The Sepang International Circuit may not have delivered the most exciting MotoGP race of 2026, but there were plenty of talking points from last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Track deterioration, Qatar controversy and Jorge Martin’s attempted comeback kept the fans occupied, as Aprilia and Ducati experienced contrasting fortunes in South East Asia.

Here are the winners and losers from MotoGP’s Malaysian Grand Prix: 

Winner: Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Marc Marquez has a mixed record at Sepang, but he was right on the ball at last week’s Malaysian GP. Fast, tactical and composed, his performance had all the hallmarks of a perfect masterclass.

Apart from one small crash in Practice, Marquez didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend, balancing aggression with sound judgement. With Jorge Martin struggling and eventually withdrawing, Marquez recognised he had a great opportunity to pull away in the championship, but was determined to do so without taking unnecessary risks.

Still, he was arguably the fastest rider in the field at Sepang. In qualifying, he was genuinely outpaced by his brother Alex Marquez after making a small mistake at Turn 14 that compromised his final flying lap. In the sprint, he played it safe amid the weather conditions, only getting into combat mode when he needed to pass Ai Ogura’s Trackhouse Aprilia. 

Sunday was when he really shone, helped by Alex Marquez acting as a rear gunner in the first half of the race, when the soft tyre was at its most effective.

A 10th world title - and eighth in MotoGP - is now within touching distance, and his rivals must be wondering if there is any way to stop him in the years to come.

Loser: Aprilia

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

The disappointment on Massimo Rivola’s face was clear to see as he watched Marco Bezzecchi bang wheels with Ai Ogura and lose a position to the only other Aprilia left in the field.

The Noale factory endured a miserable weekend at Sepang in a season that has already seen it go through several ups and downs. First, Raul Fernandez was forced to pull out of the Malaysian GP after just five laps on the board in FP1. Then, Jorge Martin’s valiant attempt to race on with a wrist injury had to be cut short.

By the time qualifying came around, Aprilia was down to just two riders, and its best-remaining title challenger was the slower of the duo. In the sprint, Ogura offered a glimmer of hope as he took the lead after Alex Marquez’s crash, but with the threat of rain ever present, there was always a risk that he would drop the order. A proper downpour never materialised, but with sporadic spots of rain across the circuit, Ogura slipped to fourth, behind Bezzecchi’s factory bike.

On Sunday, even a podium proved beyond Aprilia’s reach. Worse still, Bezzecchi and Ogura clashed at Turn 1 while battling for fourth - an incident that could have easily left one, if not both, on the ground. Bezzecchi eventually finished sixth after running off the track on the final lap.

Aprilia now needs to regroup quickly, or it risks losing the manufacturers’ title to Ducati as well.

Winner: Pedro Acosta

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Only Pedro Acosta could feel “terrible” on the bike and yet pull off a sprint win a day later. That’s just the kind of performance one has come to expect from him in his third season in the premier class.

On Saturday morning, he qualified his factory KTM on the front row, only behind the Ducatis of Alex and Marc Marquez. In the sprint, Alex Marquez took himself out of the fight with a crash on lap 3, but Acosta still had to overcome Ai Ogura, who looked fast enough to win in dry conditions. After following him for several laps, the Spaniard was finally able to make a move, clinching the second sprint win of his career.

His front-end struggles did prove to be a serious limitation on Sunday, however, as he spent half the race stuck behind Alex Marquez. By the time he passed the Gresini rider, Marc Marquez had disappeared into the distance, putting the race win out of his reach. 

Still, Acosta matched his best points haul of the season in Malaysia, capitalising on Aprilia’s troubles to emerge as the highest-placed non-Ducati rider in the field.

Loser: Iker Lecuona

Iker Lecuona, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Iker Lecuona has built a reputation as a super sub, but this weekend proved to be a major disappointment for him. By his own admission, Sepang is the worst track in the world for him, with its layout having never suited his riding style. He is also not a fan of heat or humidity (nearly the entire WSBK season takes place in Europe), so a Tropical Asian event was always going to be a struggle. 

Add to the fact that he has now contested five rounds in six weekends, and it is easy to understand why Lecuona felt he had nothing left in the tank.

In qualifying, Lecuona was the second-slowest rider on the grid, only ahead of the Pramac Yamaha of Augusto Fernandez (another substitute rider). Considering that Alex Marquez put the other Gresini Ducati on pole, the gap between the two team-mates was particularly stark.

The two races offered little improvement. On Saturday, he finished dead last in the field after a gamble on wet-weather tyres failed spectacularly. In a bone-dry Sunday race, held in the sweltering heat, Lecuona bagged a single point but finished almost 40s off the lead, losing almost two seconds per lap to the frontrunners.

Winner: Luca Marini

Luca Marini, Honda HRC

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Anyone wondering why Luca Marini is Honda’s top scorer in MotoGP despite often being the slowest of its four riders in qualifying would have found the answer in Malaysia.
Returning to action after his Australian GP withdrawal due to a virus, Marini was still lacking full fitness on his arrival at Sepang. In fact, after Saturday’s qualifying and sprint, he felt “completely destroyed” by fatigue, even sounding out alarms about the main race.

But come Sunday, he demonstrated remarkable perseverance, jumping to eighth on the opening lap with a rapid getaway from 13th on the grid. The Italian explained that he “risked everything” at the start because he needed “motivation to forget about his physical condition”.

His only regret was that Johann Zarco was forced to retire late on due to technical issues, robbing him of a late fight with the LCR rider. Nevertheless, Marini held off the faster Ducati of Fabio di Giannantonio on worn tyres to secure seventh place.

Loser: MotoGP SEG

All rider in the meeting

Photo by: MotoGP

MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group’s grip on the championship and the paddock at large appears to be loosening, judging by the events surrounding the Qatar GP. For the longest time, Carmelo Ezpeleta ruled the series with an iron fist, exerting control both directly and indirectly through various committees. 

But now even the riders have managed to unite themselves against the organisation formerly known as Dorna, having grown increasingly unhappy with several rule changes related to sporting matters and promotional activities. Any ‘workers union’ is always a bad thing for any organisation’s management, and MotoGP SEG must be worried about riders putting aside their individual interests to act together. The fact that MotoGP SEG refused to provide an office for riders to hold a meeting on Saturday showed that it is against any form of a union, even if it would never publicly admit as much.

The fact that Yamaha is boycotting the Qatar GP, despite MotoGP SEG’s threats, shows that manufacturers are prepared to defy the organisers, regardless of potential consequences.