Marc Marquez wins in Malaysia to move closer to eighth MotoGP title

Marc Marquez strengthened his bid to retain the MotoGP championship with victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, November 1, moving 44 points clear of Jorge Martin. The Ducati rider now has 399 points, while his closest title rival missed the race as he continued recovering from a fractured wrist.

The seven-time MotoGP champion could secure his eighth title at next weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix. To do so with two rounds still remaining in the season, he would need to increase his advantage at the top of the standings to 74 points.

Marquez took the initiative at Sepang with a fast start, passing his brother Alex, who had qualified on pole, before the opening corner. Alex briefly recovered first place, but ran wide one turn later and surrendered the lead again. Marc avoided further mistakes and went on to finish more than four seconds ahead of his nearest challenger.

“We did a perfect race, so I’m super, super happy,” Marc Marquez said after the victory. Despite the result and his growing championship advantage, he stressed that his approach would remain unchanged. He said he needed to maintain his concentration and keep pushing, with opportunities for the situation to change still remaining before the season ends.

KTM’s Pedro Acosta followed his victory in Saturday’s sprint with second place in the Grand Prix, ahead of Gresini rider Alex Marquez. After the early exchange of the lead between the brothers, Acosta stayed close behind Alex for several laps. He moved past around the halfway stage, but Marc had already established a gap too large to close.

Marco Bezzecchi, who remained an outside championship contender, finished sixth for Aprilia. His result followed late overtakes by Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura and Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini, both of whom passed him before the finish.

Martin had initially appeared likely to return to competition in Malaysia and briefly rode during Saturday morning practice. However, the Aprilia rider was visibly struggling and withdrew before qualifying to continue recovering from the fracture suffered in a crash at Phillip Island in Australia the previous week. The Spaniard, who won the championship in 2024, acknowledged after withdrawing that his title challenge was effectively over.

The series now heads to Lusail International Circuit for the Qatar Grand Prix. The event is scheduled to proceed next weekend despite objections from riders concerned about travelling there during the United States-Israel war on Iran.