MARQUEZ AIMS TO BUILD ON TITLE LEAD AND KEEP TAKING RISKS AT SEPANG

Marc Marquez heads to Sepang with the MotoGP championship lead after a dramatic Australian Grand Prix weekend, but says his priority is to remain competitive rather than focus on the standings.

Jorge Martin, who had led the points, fractured his right wrist in a sprint crash at Phillip Island. Marquez won the sprint and scored 12 points, moving 10 clear. The Australian Grand Prix was then cancelled because of poor weather, leaving the gap unchanged. Martin received medical clearance to try Friday’s first practice on his Aprilia, with another assessment to follow. Marquez said he was pleased his title rival had made the trip and expected him to be quick once on track. “It is normal that he tries,” he said. “Our protocol allows him to try.”

Marquez acknowledged that the championship fight had reached a point where taking risks could be necessary, as he did at Phillip Island, but said his approach remained to get the most from each weekend. Sepang presents a very different challenge from Phillip Island, and difficult weather is expected to make the weekend harder. “The race on Saturday in Australia gave me a great boost, but we must stay focused: the goal is to keep playing a leading role and manage every session and effort as best we can,” he said.

Marquez has won twice at the Malaysian circuit, in 2014 and 2018. He missed last year’s race through injury and finished 12th in 2024 after crashing while riding for Gresini. He described his Sepang results as inconsistent and said the circuit demands both a strong qualifying lap and the ability to manage a full grand prix distance. Although he has yet to win there with Ducati, he said his pace had recently been close to Martin’s and Francesco Bagnaia’s. His brother Alex, who won last year’s grand prix and stood on the podium in both races, is also aiming to win. “There are situations where brothers don’t need to talk about it,” Marc said, adding that they would see how the weekend and races unfolded.

Ducati team-mate Bagnaia arrives with a more successful Sepang history, having won twice there in the past five years. Last season he took the sprint victory and was on course for a grand prix podium before a puncture ended his hopes. That record offers encouragement after a difficult Australian weekend, though Bagnaia said he would need to find his form quickly.

“In Australia it wasn't an easy weekend, but Sepang is one of the overseas tracks I love the most,” the two-time world champion said. He added that the Desmosedici GP had performed well at the circuit and that the team had “wonderful memories” there. “We will work hard right from Friday to immediately find the right feeling and play our cards over the weekend.”

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi is third in the standings, 50 points behind Marquez, after finishing fourth in the Australian sprint. With four grands prix remaining, he said he wanted to stay in the title fight as long as it remained mathematically possible and avoid losing too many points in Malaysia. “I try to do my best in every session and be competitive,” he said, while noting that Marquez and Martin were both fast.

Bezzecchi welcomed Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi’s praise of his title potential, but cautioned that a 50-point deficit was significant: “Fifty points are 50 points—it’s not nothing.” He has never reached the Sepang podium, despite being second-fastest at the February test behind Alex Marquez. He said he did not want to set expectations based on testing, adding: “A test is a test—a race weekend is a different story.” Bezzecchi also backed Martin’s decision to attempt the weekend: “In his situation, I would do the same. If he feels good, he will be fast.”