A press conference was held in Sepang, Malaysia, in preparation for the MotoGP Grand Prix, with only Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) in attendance.
Arriving at the 2026 Malaysian Grand Prix, Marco Bezzecchi occupies third place in the championship with five wins this season, but he is 50 points behind Marc Marquez and has yet to achieve a podium finish at Sepang.
As is our custom , we reproduce their words here in full without any formatting, even though this time they are translated from English.
🎤 OK, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome everyone to this pre-event press conference for the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix.
We are now at round 19 of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship, here at the Sepang International Circuit, as we come to the end of our Asia-Oceania tour.
With us today, we welcome the reigning World Champion and current World Championship leader, Marc Márquez, rider for the Ducati Lenovo Team. Marc has a 10-point lead at the top of the standings. And for the first time in 2026, Marc will head into a MotoGP weekend as the sole leader of the World Championship. Of course, Marc has already won here at Sepang, in 2014 and 2018.
And as always, we are delighted to welcome Marco Bezzecchi. Marco is currently third in the World Championship, with five Grand Prix wins so far in 2026.
Gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to you both!
🎤 Let's now turn to Marco Bezzecchi, rider for the Aprilia Racing Team.
Marco, you're 50 points behind Marc in the World Championship. There are still 148 points up for grabs, of course. But is this a weekend where you simply need to score more points than Marc to avoid the championship slipping away, especially with fewer and fewer races remaining?
Marco Bezzecchi: “Yes, of course, we’re reaching a limit now. I mean, it’s clear that if I want to try and stay in the fight as long as mathematically I still have the possibility, it’s better to try not to lose too many points.”
Obviously, it's not easy because everyone is very fast. Marc, of course, but Jorge too, we mustn't forget him.
So yes, that's the mindset: to try to do my best in every session, to try to be competitive, and to try to fight for good positions.
🎤 Just a few days ago, Marco, in Australia, Ducati Team Manager Davide Tardozzi said that 50 points is nothing in the championship and that you have the potential to win all the remaining races. Ducati clearly believes you can still prevent them from winning the championship this year. What was your reaction to Davide's comments? It was a nice compliment he paid you…
"Yes, well, I appreciate it, obviously, but not everything he said is true."
50 points is still 50 points. It's not like it's zero.
It's true that in racing, anything can happen, and I really appreciate what he said and what they think of me, but it will never be easy.
In any case, I'm not complaining. I just want to do my best.
🎤 Marco, it's quite surprising that you've never been on the podium here in Malaysia. It's never been a particularly favorable track for the Aprilia, but you did set the second-fastest time in the February test, behind Alex Márquez. So, do you feel that this year could be different? Do you think you can be much more competitive throughout the weekend?
"Well, I don't really know, because last year too, during the preseason, we felt better than during the race weekend.
So, in the end, our expectations aren't that high. I don't want to get my hopes up too much. I just want to get on the bike and see how I feel.
Obviously, this season's winter testing went much better than last year's. But as you probably know, a test is still just a test, and a race weekend is a different story.
So let's stay focused and try to start in the best way possible.
🎤 Of course, still fully in the fight for the championship and still in the game, Jorge Martín has been declared fit to participate in FP1 tomorrow morning after a medical check. He stated that, if he weren't fighting for the World Championship, he would already be back in Andorra by now. A question for you both, gentlemen. Did he really have a choice given what was at stake and his position in the championship fight? And I imagine that, if you were in exactly the same situation as Jorge, you would have done exactly the same thing: come here and try to ride.
“Yes, I agree with Marc. First of all, I am obviously happy to see him here.”
I think we've both been in a similar situation before, so it's certain that, in the same situation, we would have tried too.
So it's a good thing he's here. I hope he feels good. And if he feels good, then of course he'll be fast.
🎤 I wanted to know how similar or different your motorcycle is to the one you had during the Sepang test?
"She's different. I don't know to what extent, but she's different."
We know that you MotoGP riders have been discussing the Qatar race together in recent days. Can you give us an idea of the guarantees you expect from the championship before you're ready to go?
"Ultimately, I have confidence in the organization, so their decision will necessarily be made taking many aspects into account.
So, we'll see.
I mean, that's not our discussion and it's not something we need to talk about here.
Championship standings:
Ranking credit: MotoGP.com
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