Edward Marchesi The Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix, held in Sepang, provided a spectacular scene: the Marquez brothers took control of qualifying, while title holder Jorge Martin was forced to retire with a wrist injury. The event, which marks the nineteenth and penultimate round of the 2026 season, saw a family rivalry emerge at one of the most important races on the calendar.
Alex Marquez in command: pole position at 1'56"493
Young Alex Marquez , a Ducati-Gresini rider , finished the qualifying session with the fastest time, 1'56.493 , beating his older brother by just 0,07 seconds. This result confirms his affinity for the Sepang circuit, where the race is typically held in hot and humid conditions.
Behind him, a few tenths of a second behind, was world champion Marc Marquez , whose pace was still enough to guarantee him first place on the starting grid of the sprint.
Marc Marquez: second in qualifying but ahead in the standings
Veteran Marc Marquez set the second fastest time, 1'56"563 , thus maintaining the front row for today's sprint race and tomorrow's main race.
With this performance, the Spanish rider increased his lead by 10 points over his closest rival Jorge Martin , now 50 points behind the championship leader. His ability to handle the pressure and get the most out of the Ducati proved crucial, especially with the three remaining weekends of the championship in sight.
Jorge Martin's injury absence will have a negative impact on his title fight.
Champion Jorge Martin arrived in Sepang with a fractured wrist, the result of a crash at Phillip Island. Despite participating in the first free practice session, the doctor limited his track time in subsequent sessions and ultimately deemed him unfit for qualifying. The Aprilia Racing team announced that the rider will return to Spain for further tests, with the goal of returning to the track at next week's Qatar GP .
Other qualifying protagonists: Bezzecchi, Acosta and the KTM challenge
Behind the Marquezes, Marco Bezzecchi finished in third place with the same time as Pedro Acosta , confirming the competitiveness of the Aprilia and KTM on the track. Japanese rider Ai Ogura finished fifth, demonstrating the solidity of his package at Sepang. Also in the top ten are Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder , both on KTM, as well as Frenchman Johann Zarco , who surprised with an excellent result on his Honda.
With qualifying now complete, attention now turns to today's sprint and tomorrow's main race, where the Márquez brothers will look to consolidate their dominance, while Martin will have to fight to recover points lost due to injury. There are only three race weekends left before the end of the season, and every fraction of a second will have a decisive impact on the title fight.