MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia steals pole at Sepang

Francesco Bagnaia will start the Grand Prix from pole after a thrilling Qualifying.

Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) was the fastest rider in Practice after a strong showing on the Ducati. It was perfect conditions for qualifying, with rain expected at some point during the day.

In Q1, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) set their banker laps early. All riders put everything on the line with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) outside of the bubble.

After a frantic couple of minutes, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP) set the session’s fastest time. Di Giannantonio continues to impress as he continues to fight for a ride next season.

Enea Bastianini could not go any quicker than the fellow Italian but set a time quick enough for Q2. Nobody could go quicker with the two Ducati riders, making the move into the final qualifying.

Aleix Espargaro was just outside the top two and a further 0.158 behind Bastianini after a tough weekend. Espargaro had four crashes in Friday’s running and is still trying to feel comfortable at Sepang.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) will have to start this weekend’s Grand Prix in 20^th after a disastrous qualifying. After looking for a tow and a late-on crash, Marquez missed out by 0.894.

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing) will start the Grand Prix down in 22^nd on the grid as he continues to adapt to the MotoGP bike. The experienced wildcard comes off the back of winning two consecutive WorldSBK titles. He will start the race ahead of fellow WorldSBK rider Iker Lecuona (LCR Honda CASTROL), who replaces Alex Rins.

Q2

After a tense qualifying session, the Championship leader left it until the final lap at the final minute. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) managed to put in an incredible 1:57.491 to snatch the pole position.

He will start the race ahead of his rival, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati) who led for most of the session. His lap time was just 0.058 behind Bagnaia, with fans preparing for another thriller this weekend. Martin has won the last five MotoGP Sprints and will be feeling confident ahead of Saturday’s race.

Enea Bastianini will start the race from a remarkable third position, rounding off the front row of the grid. Bastianini only had one set of new tyres as he had to go through Q1, meaning the Italian only completed four laps.

Alex Marquez set a 1:57.661 in qualifying, allowing the Spaniard to qualify in fourth position in Malaysia. Marquez put in the laps, setting seven laps across the frantic 15-minute qualifying session.

Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) led the early part of Q2 and looked strong ahead of the second run. The Italian had a crash with two minutes remaining, ending his session prematurely. Marini will start the Grand Prix in fifth place and will be a contender for the win this weekend.

Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was behind his teammate, a further 0.018 behind. This will allow Marco Bezzecchi to start the race this weekend from sixth position. Bezzecchi also rounds off the second row of the grid, with Ducati locking out the front two rows.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the first non-Ducati in seventh position onboard his KTM. He was ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who looks very strong this weekend.

Maverick Vinales Aprilia Racing was the only Aprilia rider in the final qualifying session, ending it in ninth. Vinales and the Aprilia riders are experimenting with new parts this weekend to cope with the heat onboard the bike.

He was ahead of Jack Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, who starts the fourth row of the grid. Joining Miller on the fourth row of the grid will be Fabio Di Giannantonio, who couldn’t find the extra second to make an impact on the session. Behind the Italian was Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Ducati), who recently won his first MotoGP race.

The 10-lap MotoGP Sprint will start at 07:00 on Saturday with an exciting battle in store in the heat.

Image credit: Ducati Media