Late-starting Marc Marquez leads Sepang MotoGP warm-up, Qatar title chance?
Marc Marquez back on top despite a late start to Sunday's warm-up for the 2026 Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang.
Marc Marquez made a late start to Sunday morning's warm-up at Sepang but still finished nearly half a second clear of the field.
Aware of the physical challenge all riders will face in this afternoon's baking heat, the Ducati star waited until halfway through the ten-minute session before heading out.
However, he went straight to the top of the timesheets, eventually extending his advantage to almost half a second over younger brother and polesitter Alex Marquez. Marquez immediately reached for an energy gel after his four-lap run.
“I just rode the last laps to understand the maps and all these things," Marquez said. "The feeling was good, but as we know the track conditions change a lot from the warm-up to the race.”
Marc Marquez's Qatar title chance
Marc Marquez extended his World Championship lead over the absent Jorge Martin to 19 points with a runner-up finish behind Pedro Acosta on Saturday.
If the Ducati star increases his advantage to at least 38 points this afternoon, meaning either first or second place in the GP, he will have a mathematical chance of winning his tenth world title next Sunday in Qatar.
After Qatar, only two rounds - in Portugal and Valencia - and a maximum of 74 points will remain.
If riders are equal on world championship points, Grand Prix wins are used as a tie-break: Marquez has won six GPs so far this season, Martin just one GP and Marco Bezzecchi five GPs.
Bezzecchi starts today 52 points behind Marquez.
Tyres
All riders except Brad Binder, who used a medium front, ran soft tyres front and rear during warm-up, in preparation for the 20-lap Grand Prix.
Fallers
VR46 Ducati's Franco Morbidelli was the only faller in warm-up.
Rain?
After raindrops disrupted Saturday's Sprint, there is again a chance of rain during the grand prix, which starts at 3pm local time (7am UK).
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.
