Alex Marquez reclaims pole on his final run
Alex Marquez secured pole position for round 19 of the 2026 MotoGP season at Sepang on October 31 with a 1:56.493. Marc Marquez was second, 0.070 seconds behind, and Pedro Acosta was another 0.014 seconds back in third. Two Ducatis and a KTM filled the front row, covered by just 0.084 seconds.
Alex Marquez led the opening Q2 runs with a 1:56.697, initially 0.267 seconds quicker than Marc Marquez. During the final exchanges, Marco Bezzecchi and Ai Ogura each moved to the top before Marc Marquez regained first place and Acosta climbed to second. Alex Marquez then improved again to deny his brother pole. It was his first pole since the 2025 Catalan Grand Prix.
Ogura was the fastest Aprilia rider in fourth on 1:56.617, ahead of Bezzecchi, who finished 0.175 seconds off pole. Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the second row in sixth. With the first five covered by 0.175 seconds, the contest extended beyond the Marquez brothers, although qualifying gaps alone cannot determine the outcome of the Sprint.
Zarco and Bagnaia advance as Martin withdraws
Johann Zarco led Q1 in 1:57.341, with Francesco Bagnaia claiming the other Q2 place on 1:57.552. Luca Marini missed out by just 0.071 seconds. Zarco subsequently improved to 1:57.016 in Q2 and finished eighth. Bagnaia recorded 1:57.287 for tenth, reaching the final session but remaining outside the first three rows.
Enea Bastianini finished seventh in Q2 and Franco Morbidelli ninth, while Joan Mir was eleventh and Maverick Viñales twelfth. The complete Q1 and Q2 classifications are listed separately below.
Before qualifying, MotoGP announced Jorge Martin’s withdrawal from the rest of the Malaysian Grand Prix. He had attempted to return at Sepang after his injury in the Australian Sprint but could not continue. The official Q1 sheet lists him as not classified, without a valid lap time. The two tables below retain each session’s complete entry list, best laps and lap totals, with gaps measured against the leader of that session.
Complete Q1 classification
| Pos | No. | Rider | Team | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Castrol Honda LCR | 1:57.341 | — | 6 |
| 2 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | 1:57.552 | +0.211 | 6 |
| 3 | 10 | Luca Marini | Honda HRC Castrol | 1:57.623 | +0.282 | 7 |
| 4 | 11 | Diogo Moreira | Pro Honda LCR | 1:57.733 | +0.392 | 5 |
| 5 | 33 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:58.127 | +0.786 | 6 |
| 6 | 43 | Jack Miller | Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP | 1:58.148 | +0.807 | 6 |
| 7 | 42 | Alex Rins | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team | 1:58.155 | +0.814 | 6 |
| 8 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team | 1:58.219 | +0.878 | 7 |
| 9 | 27 | Iker Lecuona | BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP | 1:58.456 | +1.115 | 7 |
| 10 | 47 | Augusto Fernandez | Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP | 1:58.855 | +1.514 | 6 |
| NC | 89 | Jorge Martin | Aprilia Racing | — | — | — |
Complete Q2 classification
| Pos | No. | Rider | Team | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 73 | Alex Marquez | BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP | 1:56.493 | — | 6 |
| 2 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Ducati Lenovo Team | 1:56.563 | +0.070 | 6 |
| 3 | 37 | Pedro Acosta | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:56.577 | +0.084 | 6 |
| 4 | 79 | Ai Ogura | SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team | 1:56.617 | +0.124 | 6 |
| 5 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia Racing | 1:56.668 | +0.175 | 7 |
| 6 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | 1:56.842 | +0.349 | 7 |
| 7 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 1:56.970 | +0.477 | 6 |
| 8 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Castrol Honda LCR | 1:57.016 | +0.523 | 4 |
| 9 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | 1:57.268 | +0.775 | 7 |
| 10 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | 1:57.287 | +0.794 | 4 |
| 11 | 36 | Joan Mir | Honda HRC Castrol | 1:57.343 | +0.850 | 7 |
| 12 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 1:57.737 | +1.244 | 7 |
