A masterclass performance, a first match point and all in front of a record crowd: a successful weekend for Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team). The Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia served up a further instalment of drama as #93 charged to glory, whilst Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) ended his weekend early despite a heroic attempt to race. With the title fight reaching a pivotal point, get stuck into the hottest topics from Round 19!

"Sometimes life gives you special moments"

Perfection on Sunday. It was another stunning ride from Marc Marquez, with the #93 earning his seventh GP victory of the season. The Ducati star moves a step closer to his eighth MotoGP World Championship, setting up match point next time out in Qatar. 44 points is his advantage, marking an incredible weekend – but just how special was it in Marc’s eyes?

Marc Marquez: "My target was to lead from the beginning, control the first four or five laps, and then put in my rhythm and save the tyres. Honestly speaking, I was riding in a very good way. I was enjoying it. Quite a long race; I’m very tired. It looks like this weekend I took Alex Marquez’s skills in Malaysia because I was riding exactly like he rode last year when he won.

"Sometimes life gives you special moments, unique moments. This Malaysia GP gave me the chance to increase the lead in the Championship. You have the chance, you must take it. I was super concentrated to take the maximum points. We took 34 points, so very important for the Championship."

"I will fight until the end"

Despite a superhuman attempt, Jorge Martin walked away from the weekend with zero points scored. Martin withdrew from the weekend after FP2 on Saturday morning, with his attention turning to next time out. The Aprilia star walks away from the weekend 44 points adrift of Marc Marquez but reiterated that he will fight for the title until the very end.

Martin: "I tried. I tried my best to ride. But the process of healing is still early. The healing is going really fast, but not enough to be efficient on the bike. I felt that I could ride with almost no pain for maybe one lap. After that, I started to have a lot of pain. I couldn’t be consistent. After watching the lap times and my performance, we decided to stop and wait.

"The Championship is there. I don’t have to think a lot about the Championship. Maybe I can win it, but for me it’s already lost. For sure, I will fight until the end. Not only for me. Because at the end of the day, I’m already a Champion. But for my team, for my people, I will fight until the end. I will try again in Qatar."

"I will keep believing"

Marco Bezzecchi’s (Aprilia Racing) fight continues, now sitting 67 points behind Marc Marquez after finishing P6 on Sunday afternoon. The Italian star had to work hard, going head-to-head with Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP), before a final-lap mistake dropped Bezzecchi a further position. Reset time ahead of Qatar, with Bezzecchi remaining optimistic and in mathematical contention.

Bezzecchi: "I tried my best at the beginning to recover a little bit, and I was close to Alex and to Pedro. I tried a bit of a desperate attack on Alex, let's say, because I started to really feel bad with the front and the temperature, plus the wear of the tyre was much more than I expected.

"Being completely honest, Ai was faster than me in that moment. I think that he would have passed me anyway a couple of corners later, as he did at the end. The contact was not necessary because we both risked crashing.

"Realistically, it's tough. But while the math is on our side, I will keep believing. I will keep working as hard as I can every day."

"I will try to come back in Portimao"

Pole position and a 20th MotoGP Sunday podium, not a bad weekend in the office for Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP). However, not everything went to plan for the #73 following a crash from the lead in Saturday’s Sprint. Now, his focus turns to recovery as Alex Marquez prepares for surgery, aiming to return to action in Portugal.

Alex Marquez: "The main target for me was to try to be on the podium and try to finish the race. Yesterday I made a huge mistake, so today was important to finish and try to be on the podium. I knew from the beginning I already had some doubts before the start. I knew that Marc and Pedro were a little bit faster than me, especially in the final laps.

"From the moment that I came back after the Catalunya accident, I have suffered a lot with my right shoulder. I decided to have surgery tomorrow in Madrid. I will try to come back in Portimao. I spoke with the doctors a little bit. It’s possible that. Especially because I was suffering a lot with these back-to-back races"

"Fight for third in the Championship"

Another top job from Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). The #37 served up a Sprint victory on Saturday before backing up his pace with P2 on Sunday. 32 points scored in Malaysia, reducing his gap to third place in the World Championship, with Acosta continuing his impressive flyaway form.

Acosta: "Overseas, KTM is normally quite good. We are making good races without mistakes like the ones that we made in Japan. We are doing a good job. Even when suffering, we are able to be close to the podium. We are having a good end to the season. That was my target after the summer break: to end this season with the KTM in the best way.

"At the moment, we are not at the level of Ducati and Aprilia. Marco is my closest battle, let’s say, to try to fight for third in the Championship. But looks like Qatar will be an Aprilia track."

"A misunderstanding"

Ai Ogura was impressive once more, scoring a total of 19 points throughout the weekend and showing that he wasn’t afraid to get his elbows out. Ogura earned P4 on Sunday afternoon, finishing the GP with a missing wing after contact with Bezzecchi. Plenty to discuss and reflect on as Ogura looks at his weekend in detail.

Ogura: "Here at Sepang, I expected more or less this kind of result. Because last year, this was one of the most difficult circuits for us, but this time we are a lot closer to the top.

"Going into Turn 1, I think he knew that I would try to overtake him, and he braked quite deep and went a bit wide. I thought I could overtake him in Turn 1. But I didn't expect him to try to make the apex again at Turn 1, I thought he would hold his line going into Turn 2. So no, a misunderstanding on my side. About the contact, it's completely my bad."