Marc Marquez extends Malaysian MotoGP lead on lap nine
Alex Marquez held second under pressure from Pedro Acosta, while championship contender Jorge Martin withdrew with a continuing hand problem.
Marc Marquez led Alex Marquez by 1.1–1.2 seconds on lap nine of the Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang on 1 November 2026. Pedro Acosta remained close behind Alex in third, with Marco Bezzecchi about 0.3 seconds further back.
Starting second, Marc passed pole-sitter Alex at the start to take the lead. His advantage reached about 0.6 seconds on lap seven and one second on lap eight. The race was scheduled for 20 laps and was the season’s 19th round.
Acosta, who won the Malaysian sprint race, had joined the Marquez brothers on the front row. Ai Ogura, Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio occupied the second row. Bezzecchi passed Ogura to move into fourth on lap three.
Jorge Martin withdrew while still troubled by a hand problem following an injury in the Australian MotoGP sprint race. Marc entered the Malaysian race leading the championship with 374 points, while Martin was second on 355 points.
