Márquez benefits from Martín’s absence
Marc Márquez moved closer to an eighth world title. The seven-time champion finished second in Saturday’s sprint at Sepang and now has 374 points, against 355 for Jorge Martín, a lead of 19 points going into Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Martín, who broke his right wrist in Australia last Saturday, withdrew before qualifying after being declared fit for practice.
He scored no points at Phillip Island: he crashed heavily in the sprint and the Australian Grand Prix was then cancelled because of terrible weather.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
Martín: the title is “already lost”
The Aprilia rider, 2024 MotoGP world champion, admitted to reporters that for him the 2026 title is already lost, while insisting he will fight to the end. He returns to Spain to recover before the Qatar Grand Prix on November 6-8. Riders appear resigned to racing in the Gulf country despite concerns over conflicts in the Middle East.
Aprilia team boss Paolo Borona said the team and doctors decided not to continue: Martín could not push on the brakes with his right hand, and Sepang has more right-hand corners.
Acosta wins, Alex Márquez crashes
Alex Márquez (Gresini) started from pole and will do so again on Sunday, but he crashed spectacularly on lap three of the sprint. Ai Ogura (Aprilia-Trackhouse) took the lead before being passed by Pedro Acosta (KTM), who won his second sprint of the year after Thailand. Marc Márquez was second (9 points), ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia, third, 7 points) and Ogura (fourth, 6 points).
For the French riders, Johann Zarco (Honda-LCR) was eighth and Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) 18th. In the standings, Bezzecchi has 322 points and Acosta 275. Three weekends remain after Malaysia (Qatar, Portugal, Valencia), with 37 points available at each. Márquez urged calm on Friday, while acknowledging that everything depends on him.
Catch up on all our MotoGP coverage on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply