Alex Marquez Seizes Late Sepang Pole Ahead of Brother Marc in Thrilling Qualifying Battle

Alex Marquez secured pole position for the MotoGP race at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit after a dramatic qualifying session on Saturday. Riding his BK8 Gresini Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP26 around the 3.44-mile (5.54 km) track, Marquez clocked a time of 1:56.493 to lead the 20-rider field.

The front row promises a thrilling start, with Marc Marquezclaiming second place with a 1:56.563 on his Ducati Lenovo Team machine, while Pedro Acosta completed the front row with a 1:56.577 for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.

Row two sees SuperFile Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura (1:56.617), Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi (1:56.668), and Pertamina Enduro VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio (1:56.842) lined up for the opening laps.

The qualifying session began with significant news as Jorge Martin withdrew from the remainder of the weekend following injury complications from his crash at Phillip Island.

Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) advanced from Q1 to join the pole position battle in Sepang, with Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) narrowly missing out by 0.071 seconds.

In a tightly contested Q2, just 0.175 seconds covered the top five riders. Alex Marquez set the early pace with a 1:56.697, quickly matched by his brother Marc who delivered a 1:56.697 of his own.

Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Pedro Acosta formed an early KTM presence in positions three and four, while Marco Bezzecchi initially positioned Aprilia fifth on the grid.

Despite a crash in qualifying, Bezzecchi recovered to exchange competitive lap times with Ai Ogura, creating strong contention for improved grid positions.

Marc Marquez appeared poised to claim pole with red sector times, but Alex Marquez delivered a late challenge that ultimately denied his brother the top spot by 0.070 seconds.

This marks Alex Marquez’ first pole position since the 2025 Catalan Grand Prix, setting up a compelling sibling rivalry for the race start.

The grid features a competitive lineup with Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) starting from P11 and Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) from P12 as both continue their recoveries from recent injuries.

With Martin’s absence altering the championship dynamics, Marc Marquez now has an opportunity to close ground on his title rival, while Bezzecchi and Aprilia aim to capitalize on their strong qualifying performance in the upcoming Tissot Sprint and main event.

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