MotoGP 2026
Round 19 – Sepang – Saturday
2026 Malaysian MotoGP Sprint Rider and Team Reactions
Pedro Acosta emerged victorious from a dramatic Malaysian MotoGP Sprint at Sepang, overcoming the considerable challenges posed by Ai Ogura, Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi as intermittent rain threatened to turn the ten-lap contest on its head.
The KTM rider’s second Sprint victory of 2026, following his success in Thailand, also broke a run of 17 consecutive Sprint victories shared between Ducati and Aprilia.
Marc Marquez finished second, extending his championship advantage over the injured Jorge Martin to 19 points, while Bezzecchi completed the podium after charging through the leading group.
But the championship is far from settled.
With Martin sidelined, Marc is guaranteed to leave Sepang still leading the championship, regardless of Sunday’s Grand Prix result. However, Bezzecchi remains very much in the fight, despite trailing by 52 points.
A victory for the Aprilia rider on Sunday, combined with a non-finish for Marc, would slash that deficit to 27 points heading into Qatar. Bezzecchi has little to lose by attacking, while Marc must balance the temptation to extend his advantage against the consequences of making a costly mistake.
And then there is Alex Marquez.
The younger Marquez brother secured pole position on Saturday morning and looked capable of disappearing into the distance during the Sprint, only to throw away his advantage with a crash at Turn 14 on lap three.
Alex has been particularly strong at Sepang, having won the Malaysian Grand Prix last year. Victory on Sunday would make him the first rider since Andrea Dovizioso in 2016 and 2017 to win consecutive Malaysian Grands Prix.
After admitting that Saturday’s crash was entirely his own mistake, Alex will be looking for redemption. And with nothing approaching the championship pressure being carried by his older brother, he can afford to attack.
Ogura also has unfinished business after leading five laps of the Sprint before eventually finishing fourth. Bezzecchi is clearly competitive, while Acosta has already demonstrated that the KTM is capable of winning around Sepang.
The threat of rain further complicates the picture. Several riders gambled on wet-weather machinery during Saturday’s Sprint, only to discover that slick tyres remained the faster option until the heavy rain finally arrived on the cool-down lap.
Jack Miller’s gamble ended particularly badly when he arrived in pitlane to discover that his replacement Yamaha was not ready, leading to a frustrated retirement.
Sunday’s 20-lap Grand Prix therefore promises plenty, with Alex seeking redemption, Acosta chasing another victory, Bezzecchi keeping his championship hopes alive and Marc trying to make the most of Martin’s absence without falling into a trap of his own making.
Our full Malaysian MotoGP Sprint report covers the race, official classification, updated championship standings and Moto2/Moto3 qualifying results, while the MotoGP qualifying report details Saturday morning’s dramatic battle for pole.
Here is what the MotoGP riders and senior team personnel had to say after Saturday’s Sprint, with the riders presented in finishing order.
MotoGP Sprint – Rider Reactions
Pedro Acosta – 1st – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
“It feels like the first Sprint win! I was quite focused with three laps to go in the rain and to not make any mistake like in Austria. We made a good job. Turn 4 and Turn 10 were quite bad but it was also tricky to know if it was raining that much. I think we managed in the best way, and we took the risks we needed. Happy. We have to see what we can do tomorrow but it will be a massively different race, managing the tires and these things.”
Marc Marquez – 2nd – Ducati Lenovo Team
“This was a very complex Sprint, one where it was easy to make a mistake. We knew these conditions were a possibility and, for this reason, our strategy was to avoid leading the race, with the goal of finishing behind the winner. We achieved that, and I’m very happy with it. It wasn’t easy to handle the situation in the best possible way: track conditions were constantly evolving, and it wasn’t easy to understand where the limit was, especially in sector two, where it was raining much more heavily. I stayed calm and collected and dealt with the situation to the best of my abilities.”
Marco Bezzecchi – 3rd – Aprilia Racing
“I’m really happy with the sprint result. I made a few mistakes early on, but I started to feel better and began to make up ground, even though the rain made the conditions really on the limit.”
