Marc Marquez won the Malaysian Grand Prix for the first time in eight years on Sunday, Ducati’s reigning world champion setting up match point for the 2026 title in Qatar next weekend with a dominant lights-to-flag victory at Sepang.

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With primary title rival Jorge Martin (Aprilia) sidelined with a fractured right wrist, the seven-time MotoGP champion took full advantage with his seventh Grand Prix win of the season to extend his margin atop the championship to 44 points with 111 remaining.

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Should Marquez finish the Qatar Grand Prix weekend 74 points or more ahead, an eighth MotoGP premier-class title will be his after he fell 102 points behind then-leader Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) after the Italian Grand Prix in May.

From second on the grid, Marquez took the lead at the first corner from fellow Ducati rider and younger sibling Alex Marquez and was never troubled, finishing 4.172secs ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta after 20 laps, with the younger Marquez rounding out the podium.

The Sepang win was Marc Marquez’s third in MotoGP, having previously won the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2014 and 2018.

“I was super concentrated all the weekend … I tried to find the limit in the practices because it’s time to take the risk,” Marquez said after his 80th premier-class win in a career that began in 2013.

“We did it and did a perfect race, so super happy … but my mentality cannot change. Keep focused, and keep pushing. Not many races to go, but many moments to go.”

After Acosta had beaten Marquez in a tense 10-lap sprint race on Saturday held under darkening skies that threatened rain, blazing sun and brutal conditions – 36 degree air temperature, 54 degree track temperature – produced a controlled race of tyre management 24 hours later, Marquez extending his early advantage to over one second after eight laps and never being threatened by Acosta, who passed Alex Marquez for second place with 10 laps to go at Turn 9.

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi, Marquez’s closest challenger with Martin sidelined, dropped to sixth at the chequered flag and fell 67 points behind Marquez in the standings after being passed by Ai Ogura (Aprilia) and Enea Bastianini (KTM) in the final two laps, overtakes which all but ruled him out of title contention.

Australia’s Jack Miller was the 16th and final finisher, the Yamaha rider crossing the line 43.327secs behind the winner to be the only rider to not score points as Yamaha’s Augusto Fernandez, along with Honda trio Joan Mir, Diogo Moreira and Johann Zarco, all retired from the race.

The 20th round of the 22-round MotoGP season will take place at Lusail in Qatar from November 6-8.



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