SEPANG: Alex Marquez secured Malaysian MotoGP pole on Saturday, beating brother Marc Marquez by 0.070 seconds, while championship contender Jorge Martin withdrew from the weekend with a fractured wrist.
Gresini Racing’s Alex set a fastest lap of 1 minute 56.493 seconds at Sepang International Circuit. Ducati Lenovo Team rider Marc finished second, with Pedro Acosta completing the front row for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
Acosta was just 0.014 seconds behind Marc. Japan’s Ai Ogura qualified fourth on his Trackhouse Aprilia, followed by Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi and VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Marc entered the weekend with a 10-point championship advantage over Martin. His second-place qualifying position puts him on the front row for both Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix. Martin’s attempt to compete ended before qualifying.
The Aprilia rider fractured his wrist during the sprint at Phillip Island the previous weekend but returned to the track in Malaysia on Friday. He completed the opening practice session before limiting his running later in the day.
Although Martin went out again during Saturday morning’s practice, he could not continue for the remainder of the event.
Aprilia Racing team manager Paolo Bonora explained that Martin remained unable to apply the necessary force under braking. The team plans to return him to Spain, continue his recovery and assess whether he can compete at the Qatar Grand Prix.
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Elsewhere, Johann Zarco and Francesco Bagnaia progressed through the opening qualifying session. They secured eighth and 10th on the grid respectively.
Three race weekends remain after Malaysia. The Sepang sprint takes place on Saturday, followed by the main race on Sunday.
(With additional input from Bernama and The Race)
