Marc Marquez brought humor to the paddock after the Malaysian MotoGP Sprint at Sepang, joking with his Ducati team that the Aprilia squad must’ve “had some kind of meeting” after Ai Ogura’s notably aggressive racing.
Close Battles and a Light-Hearted Take
Marquez finished second in the Sprint after a tense race-long fight with Ogura, who made several daring moves—especially at Turn 1 and Turn 5—before Marquez decisively re-passed and ended the duel. Post-race footage from Ducati’s YouTube series “Inside Ducati” showed Marquez discussing Ogura’s approach with a grin:
“They [Aprilia] had some kind of meeting,” he joked.
Early Mistake Invites Pressure
Marquez admitted he struggled off the start, hitting the limiter between gears and ceding space for Ogura’s first attack:
“I made a mistake at the start… I hit the limiter shifting from second to third… Ogura was really aggressive into the first braking zone.”
Qualifying Woes and On-Track Recovery
Earlier in qualifying, Marquez faced more drama with three slides in turns 13 and 14 after a gear selection mishap. Explaining to crew chief Marco Rigamonti, he recounted,
“Normally you do third gear, second; I did fourth, first, and second in the middle of the corner! I didn’t know where I was!”
Back on Top at Sepang
Despite the scares and aggressive competition, Marquez’s weekend ended on a high as he took victory in Sunday’s main race—his first at Sepang since 2019 and his third career win there in the premier class. With momentum now on his side, Marquez heads to Qatar as a major MotoGP title contender.
