News Summary

Álex Márquez will lead the field into Sunday’s (November 1) Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix after securing pole position at Sepang with a lap of 1:56.493. The Gresini Ducati rider edged older brother Marc Márquez by 0.070s, with Pedro Acosta completing an all-Spanish front row just 0.084s behind the pole-sitter. The race will take place without Jorge Martín, who withdrew from the weekend because of the injury sustained at Phillip Island.

The starting grid also sets up another confrontation between the Márquez brothers and Acosta, who won Saturday’s Malaysian MotoGP sprint ahead of Marc Márquez and Marco Bezzecchi. Álex Márquez had led the opening stages of the shorter race before crashing, while the KTM rider recovered to claim victory.

Álex Márquez leads all-Spanish front row at Sepang

Álex Márquez secured his first pole position of the 2026 MotoGP season with a decisive late improvement during Q2.

The Gresini rider initially established the fastest time with a 1:56.697, but the battle intensified during the final minutes as several riders improved.

Bezzecchi briefly moved into first place with a 1:56.668 before Ogura responded with a 1:56.617 for Trackhouse Aprilia.

Marc Márquez then produced a 1:56.563, moving ahead of the field and appearing set to claim pole position for Ducati.

However, Álex responded with 1:56.493, improving by 0.204s over his earlier benchmark and denying his brother the top starting position.

The result gave the younger Márquez his third career MotoGP pole and his first since the 2025 Catalan Grand Prix.

Álex also arrives with a strong record at Sepang, having won the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2025.

Marc will start second, looking to strengthen his position in the championship, while Acosta lines up third after demonstrating competitive pace throughout the weekend.

The front-row trio was separated by less than one tenth of a second, suggesting another closely contested race if all three make clean starts.

Acosta targets another victory after winning Malaysian sprint

Acosta enters Sunday’s Grand Prix with momentum after claiming his second sprint victory of the 2026 season.

The KTM rider defeated Marc Márquez by 0.578s in Saturday’s ten-lap contest, while Bezzecchi completed the podium.

The sprint initially appeared to favour Álex Márquez, who maintained the lead from pole position before crashing at Turn 14 on lap three.

His retirement promoted Ogura into first place, but the Japanese rider subsequently came under increasing pressure from Acosta.

The Spaniard made his decisive move with three laps remaining, briefly losing the lead again before completing another overtake and escaping the chasing group.

Marc also passed Ogura to secure second place, while Bezzecchi moved into third during the closing stages.

Acosta’s victory makes him one of the principal contenders for Sunday’s race, particularly given his position on the front row and KTM’s competitive performance around Sepang.

However, the longer Grand Prix will place greater emphasis on tyre management, consistency and the ability to maintain pace over the full race distance.

The Malaysian circuit’s high temperatures and humidity can make tyre degradation particularly significant, especially during the second half of the race.

Ogura, Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio occupy second row

The second row features three riders representing different teams and manufacturers.

Ai Ogura qualified fourth with a 1:56.617, just 0.124s behind Álex Márquez, continuing an encouraging we