Jorge Martin has been passed fit to race at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia at Sepang, six days after fracturing his right wrist, motogp.com reported.
The Aprilia rider is 10 points behind championship leader Marc Marquez of Ducati Lenovo. Sepang is round 19 of the season, according to motogp.com.
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Cleared After a Second Look
Martin broke his right wrist in a crash during the Sprint at Phillip Island on Saturday 24 October, Crash.net reported. The injury ruled him out of the Australian Grand Prix.
That race never ran. It was cancelled because poor visibility stopped the medical helicopter from flying, according to Crash.net, so the gap stayed at 10 points with four rounds and 148 points to go.
CT scans ruled out a second fracture and confirmed the break to his radius is non-displaced, Crash.net reported. Martin went to Sepang rather than Europe and passed a medical check on Thursday 29 October.
Aprilia set out the terms in a statement that day: “Jorge Martin underwent a medical check today by the FIM Grand Prix World Championship Medical Team and was declared fit to take part in FP1. He will be reviewed again after that session.”
After a further review following FP1, he was passed fit for the Malaysian Grand Prix, motogp.com reported. Team manager Paolo Bonora said Martin “expected to feel worse”, according to motogp.com.
Marquez Sets the Marker
Marquez topped the first practice session on Friday 30 October with a 1m58.912s on his third lap, MCNews reported. The lap was 0.039s outside the race lap record Alex Marquez set at Sepang in 2025, according to MCNews.
Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta were equal second on 1m59.386s, 0.474s back. Enea Bastianini was fourth and Brad Binder fifth, putting three KTMs in the top five, MCNews reported.
Martin was 20th on 2m00.747s, 1.835s off the pace. He completed 12 laps, four of them valid timed laps, according to MCNews.
Marquez won the MotoGP race at Sepang in 2014 and 2018, motogp.com reported, and he leads Bezzecchi by 50 points.
Ducati has won the last four Malaysian Grands Prix, according to Crash.net. The best Aprilia at the 2025 race finished tenth.
Two Riders Out
Raul Fernandez will not race. The Trackhouse Aprilia rider was declared unfit after a review during FP1 and is out of the event, motogp.com reported. He heads to Spain for treatment and is aiming to be fit for the Qatar Grand Prix.
Fermin Aldeguer remains out with a fractured right hand, and Iker Lecuona stands in for him at Gresini, according to motogp.com.
Two riders are back. Joan Mir and Luca Marini return after illness, Crash.net reported.
The Australians
Jack Miller was 12th in MotoGP’s FP1 on 2m00.324s, MCNews reported. In the support classes, Joel Kelso was sixth in Moto3 and Senna Agius 13th in Moto2.
Formula One has a title run-in of its own, and prw has looked at Kimi Antonelli’s chance to clinch the F1 title in Mexico City.
Lights Out at 6pm AEDT
Forecasts give a risk of thunderstorms throughout the event, according to Crash.net.
Saturday 31 October at Sepang opens with FP2 at 10.10am local time (UTC+8), with qualifying from 10.50am, motogp.com reported. The Tissot Sprint starts at 3pm local, which is 6pm AEDT on Saturday 31 October.
On Sunday 1 November, Warm Up runs at 10.40am local. The Grand Prix starts at 3pm local, 6pm AEDT on Sunday 1 November, over 20 laps.
More motorsport is in prw’s Sports archive.
Sources: motogp.com, “TIME SCHEDULE: Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia”, 28 October 2026 (https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2026/10/28/time-schedule-petronas-grand-prix-of-malaysia/1181207); motogp.com, “The fight goes on: Martin officially fit to race in Malaysia”, 30 October 2026 (https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2026/10/30/the-fight-goes-on-martin-officially-fit-to-race-in-malaysia/1181918); Crash.net, “Jorge Martin passes Sepang MotoGP medical check”, 29 October 2026 (https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1108578/1/jorge-martin-passes-sepang-motogp-medical-check); MCNews, “Marquez tops Sepang FP1 as injured Martin cleared to race”, 30 October 2026 (https://www.mcnews.com.au/malaysian-motogp-2026-friday-practice-results/)
Photo: Morio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The canopied grandstand tower at Sepang International Circuit, photographed during the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix weekend.
