Marc Marquez led from the first corner to the chequered flag at Sepang to win the Malaysian GP, securing his seventh victory of the season and 80th in MotoGP. Acosta, who won Saturday's Sprint, took second, while Alex Marquez held on to third after starting from pole. With primary title rival Jorge Martin withdrawing from the weekend due to a wrist injury sustained in Australia, Marc now leads him by 44 points.
- Marc Marquez wins from the front to secure his seventh victory of 2026
- Marquez leads Martin by 44 points and Bezzecchi by 67, with a chance to clinch the title in Qatar
- Pedro Acosta follows his Sprint win with a second-place finish on Sunday
Marquez leads from the start
Alex Marquez took pole by 0.070 seconds, but it was his brother who got the better start, taking the holeshot from the front row. Alex attempted to retake the lead on the opening lap but ran wide, allowing Marc to stay ahead. Behind them, Enea Bastianini, Ai Ogura and Acosta fought for third. Acosta had made a relatively slow start but moved back into third by the end of the lap, while Marco Bezzecchi passed Ogura on Lap 2 to settle into fourth.
Acosta takes second
Marc led Alex by half a second in the early laps, with Acosta less than 0.4 seconds behind the latter. Acosta then set the fastest lap of the race to reel in the Marquez brothers, and on Lap 10, he made a move past Alex to take second, holding on to the position until the chequered flag.
Marc, meanwhile, was in a class of his own. He extended his lead from 1.1 seconds on Lap 9 to 1.5 seconds on the following lap, and continued to pull away over the remainder of the race. With five laps remaining, his advantage stood at 2.9 seconds, and he eventually took the chequered flag 4.172 seconds ahead of Acosta.
Bezzecchi, the sole factory Aprilia rider, finishes sixth
Ogura claimed fourth, finishing 0.8 seconds behind Alex Marquez. Bezzecchi, the sole factory Aprilia rider and a championship favourite earlier in the 2026 season, faltered on the final lap. A mistake allowed Bastianini through into fifth, leaving Bezzecchi to settle for sixth.
Luca Marini took seventh, just ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio, while Brad Binder finished ninth and Franco Morbidelli rounded out the top 10. Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins, Francesco Bagnaia, Maverick Vinales and Iker Lecuona, who stood in for Fermin Aldeguer, also scored points.
Championship standings
The next round is scheduled to take place at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar this coming weekend. While the race remains on the calendar and MotoGP and Liberty Media have indicated that preparations are continuing as planned, there has been debate around the event amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in the region. Yamaha has confirmed that it will not attend, while some manufacturers have reportedly given their team members and technicians the option to sit out the event. As things stand, however, the rest of the grid is expected to travel to Qatar.
Marquez now leads Martin by 44 points and Bezzecchi by 67 with a chance to clinch his eighth MotoGP title (and 10th world championship overall) in Qatar. To do so, he needs to score 30 more points than Martin and eight more than Bezzecchi over the weekend. There has been no official update from Martin or Aprilia on the Spaniard's injury. He was declared fit to race in Malaysia but opted to sit out the weekend to focus on his recovery, and could attempt to return to the paddock in Qatar.