Podium for Aprilia Racing in Malaysian sprint

Nov 4, 2026 Michael Le Pard News

sterlacchini

MARCO BEZZECCHI THIRD, JORGE MARTÍN ENDS HIS MALAYSIAN GP EARLY
Aprilia Racing had a mixed Saturday at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit.

Marco Bezzecchi started fifth on the grid and finished third in the sprint. The sprint began in dry conditions, but rain at half-distance made the track even more challenging. The Italian stayed out on slicks until the chequered flag, taking his seventh sprint podium of the season, following those at Le Mans, Balaton Park, Silverstone, Aragón, Misano and Austria.

After a few laps in FP2, Jorge Martín decided to stop before qualifying. He will take no further part in the Malaysian Grand Prix and will concentrate on recovering from the non-displaced fracture of the distal radius he sustained in the Phillip Island sprint just six days ago.

Ai Ogura of the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team finished fourth. A result that sees Aprilia place the only two RS-GP26 bikes on the grid inside the top four.
I’m really happy with the sprint result. I made a few mistakes early on, but I started to feel better and began to make up ground, even though the rain made the conditions really on the limit.
It’s a shame and obviously a bit frustrating, but I think just trying counted for something. Being back on a MotoGP bike after only six days is incredible. I gave it everything I had: the recovery process is progressing fast, but not fast enough for me to be competitive. I don’t think I could have managed 20 laps, given that I couldn’t even do two in a row. We decided to stop, recover and take a little more time to try to be back on track at the next race.
It was a positive Saturday on a track that, due to its characteristics, puts us to the test. We aren’t perfect yet, but we’ve made good progress in both qualifying and the sprint. It was an excellent race, though the closing stages were affected by the bad weather. I’d say the result is very satisfying for everyone at Aprilia and for Marco. It’s a shame for Jorge, who won’t be able to continue the weekend in Malaysia. He wanted to give it a try, and it was a great effort from him to come here and put himself on the line. But in the end, the body has the last word. We need to turn the page and look to the next chapter, Qatar, hoping it goes better, and keep this fight going to the last, even though this setback has certainly made things harder for us.

2027 Newest Bike Reviews

2027 Motorcycle Model Review Guides

Related Articles