Marquez hits the ground running as injured Martin struggles at Sepang

SEPANG: MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez set the early marker as his injured rival Jorge Martin was well off the pace at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia on Friday.

The Ducati Lenovo rider topped free practice one (FP1) on a solid one minute and 58.912 second lap at the Sepang Circuit, ending the session almost half a second ahead of his nearest rival.

Aprilia Racing's Marco Bezzecchi and Red Bull KTM's Pedro Acosta, who both clocked 1:59.386s (+0.474s), were second and third (separated by their second-best lap times).

Martin, who is 10 points adrift of Marquez, was 20th (+1.835s) from 22 riders who took to the track on Friday morning. The Aprilia rider, who is riding with a fractured wrist, completed 12 laps.

The Spaniard, who passed a medical on Thursday, will undergo another test before he can take part in the afternoon's practice.