Marquez stretches MotoGP championship lead after Martin pulls out

Marc Marquez extended his lead in the MotoGP standings when he finished second in a thrilling Malaysian sprint race Saturday behind Pedro Acosta, with title rival Jorge Martin out injured.

Acosta crossed the finish line in 20min 04.098 sec, with fellow Spaniard Marquez 0.578sec behind in second for Ducati.

Italian Marco Bezzecchi mounted a late challenge to take third at Sepang.

Reigning world champion Marquez went 19 points clear of closest challenger Martin, who withdrew from the weekend action earlier in the day after failing to recover from a broken wrist.

The seven-time world champion Marquez survived an early scare when he almost collided with Ai Ogura on a sharp turn after the lights went green, as younger brother Alex Marquez retained the early lead from pole.

But Alex Marquez crashed out on Lap 3 after he skidded off on a sweeping turn, allowing Japan's Ogura to become the new race leader.

Championship leader Marquez, who had started from second before falling back, moved into third behind Acosta.

A light drizzle swept across the Sepang circuit and the race soon changed momentum when Acosta overtook Ogura to become the third race leader on the seventh lap, before the Japanese was gobbled up by Marquez into second.

Marquez had to use his experience to fend off the challenge of Ogura as both men traded places, before the Spaniard accelerated past the Trackhouse rider on a tight corner to pursue Acosta right to the finish line.

Martin's premature exit from Sepang was a huge blow to his title hopes, with just three race weekends to go after this.

The Aprilia rider fears his chances of reclaiming the title he won in 2024 could be over.

"Maybe I can win it, but for me it's already a loss," said the Spaniard.

"So for sure I will fight till the end. Not only for me, because at the end of the day I'm already champion, but for my team, for my people, I will fight till the end."

The main race is on Sunday.

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