MotoGP's Next Race After Phillip Island: Sepang on November 1
After the fogged-out Australian GP, MotoGP heads to Sepang for the Malaysian round on November 1. The schedule, the title fight, and how to watch from Canada.
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The answer to the calendar question
The Australian Grand Prix was cancelled on Sunday when fog grounded the medical helicopter, and the first question everywhere afterwards was simple: when do they race again? The answer is Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, round 19 of 22, with the grand prix on Sunday, November 1. After one of the strangest weekends of the season, the championship resumes on a track that usually produces its own kind of drama: wide, hot and fast, with a long straight that manufactures overtaking and a title fight that just got a new leader.
What happened at Phillip Island
Phillip Island ended early. Marc Marquez had taken a spectacular wet pole after crashing in Q2, then won Saturday's sprint while Jorge Martin crashed out of their duel and fractured his right wrist. Sunday's rain and fog never lifted enough for the medical helicopter to fly, so the grand prix was cancelled with no points awarded, and the riders closed the circuit's three-decade MotoGP era with a farewell lap instead of a race. The title lead now belongs to Marquez by ten points.
What Sepang means for the title
Martin has a fortnight to heal a fractured radius, and Sepang's physical layout will test it brutally: the Malaysian circuit punishes forearms in the heat more than almost any track on the calendar. If he rides, he faces a ten-point deficit with four rounds left, needing outscored weekends from here to Valencia. If he cannot ride, the championship math turns heavily toward Marquez without a single lap turning. The next injury update from Aprilia is effectively the next chapter of the title fight.
Why Sepang delivers racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing at Sepang is a fixture for good reasons. The circuit's mix of hard braking, long straights and flowing corners produces close racing, and its late-afternoon tropical weather adds a genuine variable riders must manage, from tyre temperature to sudden showers. It is also a venue with deep meaning for Asian motorcycling, drawing one of the biggest crowds of the season, and the atmosphere is unlike anything the European rounds produce.
How to watch from Canada
For Canadian viewers, Sepang runs overnight into Sunday morning Atlantic time, which means the sessions are waiting with your coffee rather than interrupting your day. Sprint Saturday and grand prix Sunday both land on our breakfast table, and after a fog-shortened weekend, the Sepang round is the one to watch: it answers whether the championship is a fight or a coronation. Set the alarm, or at least the auto-record.
The run-in after Malaysia
The season does not end at Sepang. Malaysia is round 19 of 22, and the remaining rounds close the championship through November, including the traditional Valencia finale. That leaves Martin a shrinking window of races to close ten points, and leaves Marquez managing a lead he has been rebuilding since spring. After the Phillip Island chaos, the only safe prediction about the rest of 2026 is that it will not be boring.
One scheduling note worth flagging for viewers who plan weekends around sessions: the Malaysian round runs October 30 to November 1, with practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday, the sprint on Saturday afternoon local time, and the grand prix on Sunday. All of it lands overnight or early morning for Canadian time zones, so the practical viewing plan is sprint with Sunday breakfast prep and the race with Sunday breakfast. After a weekend with no Sunday race at all, having a full, normal round to watch again is part of the appeal.
And a word on the sprint format, since it decides half the available points: Sepang's Saturday sprint will tell us Martin's true condition before Sunday's grand prix. A rider protecting a wrist can manage a 13-lap sprint in ways a full race exposes, so watch Saturday as the diagnostic session. If Martin is quick in the sprint, the title fight is alive and the championship math above still applies in full. If he fades, the story becomes rehabilitation arithmetic for the final rounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the next MotoGP race after the Australian GP?
The Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia at Sepang International Circuit, round 19 of 22, with the grand prix on Sunday, November 1, 2026. The event runs October 30 through November 1.
Why was the Australian GP cancelled?
Heavy fog and rain prevented the medical helicopter from operating, and MotoGP does not run sessions without one. The grand prix was cancelled with no points awarded; Saturday's sprint result stood as the weekend's final racing.
Who leads the championship going to Sepang?
Marc Marquez, by ten points over Jorge Martin, who fractured his right wrist in the Phillip Island sprint crash and is racing the calendar to be fit for Malaysia.
How can I watch the Malaysian GP from Canada?
Sessions run overnight into Sunday morning Atlantic time, with sprint and race both landing early Sunday. Check MotoGP's official broadcast listings for the Canadian rights holder in the 2026 season.