Ai Ogura – 4th – SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team
“My guys worked really well over night and they gave me confidence on the bike and the consistency I needed. So, our performance was a lot better today compared to yesterday. In the Sprint, first of all, I had a good start and my pace was really good for the first part of the race. But, as everybody knows, the conditions were really tricky. The rain was arriving, you’re in the fight and I tried to defend my position as much as I could but the other three riders got much better pace than me and they all passed me at the end. I had no choice – P4 was the maximum I could do today. It’s a shame to finish in P4 after leading quite a few laps in the Sprint but it is what it is. They were quicker and tomorrow I’ll try to do it better. We are learning from Qualifying and from the Sprint and are confident to make it even better tomorrow.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio – 5th – Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team
“Today, the Sprint was not easy due to the rain that arrived halfway through the race. There were plenty of raindrops, but it was very hot and the track wasn’t particularly wet until the final lap. However, I stayed out on track with confidence despite the tricky conditions and focused on bringing home a Top5 finish. Anyway, I am very happy with the feeling on the bike. During the Sprint, I got confirmation that our setup is good, and we have a good package. It was a pity that we could not show our potential because we missed something. For tomorrow, the goal will be to make another small step forward to find what we are missing, the team and I are working very hard. The riders ahead of us still have something more in terms of pace, but I think we can be in the fight tomorrow and get closer to them.”
Francesco Bagnaia – 6th – Ducati Lenovo Team
“Sixth is certainly a good result, especially considering how the recent races have gone. We made a good start and braked well into Turn 1, which helped me get past several riders. I tried to stay with the frontrunners, but I didn’t have the pace to do so. The raindrops helped us in a way, because from the third lap onwards I was already struggling with rear grip. The goal for tomorrow is to get the best possible start and try to limit rear-tyre wear, which is our biggest problem at the moment.”
Brad Binder – 7th – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
“The race was much better than qualifying. I got a really, really good start and passed a lot of guys into Turn 1. After that it was difficult to understand how much you could push in Turns 4-5-6. The rest of the track was bone-dry. At the end of the day I’m happy to have 7th from 15th. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Diogo Moreira – 8th – Pro Honda LCR
“It was a really good race! I enjoyed it a lot. It started raining a little after the first few laps, but I still managed to push. I made a mistake early on and almost crashed, but luckily I saved it. After that, I got back into my rhythm and managed to keep a strong pace. We did a great job today! Let’s see what we can do tomorrow!”
Enea Bastianini – 9th – Red Bull KTM Tech3
“Everything was a consequence of the start. I don’t know why but I can’t start very well at the moment. My release is good but after that I have some wheelie. I tried to find something with the team but we’re still looking for a solution. It will be important to sort this out for tomorrow because coming back here is really difficult and if you use the tyre on the first lap you lose everything. That’s what happened to me today. From the second lap I was drifting. I tried to stay there. In the middle of the race, it started raining a bit in Sector 2 and after that in Sector 1. I lost something to the others, and it was complicated coming back from that. We were competitive this morning and I was really close to the front in qualifying. I think we still have a good chance of doing a great race tomorrow.”
Johann Zarco – 10th – Castrol Honda LCR
“I’m happy with today. Qualifying was positive, we had good speed and secured a solid eighth place on the grid for both races. I was feeling quite good in the Sprint, but when the rain started, I regretted not taking more risks earlier on. Once we had to slow down because of the conditions, overtaking became more difficult. In the end, I finished 10th, just missing out on the points. Hopefully, we can try something during Warm Up to find a better balance for tomorrow’s race. Let’s see what we can do!”
Fabio Quartararo – 11th – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
“Qualifying was not good: the feeling was not there. In the Sprint race, I gave it my best effort, especially when it started raining. I was pushing at the maximum to catch the guys in front of me. We didn’t finish so far from P6. We also know that in normal circumstances it would have been different, but I enjoyed looking for the limit in the rain. I’m hoping for the same conditions for tomorrow, because it was pretty fun. It’s easy to make a mistake, but you can see what the people in front of you are doing and push a bit more, so that was fun, and hopefully we can do the same tomorrow.”
Alex Rins – 12th – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
“My riding was not bad, especially in the first part of the Sprint race. We did a great start. We were there: I recovered some positions. I had a big moment with Maverick [Viñales] in corner 4 on the first lap. He picked up the bike, and I was there on the outside, so we both ran wide. The level came to me, but then I started to struggle with the front brake on the last five laps, and that was it. Tomorrow, it will be a long race. We will try to manage the tyre. Let’s see what we can do.”
Luca Marini – 13th – Honda HRC Castrol
“The Sprint took a lot out of me on the physical side, and I have a lot less energy than I was expecting. The feeling with the bike was good and we have been close to all the other Honda riders. We are still missing something in Qualifying because the other riders and brands are able to make a step. I need to spend this evening resting to recover as much as possible for Sunday because it will be a hard race physically, wet or dry.”
