Marquez Wins in Malaysia, One Step Closer to the Title

Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez finished first in the Malaysian Grand Prix held on Sunday. Marquez won this race for the first time since 2018. With this victory, he extended his lead over main rival Jorge Martin, who could not race due to injury, to 44 points, raising his total to 399 points.

Marquez passed his brother Alex, who was on pole, at the start. Alex soon retook the lead, but when he ran wide at the next corner, Marc regained the front position. From there, Marquez made no mistakes, took the flag and won by more than four seconds.

If Marquez can extend his lead to 74 points at next week's Qatar Grand Prix, he could secure his eighth world championship with two races remaining. Speaking after the race, Marquez said he had ridden a very good race and was very happy. However, he stressed that he was not yet comfortable and needed to stay focused and keep up the pressure.

KTM rider Pedro Acosta, who won Saturday's sprint race, finished second. Gresini rider Alex was third. Acosta passed Alex in the middle of the race after a long battle, but by then the leader's advantage had grown too large to close. Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi, one of the outside contenders for the title, was passed by Ai Ogura and Enea Bastianini late in the race and finished sixth. Jorge Martin tried to take part in practice on Saturday morning but could not race.