MotoGP title ‘lost’ after Sepang withdrawal, says Martin, as Alex Marquez takes pole in Malaysia

SEPANG, Malaysia - Gresini Racing’s Alex Marquez stormed to a thrilling pole position at the Malaysian MotoGP on Oct 31 as 2024 champion Jorge Martin withdrew from the race weekend to continue his recovery from a wrist fracture.

Alex snatched pole from elder brother and reigning champion Marc Marquez with his final flying lap at the Sepang International Circuit, denying the Ducati rider after he appeared set to claim top spot in the closing moments of Q2.

The pole was only the third of Alex’s MotoGP career and his first of the season.

“I wasn’t expecting to make that lap time, honestly speaking, but already the first time attack was really good for me,” Alex said.

“It was already in the 1:56s, so much better than I was expecting... I couldn’t believe it. I put everything together. Everything was working really well on the bike.”

Martin, who cut short the Oct 30 practice to aid his recovery from the injury suffered in a sprint-race crash at Phillip Island last weekend, briefly took part in the morning practice session on Oct 31.

However, the Spaniard was struggling visibly and did not take part in Q1, ending his weekend.

“We decided together with the doctors to not continue,” Aprilia team manager Paolo Bonora told broadcasters.

“His feeling was better, to be honest, compared to yesterday, but he was not able to force during the braking, so we decided all together to not continue and to keep focus on the Doha GP.”

Alex clocked a lap of 1min 56.493sec to secure pole, with Marc finishing 0.070sec adrift in second after surging from fifth position to briefly put himself on course for pole.

Pedro Acosta completed the front row after another impressive qualifying performance for KTM.

Aprilia’s Ai Ogura and Marco Bezzecchi qualified fourth and fifth, respectively, with Fabio Di Giannantonio taking sixth in a tightly contested session.

LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco and Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia advanced to Q2 after navigating the opening qualifying session, but Bagnaia endured a frustrating afternoon.

The Italian briefly climbed up the order before running wide at Turn One and venting his frustration by striking the windscreen of his Ducati after returning to the pits. REUTERS