Malaysian MotoGP, Sepang - Friday Practice Results

Friday practice results from the Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang, round 18 of 20 in the 2023 world championship.

10 Nov 2023

2023 Malaysian MotoGP, Sepang - Practice (2) Results
Pos	Rider	Nat	Team	Time/Diff	Lap	Max
1	Alex Marquez	SPA	Gresini Ducati (GP22)	1'57.823s	19/19	331k
2	Jorge Martin	SPA	Pramac Ducati (GP23)	+0.174s	19/20	333k
3	Jack Miller	AUS	Red Bull KTM (RC16)	+0.409s	19/20	334k
4	Brad Binder	RSA	Red Bull KTM (RC16)	+0.484s	19/19	334k
5	Maverick Viñales	SPA	Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23)	+0.489s	15/17	333k
6	Luca Marini	ITA	Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)	+0.511s	21/21	330k
7	Fabio Quartararo	FRA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)	+0.576s	15/19	331k
8	Francesco Bagnaia	ITA	Ducati Lenovo (GP23)	+0.597s	16/20	334k
9	Marco Bezzecchi	ITA	Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)	+0.627s	18/21	333k
10	Johann Zarco	FRA	Pramac Ducati (GP23)	+0.664s	15/16	331k
11	Franco Morbidelli	ITA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)	+0.748s	15/19	331k
12	Enea Bastianini	ITA	Ducati Lenovo (GP23)	+0.782s	19/19	333k
13	Augusto Fernandez	SPA	Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)*	+0.855s	19/20	330k
14	Fabio Di Giannantonio	ITA	Gresini Ducati (GP22)	+0.886s	13/15	327k
15	Marc Marquez	SPA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)	+0.965s	18/19	332k
16	Joan Mir	SPA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)	+1.079s	18/19	334k
17	Pol Espargaro	SPA	Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)	+1.151s	17/17	332k
18	Raul Fernandez	SPA	RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22)	+1.201s	13/15	328k
19	Miguel Oliveira	POR	RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22)	+1.327s	7/16	332k
20	Aleix Espargaro	SPA	Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23)	+1.903s	4/9	332k
21	Takaaki Nakagami	JPN	LCR Honda (RC213V)	+1.932s	17/22	327k
22	Alvaro Bautista	SPA	Aruba.It Ducati (GP23)	+2.547s	20/21	326k
23	Iker Lecuona	SPA	LCR Honda (RC213V)	+2.628s	17/22	328k

*Rookie.

Official Sepang MotoGP records
Best lap: Jorge Martin 1m 57.790s (2022)
Fastest race lap: Jorge Martin 1m 59.634s (2022)

Alex Marquez charges to the top in Friday practice for the 2023 Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang, while brother and future team-mate Marc Marquez plus Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro are among those to miss the top ten cut and will take part in Saturday's Qualifying 1.

The hectic closing minutes saw a fall for Raul Fernandez, causing some laps to be cancelled, while morning leader and title challenger Jorge Martin had three Hondas (Marc Marquez, Joan Mir and Takaaki Nakagami) in his wake, desperately seeking a tow.

The Pramac rider had the pace to pull clear and duly set the first 1m 57s lap of the weekend on his penultimate lap. But the battle wasn't over with Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez pipping Martin for the top spot by just 0.174s on his final lap.

The KTMs of Jack Miller and Brad Binder were third and fourth, followed by the lead Aprilia of Maverick Vinales, Luca Marini's VR46 Ducati plus the Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo, who was angry with team-mate Franco Morbidelli, who made a big save at the end of the session.

Just 15th this morning after staying on used rubber, reigning champion and title leader Francesco Bagnaia was eighth this afternoon with Marco Bezzecchi and Johann Zarco completing the list of direct Qualifying 2 riders.

After a fiery fall at the last corner this morning, Aleix Espargaro's day went from bad to worse when he slid off at Turn 1 early this afternoon, followed by a fall at Turn 9... then another lowside at the fast Turn 5! Espargaro was left just 20th on the timesheets, but at least there weren't any more flames.

After the heat problems in Thailand, when the RS-GP riders struggled to breathe, a new air duct was fitted on Friday, directing fresh air from the screen to the rider's face when tucked in on the straights.

WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista, 22nd and +3s after remaining on used tyres this morning, was +2.5s for the same position (ahead of LCR stand in Iker Lecuona) this afternoon.

After soft front and hard rear tyres were used by most riders this morning, mediums (front and rear) were the overwhelming choice this afternoon.

