There were many questions in the air before the Malaysian GP and some of them have been resolved. The main one was to know if Martín would first receive the approval from the doctors to go out on the track and, once confirmed, the question was whether he could last and at what level he would do so. Unfortunately for the Madrid native he had to get off the bike during practice on Friday and decided to save his strength for Saturday seeing the situation he found himself in.
In FP2 on Saturday he tried again but it was not possible and he finally had to withdraw from the GP as the vast majority suspected due to the pain caused by the injury. Even so, Martín made good the maxim of trying everything he could, although this time it didn’t turn out well. Jorge’s withdrawal from the Malaysian GP was a good opportunity for Marc Márquez to increase his lead.
Pedro spoils Marc’s party in a Sprint that ended up being crazy
From pole, Álex Márquez asserted his starting position to take the lead and begin to impose his pace, which was being tremendously fast even on the third lap, when he crashed. This left Ai Ogura, who had started determinedly and even touched Marc at the start, in first position. Knowing the characteristics of the Japanese, it was expected that the final part of the race would be even better, but then the rain appeared.
💥 @alexmarquez73 HAS CRASHED FROM THE LEAD
#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 https://t.co/nPU0kc3hTg
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 31, 2026
On the third lap the white flag was shown allowing the bike to be changed, but it wasn’t until later in the race that more rain began to appear, enough for Ogura to have a worse pace than before and that with Acosta and Márquez behind you is never a good sign.
The two Spaniards passed the Japanese with three laps to go while the rain continued without getting the asphalt wet at that time. Despite this, some riders decided to change their bikes and the move was about to turn out well, because just after Acosta crossed the finish line first, with Márquez second and Bezzecchi also accounting for Ogura, a strong storm began to fall.
That storm did not alter the result of the group that entered the points and which also included Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, Binder, Moreira and Bastianini, who completed the top 10 but, curiously, it did with the drivers who had entered to change tires and who had lost more time. The least paradoxical.
It’s now POURING down 🌧️
#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 https://t.co/7p0RNFIx5K
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 31, 2026
Marc leaves Malaysia with more than a GP advantage
After a relatively mild Saturday, Marc brought out the steamroller on Sunday. The championship leader was placed first in the first lap and although Álex regained the first position momentarily, no one could stop a determined Márquez.
Lap after lap and tenth by tenth, Marc began to open a gap in front of the chasing group. Not a great distance, but enough to be able to face the second part of the half with some relief and, as is usual in the MotoGP era we live in, races are not won only by being fast but by knowing how to manage the tires and the situation.
WE ARE GOOOO IN #MotoGP! 🚥
@marcmarquez93 grabs the lead despite @alexmarquez73 attacking ⚔️
#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 https://t.co/AamrK71jWO
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 1, 2026
Even so, Marc’s pace in the Malaysian GP was devastating and after lapping at the start of the race below the two-minute barrier, starting on lap eight he began to lap in just two minutes while the rest began to do so in two minutes and one second. This allowed the Ducati rider to face the final laps with relative calm and still cross the finish line with a two-second advantage over Pedro Acosta.
An Acosta that closes another great weekend and that shows that the technical problems that hindered KTM at a certain point in the season have disappeared. Good news in a way for Álex Márquez who finished third and will race with KTM next season. The challenge for Álex was not minor because today he is going to undergo surgery to remove the clavicle plate that was fractured in the Catalonia GP and will miss the Qatar GP.
Ai Ogura was again fourth, with overtaking including Marco Bezzecchi, with Enea Bastianini in fifth position also “stealing” the wallet from Bezzecchi who had to settle for sixth position. Marini, Di Giannantonio, Binder and Morbidelli completed the top 10 in a tough race due to the conditions and an asphalt that the drivers have questioned all weekend.
CONTACT 😱
@aiogura79 overtakes Marco Bezzecchi but he’s lost aero in the process 🫢
#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 https://t.co/VD1lxk0Sx0
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 1, 2026
One of the good news prior to the weekend was the return of Joan Mir, which, unfortunately, did not go as planned. The Spaniard had to retire affected by the same problems he had and right now he is a doubt for Qatar, as are Martín and Raúl Fernández, who still has serious problems on his hand after the fall of Indonesia.
Now we all look to Qatar, which maintains its program even though Yamaha has already announced that it will not compete there. If we add to this the loss of injuries we could be facing a grid of just over 15 drivers, but we will see that at the end of the week.
