Marquez Wins in Malaysia to Set Up Title Match Point in Qatar

Marc Marquez won the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday for the first time since 2018, leading from the first corner at Sepang to stretch his championship lead to 44 points and set up match point at the Qatar Grand Prix next weekend. Reuters reported that the reigning champion beat his brother Alex, the pole sitter, into the opening turn and was never headed again.

Alex Marquez briefly retook the lead, then ran wide a turn later and handed it back. Marc Marquez made no mistakes from there and won by more than four seconds, 4.172 seconds clear of Pedro Acosta in the timing reported by Fox Sports. Acosta, who won Saturday's sprint for KTM, finished second. Alex Marquez was third for Gresini.

The standings after Sepang

The win, Marquez's seventh Grand Prix victory of the season, moved him to 399 points. Jorge Martin, his closest rival on paper, did not race. The Aprilia rider fractured his right wrist in a crash at Phillip Island last week, tried to ride in Saturday morning practice, and withdrew. Martin conceded his title challenge was effectively over.

Marco Bezzecchi, the other outside contender, finished sixth after Ai Ogura and Enea Bastianini passed him in the final two laps. He now trails Marquez by 67 points. Australia's Jack Miller was the 16th and final finisher for Yamaha.

"We did a perfect race, so I'm super, super happy," Marquez said.

Qatar is confirmed, and the title can end there

The season now moves to the Lusail International Circuit for the Qatar Grand Prix from November 6 to 8. If Marquez extends his lead to 74 points in Qatar, he seals his eighth premier class title with two rounds to spare, Reuters reported.

The race will go ahead as planned. MotoGP officials met the teams in Malaysia on Sunday and said they had received no information that would warrant a change, Reuters reported. Some riders had pushed back against travelling to Qatar during the war against Iran. Qatar guaranteed that teams would not be stranded if the conflict escalated. Aprilia and Ducati confirmed they would travel. All teams except Yamaha have committed, with the Japanese team awaiting instructions after a Japanese government advisory urged citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Gulf nation.

The scale of the turnaround is the story of the season. Fox Sports noted that Marquez trailed then leader Bezzecchi by 102 points after the Italian Grand Prix in May. Five months later, he leads the championship and needs one more strong weekend in Qatar to finish the job.