GP Malasia · History

The Malaysian Grand Prix has been part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship since 1991. Between 1999 and 2017 it also held a round of the Formula One World Championship. Since 1999 it has been run at the Sepang International Circuit, near Putrajaya. The track was designed by Hermann Tilke, opened in March 1999 and measures 5.543 kilometres with 15 corners. Since 2022 the motorcycle race has carried its sponsor’s name as the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia.

The early years: Shah Alam and Johor (1991-1998)

The first world championship round was held in 1991 at the Shah Alam circuit as the final race of the calendar. John Kocinski won the 500cc race on a Yamaha. Shah Alam hosted the Grand Prix until 1997, and in 1998 the event moved to the Johor circuit. Those years belonged to Michael Doohan. The Australian won the premier class in 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998, five victories for Honda. Wayne Rainey (1993) and Luca Cadalora (1996) completed the roll of honour for the period. In 1997 a young Valentino Rossi won the 125cc race, his first victory on Malaysian soil.

Sepang, from 500cc to MotoGP

Sepang’s debut in 1999 ended with victory for Kenny Roberts Jr. on a Suzuki, and he won again in 2000. From then on Valentino Rossi shaped the event: he won in 2001 and 2003 with Honda and in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 with Yamaha. Those six premier-class wins, plus his 125cc victory, give him seven, more than any other rider. In 2005 Loris Capirossi gave Ducati its first win in Malaysia, and Casey Stoner won for the Bologna manufacturer in 2007 and 2009. In the 2010 race, won by Rossi, third place was enough for Jorge Lorenzo to clinch the MotoGP title at Sepang.

2011: the death of Marco Simoncelli

On 23 October 2011 the MotoGP race was stopped on the second lap. Marco Simoncelli had crashed and died shortly afterwards. The race was halted and cancelled, the only Sepang edition without a premier-class winner before the pandemic. Two days earlier, in Moto2 free practice, an undetected patch of standing water had caused crashes for Bradley Smith, Jules Cluzel and Marc Márquez.

Pedrosa, Márquez and the 2015 clash

Dani Pedrosa won for Honda in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Marc Márquez won in 2014 and in 2018, when he inherited victory after Rossi crashed with four laps to go; Álex Rins finished second and Johann Zarco third. The 2015 race is the one most remembered: while fighting for third place, Rossi made contact with Márquez’s bike and brought him down. The Italian finished third but received three penalty points, which forced him to start from the back of the grid at the Valencian Community Grand Prix. Andrea Dovizioso won for Ducati in 2016 and 2017, and Maverick Viñales returned Yamaha to the top step in 2019.

Formula One at Sepang (1999-2017)

The first Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix, in 1999, was won by Eddie Irvine for Ferrari, with Michael Schumacher handing him the lead on his return from the injury he suffered at Silverstone. Both Ferraris were disqualified for a technical irregularity and later reinstated. In 2001, with the race moved to the start of the calendar, Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello finished one-two despite spinning in the rain. In 2009 the race started at dusk, a storm brought out the red flag and it never restarted: with 33 of the scheduled 42 laps completed, half points were awarded. Sebastian Vettel won four times, and Ferrari, with seven victories, was the most successful team. On 7 April 2017 it was announced that the race would be the last, because of rising hosting fees and falling ticket sales. Max Verstappen won that final race for Red Bull.

From the pandemic to the Ducati years (2020-2026)

The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world championship returned to Sepang in 2022, and since then every race has gone to a Ducati rider: Francesco Bagnaia in 2022 and 2024, Enea Bastianini in 2023 and Álex Márquez in 2025. On 1 November 2026 Marc Márquez won for Ducati after leading from the first corner, ahead of Pedro Acosta and his brother Álex. That same weekend David Alonso won in Moto2 and Máximo Quiles in Moto3.