Augusto Fernandez – 14th – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
“It was a crazy Sprint! The main goal was simply to get through the race. At the beginning, I was very close to Fabio and Alex Rins, and I used them as a reference because I‘m trying to get closer to them in terms of pace and overall performance. I decided to stay with them for a while and see what they would do as well, because I wanted to complete the whole race alongside them. It had been a while since I last rode the MotoGP bike in these conditions, especially with the Michelin tyres. From our testing here, we know that when it rains like this, it takes a long time for the tyres to become fully wet, so they can maintain a good level of grip. It took me two or three laps to understand that, but then I was able to push again, and my pace wasn‘t bad. I finished four seconds behind Fabio and two seconds behind Alex, so that‘s not too bad. It‘s progress, and I‘m happy with that. Let‘s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Maverick Viñales – 15th – Red Bull KTM Tech3
“To be honest, in the Sprint I tried to get the rhythm and see how the bike was working for tomorrow. My plan was to stop, but I saw the bike was ready on wet and I said, okay, I go out. In the middle of the race, it started to rain quite a lot, but then for a while it stopped, which meant unfortunately the others didn’t have to come in to change their bikes, so my gamble didn’t pay off. After the chequered flag it started to rain like crazy. I want to save energy for tomorrow, because I need to recover to make the muscle grow and gain power. Tomorrow the target is to survive Malaysia and then move on to the next one.”
Joan Mir – 16th – Honda HRC Castrol
“Today was a day to gamble! I was expecting it to rain a little bit more, but this arrived only after we finished. It can happen and, in our position, the choice to come in early did not change the overall result by a massive margin. A good lesson for tomorrow that the tarmac can take a lot more rain before it really gets wet, so this is a positive. Otherwise, it has been a productive day, taking everything step by step and getting back into the speed of MotoGP. I missed a little bit into Turn 1 I think and we lost some of the early places we made from a really good start.”
Franco Morbidelli – 17th – Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team
“Today in the Sprint, the start was not ideal, and I dropped six positions, then it started raining and I bet on the weather. I tried it, but it was not the perfect strategy. We know that Sepang is a track that always has a few surprises in store, but I did not have the result I wanted, unfortunately. The rain didn’t help, but we look at the positive. This morning, even if we didn’t have yesterday’s pace, both in FP2 and in Qualifying we didn’t lose too much, and I got the third row. For tomorrow, we look at the forecast again, and we aim to keep the pace we showed this morning.”
Iker Lecuona – 18th – BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP
“I knew I would struggle this weekend. It’s a circuit where I haven’t raced for three years, and it doesn’t really suit my characteristics that well. We are working on it, and in qualifying we didn’t perform as I had hoped. I felt comfortable during the race, and with nothing to lose, I decided to take a risk: when it started raining at Turns 7-8, I decided to change bikes, hoping the rain would come. It didn’t work out as we had hoped, but the risk was worth taking. We’ll keep working for tomorrow.”
Alex Marquez – DNF – BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP
“I’m very disappointed because the crash was 100% my mistake. Probably a case of overconfidence I came into the change of direction too fast. It was a very small mistake, but it cost me dearly. The crash had no consequences, but of course it never helps. Physically, we are struggling, and the injections seem to have a little less effect at every race. In any case, we will keep working with confidence, and tomorrow we’ll try to be in the fight.”
Jack Miller – DNF – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
“It was on me. I saw raindrops at Turns 5 and 6, then again at Turns 7 and 8 and Turns 9 and 10. Those are usually the first areas to get wet when the rain comes from that direction, and the drops here are pretty big. I checked the radar, which was showing rain arriving later, but when I saw those drops, I thought it was coming earlier than expected. I believed the next lap would be wet, so I decided to come in. We were running 17th or 18th, and the chances of scoring points here in Malaysia were looking slim, so I felt it was worth taking a gamble. In my mind, the timing was right, and I genuinely thought we had a chance to make something happen with that decision. Unfortunately, the bike wasn‘t ready when I arrived. I‘d spoken with the team before the race about having the second bike prepared, but we clearly had different understandings of the timing. I thought it would be ready immediately, while the team understood that they had another four or five laps. It was a miscommunication, and by the time I realised the tyres hadn‘t even been changed, I knew the race was over. I apologised for my reaction afterwards. When you arrive in the pit lane, you‘re still in the race, and in my mind, I wouldn‘t have made that decision unless I believed it was the right one. Unfortunately, it didn‘t work out, but given our position and the conditions I was seeing on track, I thought it was worth a shot.”
Jorge Martin – Withdrawn Before the Sprint
Jorge Martin attempted to return to action at Sepang just six days after fracturing the distal radius of his wrist in the Phillip Island Sprint.
However, after completing several short runs in free practice, he and Aprilia Racing decided that his physical condition would not allow him to compete effectively over race distance.