2023 Malaysian MotoGP, Sepang - Practice (1) Results
Pos	Rider	Nat	Team	Time/Diff	Lap	Max
1	Jorge Martin	SPA	Pramac Ducati (GP23)	1'59.513s	14/16	330k
2	Alex Marquez	SPA	Gresini Ducati (GP22)	+0.049s	16/17	331k
3	Johann Zarco	FRA	Pramac Ducati (GP23)	+0.401s	13/14	332k
4	Franco Morbidelli	ITA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)	+0.542s	11/16	331k
5	Fabio Quartararo	FRA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)	+0.621s	13/17	332k
6	Luca Marini	ITA	Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)	+0.729s	14/18	330k
7	Aleix Espargaro	SPA	Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23)	+0.731s	9/11	328k
8	Marco Bezzecchi	ITA	Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)	+0.738s	15/15	329k
9	Pol Espargaro	SPA	Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)	+0.785s	14/14	326k
10	Augusto Fernandez	SPA	Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)*	+0.954s	13/18	327k
11	Jack Miller	AUS	Red Bull KTM (RC16)	+1.006s	13/17	332k
12	Miguel Oliveira	POR	RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22)	+1.081s	12/18	329k
13	Raul Fernandez	SPA	RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22)	+1.267s	13/13	326k
14	Fabio Di Giannantonio	ITA	Gresini Ducati (GP22)	+1.356s	11/15	327k
15	Francesco Bagnaia	ITA	Ducati Lenovo (GP23)	+1.375s	12/16	333k
16	Enea Bastianini	ITA	Ducati Lenovo (GP23)	+1.389s	7/18	332k
17	Marc Marquez	SPA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)	+1.597s	6/15	330k
18	Brad Binder	RSA	Red Bull KTM (RC16)	+1.665s	14/16	331k
19	Joan Mir	SPA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)	+1.835s	10/15	331k
20	Maverick Viñales	SPA	Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23)	+1.839s	15/16	332k
21	Takaaki Nakagami	JPN	LCR Honda (RC213V)	+2.024s	13/17	325k
22	Alvaro Bautista	SPA	Aruba.It Ducati (GP23)	+3.003s	9/15	324k
23	Iker Lecuona	SPA	LCR Honda (RC213V)	+3.780s	12/15	320k

*Rookie.

Official Sepang MotoGP records
Best lap: Jorge Martin 1m 57.790s (2022)
Fastest race lap: Jorge Martin 1m 59.634s (2022)

MotoGP title contender Jorge Martin starts the 2023 Malaysian GP as he means to go on by leading FP1 at Sepang.

But while Martin joined most riders in fitting new fresh rubber at the end of the 45 minutes (albeit on mediums, rather than soft front-hard rear), title leader Francesco Bagnaia kept his usual tactic of sticking with old tyres on the way to 15th place.

There were more 'heat' problems for Aprilia, with Aleix Espargaro's RS-GP catching fire after a harmless-looking fall at the final turn. Espargaro initially ran over to the bike, but soon sprinted away again when big flames began firing out of the exhaust.

WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista began his first grand prix weekend since 2018 with 22nd place, ahead of Iker Lecuona, with a lap time 3.003s from Martin.

Just 13 points separate reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia from title rival Jorge Martin heading into the final triple header of the MotoGP season, starting at Sepang this weekend.

While Bagnaia holds a narrow points advantage, momentum is back with Martin after taking a perfect double of Sprint and GP victories last time out in Thailand.

However, Martin was also among several riders to receive an official warning for low tyre pressure in the Buriram GP. Another infringement in the remaining rounds will result in the Pramac rider receiving a 3s post-race time penalty.

With tyre pressure tricky to predict, varying massively depending on if a rider is leading or following, the best way Martin can now be sure of keeping future race victories is to win on track by a margin of at least 3s... The same applies to any other finishing position he achieves.

Aside from the title fight, the big news this weekend is a wild-card entry for reigning World Superbike champion Alvaro Bautista. The Spaniard, making his first MotoGP start since 2018, is riding a factory spec Ducati GP23 in Aruba.It colours.

Bautista is not the only WorldSBK rider on the grid with Alex Rins, who missed Thailand after undergoing further leg surgery, replaced by Iker Lecuona for both Sepang and next weekend’s Qatar round.

Sepang was the venue for the opening pre-season test of the year, in February, when Luca Marini (fastest), Francesco Bagnaia, Maverick Vinales, Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin were all covered by 0.315s at the top of the timesheets.

Weather forecasts currently warn of an increasing risk of rain as the weekend goes on, rising to over 90% by lunchtime on Sunday…