SEPANG, Oct 31 — Gresini Racing MotoGP rider Alex Marquez emerged as the fastest rider in the 2026 Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) during today’s qualifying session at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC).

In Qualifying 2 (Q2), the Spaniard clocked 1 minute 56.493 seconds (s) to secure pole position, ahead of his elder brother and Ducati Lenovo Team rider Marc Marquez, who finished second in 1:56.563s.

Another Spanish rider, Pedro Acosta of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, will start the race from third position after recording 1:56.577s.

Meanwhile, hopes of seeing Aprilia Racing rider Jorge Martin spice up the 2026 Malaysian MotoGP challenge were dashed after he was confirmed to have withdrawn from the competition today.

Martin, who has been struggling with a fractured wrist, took part in the second free practice session (FP2) this morning but struggled to finish the session and ended up in in 21st position.

The 2024 world champion was almost two seconds off the fastest time set by Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini, who clocked 1:58.516s.

In a statement, Aprilia said the rider would continue his recovery from the injury.

Martin fractured his right wrist after crashing while battling championship contender Marc Marquez in the Sprint race at Phillip Island last Saturday, but was subsequently declared fit to take part in yesterday’s practice session.

Marc Marquez currently leads the championship standings with 365 points, just 10 points ahead of Martin, who has accumulated 355 points, while Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia Racing is third with 315 points. — Bernama