MotoGP: The #73 leads the #93, Acosta third and Bezzecchi fifth as Martin calls time on his heroic Sepang comeback.
After a stunner in Q2, it’s Alex Marquez who will start from pole position at the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia after the BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP lands a glorious 1:56.493 to snatch Saturday morning P1 honours away from World Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team). The gap between the top two in a blistering Q2 was a mere 0.070s, while only a further 0.014s in arrears is third-place Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
It wasn’t the morning Aprilia Racing were searching for in Malaysia, though. The headline news is that heroic Jorge Martin has withdrawn from the remainder of the weekend, with title-chasing Marco Bezzecchi fifth on the grid at Petronas Sepang International Circuit.
Q1: Martin withdraws, Zarco & Pecco progress
Ahead of qualifying getting underway in Sepang, the breaking news was Martin’s withdrawal. A week after fracturing his wrist in the Phillip Island Sprint, the rider second in the championship chase, after displaying an unreal dose of grit, determination and bravery to give it a go in Malaysia, sadly couldn’t continue for the remainder of the weekend. A herculean effort to be out there, but the discomfort was simply too much for the 2024 World Champion.
On track, Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) occupied the top two promotion spots in Q1 heading into the closing minutes. Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) wasn’t far away from knocking his compatriot out, 0.071s the gap splitting the Italians, but Zarco and Pecco did enough to gain entry to the pole position scrap in Sepang.
Q2: 0.175s covers top five as Alex Marquez leaves it late
Kicking off the second part of qualifying fastest was Alex Marquez as the first pair of 1:56 lap times were dropped by last year’s Malaysia GP winner and the reigning World Champion, Marc Marquez. A 1:56.697 was Alex’s mighty opening attempt, one that was 0.267s better than the #93’s effort.
A pair of KTMs were an early P3 and P4 in the form of Acosta and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), with Aprilia Racing’s remaining on-track star this weekend, Marco Bezzecchi, provisionally P5 on the starting grid.
Pecco’s first flyer saw last year’s Sepang polesitter go P6 before a mistake at Turn 1 saw the Italian break his screen in frustration, but there was anything but frustration in the Aprilia ranks as Bezzecchi, and then Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team), exchanged lap times good enough for pole.
Not for long though. Cue the jaws music. The championship leader was setting red sector times and despite getting a little out of shape into Turn 14, Marc Marquez jumped back ahead of the Aprilia duo to go P1. And right behind his 2027 teammate was Acosta, who climbed to P2.
However, Alex Marquez wasn’t done. And sure enough, the younger Marquez denied his brother to snatch a late Malaysian GP pole position by just 0.070s. That was all she wrote, meaning a first Saturday morning P1 was pocketed for the first time since the 2025 Catalan GP.
THE GRID
What a bumper front row that is. Marquez leads Marquez, blue leads red, Alex leads Marc, with Acosta only 0.084s away from pole position on the outside of the front row.
Ogura fronts the second row ahead of Bezzecchi, who in the end settles for P5 ahead of a monumental weekend in the championship chase. Can Bez chip away at the 50-point deficit to Marc Marquez, with teammate Martin sidelined? We’ll find out soon enough.
Completing the second row in P6 is Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), while Bastianini spearheads Row 3 in P7. Zarco and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) join ‘The Beast’ in P8 and P9 respectively, as Pecco is forced to start from P10 after navigating through Q1. The returning Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) will launch from P11 at the venue where he picked up his latest podium in 2025, while Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) goes from P12 as he continues to battle through the shoulder pain barrier.
STRAP IN: IT’S SPRINT TIME IN SEPANG
Opportunity knocks for Ducati and Marc Marquez in the absence of Martin, as Bezzecchi and Aprilia hunt big points – beginning with the Tissot Sprint at 15:00 local time (UTC +8).
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