Jorge Martin – Aprilia Racing
“It’s a shame and obviously a bit frustrating, but I think just trying counted for something. Being back on a MotoGP bike after only six days is incredible. I gave it everything I had: the recovery process is progressing fast, but not fast enough for me to be competitive. I don’t think I could have managed 20 laps, given that I couldn’t even do two in a row. We decided to stop, recover and take a little more time to try to be back on track at the next race.”
Team Management Reactions
Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“A really good day for us. From Friday we felt our performance was quite good here in Sepang and the track and conditions fitted our technical package. The Sprint showed – again – the level that Pedro has at the moment. Of course, it is his speed but also how he manages the race and keeps calm in those challenging conditions. Big respect. Great also that Brad finished 7th, Enea made it to 9th and Maverick was also quicker.”
Fabiano Sterlacchini – Aprilia Racing Technical Director
“It was a positive Saturday on a track that, due to its characteristics, puts us to the test. We aren’t perfect yet, but we’ve made good progress in both qualifying and the sprint. It was an excellent race, though the closing stages were affected by the bad weather. I’d say the result is very satisfying for everyone at Aprilia and for Marco. It’s a shame for Jorge, who won’t be able to continue the weekend in Malaysia. He wanted to give it a try, and it was a great effort from him to come here and put himself on the line. But in the end, the body has the last word. We need to turn the page and look to the next chapter, Qatar, hoping it goes better, and keep this fight going to the last, even though this setback has certainly made things harder for us.”
Davide Brivio – SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team Principal
“For sure we enjoyed the Sprint race today. I think Ai did an amazing job. He had a great start, good overtaking, good battle since the first corner and then we found ourselves leading the Sprint. But then, when there was a little bit of drizzle, Ai had the most difficult task of staying in front, making the pace and it’s much easier to follow in that situation rather than being in front. I think he did a great job. At the end there was some overtaking, but the track started to be a bit wet and difficult to battle in this condition. Anyway, a very good Sprint, a very good battle, very competitive and I think it’s also good for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be much more difficult – probably tire management will play an important role. We try to learn from today, get set and try again tomorrow.”
Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager
“Well, obviously not the result we were all hoping for in this Sprint here in Sepang, especially after the bright Friday that we’ve had that saw both our riders qualify directly for Q2. So obviously we were hoping for a little bit more. This morning Enea qualified in P7, which is quite a decent position, but all through the race he didn’t have the feeling he was hoping for, and on top of that, the extra drops flying all through the race didn’t really help. To see Enea finishing the race two positions behind his qualifying means that something is not working in the right way. We have one night to understand what happened, and I’m sure tomorrow the team and Enea will manage to achieve the position we are all expecting. On the other side of the garage, we knew Maverick would suffer a little bit with the conditions. When the drops started to intensify, he was at the back of the field and decided to bet. He decided to pit in, hoping for more rain, and change the bike and start with a wet bike, but unfortunately the rain didn’t intensify and Maverick lost his bet. We start again from scratch tomorrow and we hope that we will get the result we deserve.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
“It’s been a challenging weekend so far. Fabio and Álex never quite found the feeling they were looking for during qualifying, which left us starting further back than we would have liked. The rain arriving during the Sprint created an additional challenge. In those conditions, especially in a Sprint race, the riders have to make a quick judgement call on whether to stay out or change bikes. Fabio and Álex made the right decision today. Fortunately, the rain remained light for most of the race, which allowed them to recover from P18 and P17 on the grid respectively to finish in P11 and P12. Although we missed out on the points, it was a positive development after a difficult Friday and Saturday morning. We will analyse today’s data carefully and continue to monitor the weather closely because, as we saw today, it can have a major impact on the outcome.”
Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
“It‘s a shame about the confusion surrounding Jack‘s pit stop. We were preparing the second bike for wet conditions, and it would have been ready one lap later. Jack saw an area of the circuit where the rain was particularly heavy and decided to come in as quickly as possible to change bikes. Unfortunately, we weren‘t quite ready when he arrived. There was perhaps a little too much eagerness to take a risk on Jack‘s side, while we could also have been slightly quicker in preparing the bike, although there wasn‘t much more we could have done. It‘s frustrating because the timing was crucial, and the outcome was not what any of us wanted. Augusto did a very good job to finish a difficult Sprint in 14th position. It‘s another important experience for him as he continues to adapt to racing in MotoGP. Tomorrow will be a different challenge, especially with the heat and humidity and the physical demands of the full Grand Prix distance. Given his current level of race preparation, the priority will be to manage the race carefully, avoid unnecessary risks and finish in the best possible way.”
