Alex Márquez takes Sepang pole as Martín withdraws

Alex Márquez secured pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang on Saturday, while Jorge Martín withdrew from the remainder of the weekend to continue recovering from a fractured wrist. Marc Márquez qualified second, 0.070 seconds behind his brother, keeping the championship leader in position to gain ground on his injured title rival. Alex Márquez set the fastest lap in qualifying at 1:56.493. Marc Márquez was second, with Pedro Acosta third for KTM, 0.084 seconds off pole. Aprilia riders Ai Ogura and Marco Bezzecchi completed the top five. The results set the grid for the sprint and Grand Prix. Aprilia said Martín would sit out the rest of the Malaysian event to focus on his recovery. He had fractured his right wrist at Phillip Island a week earlier and attempted to ride at Sepang. After completing three runs totaling eight laps in a 30-minute practice session before qualifying, he was unable to continue. Aprilia team manager Paolo Bonora said Martín was not able to apply force under braking and that the plan was to return to Spain and work toward competing in Qatar. Martín was unclassified in qualifying and, before withdrawing, would have started 21st for the...