In Martin's absence: Marquez extends championship lead in Sepang
The Ducati rider wins the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, pulling away from his injured rival.
The big winner of the MotoGP weekend in Malaysia is Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team).
The Spaniard wins Sunday's race in Sepang, extending his championship lead over his closest pursuer Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) to 44 points.
Martin had to miss the weekend in Sepang. After his wrist fracture in Phillip Island, a start in Malaysia was not possible. However, the Aprilia rider plans to return to action at next race weekend in Qatar.
On Sunday, however, Martin had to watch as Marc Marquez overtook his brother and pole-setter Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) at the start and then confidently brought the race home. It is the 80th Grand Prix victory of his career.
Acosta finishes second
In Marquez's slipstream, KTM factory rider Pedro Acosta, who won Saturday's sprint, secured second place.
Alex Marquez finished third, Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) fourth, Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) fifth, and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) had to settle for sixth place.
In the championship standings, Marc Marquez has 399 points with three Grand Prix weekends remaining until the end of the season, Martin has 355. Marco Bezzecchi is also still somewhat within reach with 332 points.
