Marc Marquez dominates Sepang MotoGP FP1, injured Jorge Martin returns
Marc Marquez dominated opening Malaysian MotoGP practice as injured title rival Jorge Martin returned to action at Sepang.
Marc Marquez led all but the opening six minutes of Friday morning's free practice session for the 2026 Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang.
Ducati's reigning champion and new title leader set the only 1m 58s lap of the session on just his third lap and was never troubled at the top.
Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi and KTM's Pedro Acosta were eventually tied for second place, but almost half a second behind Marquez. However, the favoured soft rear tyre was not used by any of the frontrunners this morning.
Jorge Martin fit to continue
Meanwhile, all eyes were on Marquez's injured title rival Jorge Martin, returning to the track just six days after fracturing his wrist at Phillip Island.
The Aprilia star completed twelve laps, the best of which put him in 20th place, 1.8s behind Marquez.
Most importantly, Martin showed no visible signs of struggling physically and has been passed "fit to race" after a post-FP1 medical review.
By contrast, fellow injured RS-GP rider Raul Fernandez is out of the event after struggling to brake with his healing finger fracture.
Honda HRC team-mates Joan Mir and Luca Marini, both returning from illness, were 14th and 18th respectively.
Red flag
The session was red-flagged with just under ten minutes remaining to clear debris from Iker Lecuona's front mudguard, which disintegrated after touching his front wheel under braking for the final hairpin.
Lecuona, standing in for the injured Fermin Aldeguer, was able to return to the pits without issue.
Tyres
Fernandez was the only rider to use the soft rear tyre in FP1, meaning lap times are expected to improve substantially when the soft appears this afternoon.
The new medium rear was used by most riders, with some also trying the hard compound (last year's medium).
Afternoon Practice, which decided the top ten for direct Qualifying 2 access, starts at 3pm local time (7am UK).
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
