Portugal Colonial - Marquez wins in Malaysia to close in on MotoGP world title

The Ducati star romped to a dominant win in 40min 14.236sec, finishing 4.172sec ahead of Red Bull's Pedro Acosta as his younger brother Alex Marquez came third, almost six seconds adrift.

Marquez is now 44 points ahead of his closest rival Jorge Martin after a seventh victory this season.

It was also his third triumph in Malaysia in the MotoGP class, having last won in Sepang back in 2018.

With Aprilia's Martin missing the Sepang weekend with a broken wrist, his fellow Spaniard Marquez can seal the championship next weekend in Qatar.

"Closer, but not done," the 33-year-old Marquez said of the championship race.

"So in the end, same mentality. Try to keep pushing, try to be super focused because there are not many races to go, but many moments to go."

After Qatar there are just two weekends left in the campaign.

Marquez wasted no time in snatching the lead from his brother as the riders came into Turn 1 from the start, and the siblings briefly traded places before the older Marquez edged ahead in scorching conditions.

Marquez began to pull away from the chasing pack to develop a 1.7 sec advantage over his brother, who was valiantly defending his second spot against Acosta.

Acosta was rewarded for his persistence as the Red Rull rider snatched second place from Alex Marquez on Lap 10.

At the front Marquez coasted to victory unchallenged to continue his purple streak in the second half of the 2026 season.

Despite closing in on another world title, Marquez refused to get carried away.

"Looks like this weekend I took Alex Marquez's skills in Malaysia because I was riding exactly like how he rode last year when he won,” said Marquez.

Alex Marquez said he will undergo right shoulder surgery in Madrid after this, ultimately ruling him out of the Qatar race next week.

"It's time to take that surgery and try to come back stronger in Valencia," he said, referring to the last race of the season.

Ferreira--PC