HODGSON QUESTIONS HOW ALEX MARQUEZ LOST THE LEAD TO HIS BROTHER

Marc Marquez took control of the Malaysian Grand Prix early, but the opening-lap exchange with his brother Alex left commentator Neil Hodgson puzzled. Alex had started from pole at Sepang, a circuit where he had dominated the previous year, yet he finished third behind Marc and Pedro Acosta.

Marc initially moved ahead at Turn 2. At the next corner, however, he appeared to ease off, allowing Alex to retake the lead. Hodgson, speaking on TNT Sports 2, said: “What happened there? That was so strange. It was almost like Marc was trying to save his tyre really, really early on, which seems like a silly thing to do.”

After watching a replay, Hodgson suggested Marc might have selected a gear that was too high, but added: “I can’t imagine him doing that.” He later described the moment as his “only confused point of the race” and said he wished he could ask Marc what had happened coming out of Turn 3.

Alex’s lead did not last. Marc soon pulled clear and was not challenged by Acosta or his brother. Hodgson also questioned Alex’s move at Turn 4, saying it looked as though he had out-braked himself and “left the door wide open” for Marc. When colleague Suzi Perry asked whether Alex might have let his brother through to help his title bid, Hodgson replied: “It looked like that, didn’t it?”

Hodgson acknowledged that the impression would not sit well with fans, saying: “Do we like it? No. Does anyone like it? Absolutely not, but you sort of can’t blame him. It’s just so weird, isn’t it?”

Alex’s weekend had already taken a difficult turn when he crashed from the lead in Saturday’s Sprint. On Sunday, he was unable to hold off Acosta for second. Meanwhile, Jorge Martin’s withdrawal from the race left Marc 44 points clear in the championship and with match point at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Alex will miss that next round to undergo shoulder surgery. He joked that, in his absence, Marc would have to “fend for himself” in the title fight.