Ducati riders occupy the first two rows of the grid in Malaysia – Francesco Bagnaia on pole position ahead of Jorge Martin – Brad Binder (KTM) in seventh place in first pursuit
Ducati dominated qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix. At the Sepang International Circuit, the Desmosedici took the first six places and thus the first two rows on the grid. With a new lap record of 1:57.491 minutes, World Champion Francesco Bagnaia claimed his first pole position since Barcelona
“It’s definitely one of my most important pole positions if you look at the last few races,” said Bagnaia. “The lap times were incredible. Last year we marveled at 1:57 and this time many riders set times under 1:58. Unbelievable!”
Jorge Martin crashed in turn 4 on his last flying lap. He was uninjured, but moments later Bagnaia snatched pole away from him. Martin was beaten by just 0.058 seconds.
“I feel good,” said the world championship runner-up after his slip-up. “We have the pace to fight for victory. That’s the most important thing. We just have to understand why I crashed and not repeat it in the race.”
Enea Bastianini completed the front row of the grid. This was by far his best qualifying session of the year, as the Italian had previously not made it past the fourth row of the grid. “Unbelievable, especially after yesterday,” said a delighted Bastianini.
“We were fast, but had bad luck. Today we were able to improve, I refocused and now I’m on the front row here for the first time this year. It’s only qualifying, but it means a lot to me after my two injuries this season. “
It’s getting T E N S E @88jorgemartin gets it wrong at T4 MalaysianGP pic. twitter.com/l4XVKHMBSh
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) November 11, 2023
Only Ducati riders will also line up on the second row of the grid. Alex Marquez, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi took fourth to sixth place. Marini had a crash in turn 9 on his second attempt.
The first Ducati pursuer was KTM spearhead Brad Binder in seventh. The South African was 0.559 seconds behind. The other places on row three were secured by Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) (Q2 result).
Places ten to twelve went to Jack Miller (KTM), Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini-Ducati) and Johann Zarco (Pramac-Ducati). “Diggia” crashed at the start of his final attempt on the final corner
Q1: Marc Marquez crashes after overtaking maneuver
In the first section, Marc Marquez (Honda) picked out Franco Morbidelli’s Yamaha and followed the Italian in both attempts. Morbidelli was annoyed by this and aborted the fast lap on his second attempt.
Marc Marquez finally passed him and began his flying lap alone. He caught up with Augusto Fernandez (Tech3-GasGas) and overtook his compatriot in turn 7, but a few meters later Marquez crashed in the next right-hand bend.
That was the end of qualifying for the six-time MotoGP World Champion. Marquez finished tenth, which meant grid position 20. Aprilia also had a difficult qualifying session, with the exception of Vinales
A bumpy crash at the very end of Q1! @marcmarquez93‘s session draws to a close in P10 ⚠️MalaysianGP pic. twitter.com/3BK2uKCRHh
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) November 11, 2023
Aleix Espargaro retired in third place. The RNF duo of Raul Fernandez and Miguel Oliveira finished eighth and ninth. Pol Espargaro (Tech3-GasGas) had a crash in Q1 and also failed to progress.
Di Giannantonio set the fastest time in Q1 with 1:57.823 minutes. Bastianini, who experimented with a thumb brake, was second in Q2 (Q1 result).
Superbike World Champion Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) rolled out at the end with a problem. He finished one and a half seconds behind in penultimate place.
The ten-lap sprint starts at 08:00 CET (grid position)
