Marc Marquez went quickest in the ten-minute MotoGP warm-up at Sepang before the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Ducati rider remained in the pits until roughly half the session had passed, then immediately moved to the top when he joined the track. He ended the session almost half a second clear of his brother Alex Marquez.

Alex finished second, narrowly ahead of Pedro Acosta, the winner of Saturday’s Sprint. Every rider chose the soft rear tyre, and Franco Morbidelli was the only faller during the brief session. Alex had started the weekend from pole position but lost the Sprint lead in a crash.

The result gives Marc further momentum at a decisive point in the championship. He begins Sunday 19 points ahead of Jorge Martin, who withdrew after trying to race one week after breaking a wrist bone at Phillip Island. Marc finished runner-up to Acosta in the damp Sprint, while a Malaysian Grand Prix victory would take his advantage to 47 points.

Aprilia’s challenge and the rider changes

Aprilia is counting on Marco Bezzecchi and Ai Ogura in the riders’ and constructors’ title battles. Bezzecchi was the only Aprilia rider inside the top six at this year’s pre-season test, a group made up entirely of Ducati machines. Alex Marquez was fastest on that occasion, with Marc fourth behind Fabio Di Giannantonio. In last year’s Sepang event, Bagnaia won the Sprint and Alex Marquez the Grand Prix, while Ogura was Aprilia’s best finisher in tenth.

Raul Fernandez withdrew after Friday because of continuing problems with his finger injury. Toprak Razgatlioglu will miss the rest of the season following shoulder surgery, with Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez replacing him at Pramac. HRC has both Luca Marini and Joan Mir back in action: Marini missed Phillip Island because of a virus, while Mir had been receiving treatment for fatigue issues since Misano.

The official Sepang records are Francesco Bagnaia’s 1m 56.337s best lap from 2024 and Alex Marquez’s 1m 58.873s fastest race lap from 2025.