italian manufacturer has recently been strong. Luca Marini and Joan Mir return for HRC this weekend: Marini missed Phillip Island because of a virus, while Mir had been receiving treatment for fatigue issues since Misano. At Pramac, Augusto Fernandez replaces Toprak Razgatlioglu, who is missing the rest of the season after shoulder surgery.