2026 Malaysian MotoGP Sprint Race Results
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|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | P. Acosta | KTM | 20m04.098 |
| 2 | M. Marquez | Duc | +0.578 |
| 3 | M. Bezzecchi | Apr | +1.310 |
| 4 | A. Ogura | Apr | +1.793 |
| 5 | F. Di Giannantonio | Duc | +5.053 |
| 6 | F. Bagnaia | Duc | +8.330 |
| 7 | B. Binder | KTM | +8.484 |
| 8 | D. Moreira | Hon | +9.001 |
| 9 | E. Bastianini | KTM | +9.101 |
| 10 | J. Zarco | Hon | +9.545 |
| 11 | F. Quartararo | Yam | +10.076 |
| 12 | A. Rins | Yam | +12.250 |
| 13 | L. Marini | Hon | +12.715 |
| 14 | A. Fernandez | Yam | +14.878 |
| 15 | M. Viñales | KTM | +1m42.843 |
| 16 | J. Mir | Hon | +1m43.826 |
| 17 | F. Morbidelli | Duc | +1m45.065 |
| 18 | I. Lecuona | Duc | +1m56.425 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | A. Marquez | Duc | 2 laps |
| DNF | J. Miller | Yam | 2 laps |
Sprint distance: 10 laps / 55.43 km. Winning time: 20m04.098s.
Fastest lap: Pedro Acosta, 1m58.196s (lap two).
Gaps relative to the winner.
MotoGP Championship Points
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||
|---|---|---|
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Marc Marquez | 374 |
| 2 | Jorge Martin | 355 |
| 3 | Marco Bezzecchi | 322 |
| 4 | Pedro Acosta | 275 |
| 5 | Ai Ogura | 265 |
| 6 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | 257 |
| 7 | Raul Fernandez | 236 |
| 8 | Alex Marquez | 181 |
| 9 | Francesco Bagnaia | 170 |
| 10 | Fermin Aldeguer | 125 |
| 11 | Enea Bastianini | 123 |
| 12 | Brad Binder | 111 |
| 13 | Luca Marini | 108 |
| 14 | Diogo Moreira | 78 |
| 15 | Fabio Quartararo | 74 |
| 16 | Franco Morbidelli | 59 |
| 17 | Johann Zarco | 51 |
| 18 | Joan Mir | 33 |
| 19 | Jack Miller | 31 |
| 20 | Alex Rins | 25 |
| 21 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 18 |
| 22 | Maverick Viñales | 12 |
| 23 | Iker Lecuona | 10 |
| 24 | Augusto Fernandez | 6 |
| 25 | Pol Espargaro | 5 |
| 26 | Somkiat Chantra | 3 |
| 27 | Takaaki Nakagami | 3 |
| 28 | Cal Crutchlow | 0 |
| 29 | Jonas Folger | 0 |
| 30 | Lorenzo Savadori | 0 |
| 31 | Michele Pirro | 0 |
| 32 | Aleix Espargaro | 0 |
MotoGP Calendar
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Rnd
|
Date
|
Event
|
Circuit
|
| 1 |
01 Mar
|
Thai
|
Chang International Circuit
|
| 2 |
22 Mar
|
Brazil*
|
Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna
|
| 3 |
29 Mar
|
US
|
Circuit of the Americas
|
| 4 |
26 Apr
|
Spain**
|
Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto
|
| 5 |
10 May
|
France
|
Le Mans
|
| 6 |
17 May
|
Catalonia
|
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
|
| 7 |
31 May
|
Italy
|
Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
|
| 8 |
07 Jun
|
Hungary
|
Balaton Park Circuit
|
| 9 |
21 Jun
|
Czech
|
Automotodrom Brno
|
| 10 |
28 Jun
|
Netherlands
|
TT Circuit Assen
|
| 11 |
12 Jul
|
Germany
|
Sachsenring
|
| 12 |
09 Aug
|
GB
|
Silverstone Circuit
|
| 13 |
30 Aug
|
Aragon
|
MotorLand Aragon
|
| 14 |
13 Sep
|
San Marino
|
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
|
| 15 |
20 Sep
|
Austria
|
Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
|
| 16 |
04 Oct
|
Japan
|
Mobility Resort Motegi
|
| 17 |
11 Oct
|
Indonesia
|
Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit
|
| 18 |
25 Oct
|
Australia
|
Phillip Island
|
| 19 |
01 Nov
|
Malaysia
|
Petronas Sepang International Circuit
|
| 20 |
08 Nov
|
Qatar
|
Lusail International Circuit
|
| 21 |
22 Nov
|
Portugal
|
Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
|
| 22 |
29 Nov
|
Valencia
|
Circuit Ricardo Tormo
|
