2018 Malaysian MotoGP Saturday Results
A bout of monsoon hangover rain almost won out at Sepang on the eve of tomorrow’s Malaysian GP, but after both qualifying sessions had been delayed by an hour and 20 minutes, the motorbikes were able to take over again.
And it was Marc Marquez, in spite of being one of several to slip off on the wet track, who claimed his seventh pole of the season (the 80th of his career) and by a handsome margin.
2018 Malaysian MotoGP Saturday Results
Placed second in the crucial first three free practices, the Repsol Honda rider took the top in FP4 before it was cut short by rain. Then he set a blinder when Q2 got under way on a drying track, on top throughout, and still 0.548 of a second ahead as other riders started to come to terms with the improving conditions.
“I didn’t feel good in the rain at the end of FP4, but we did some changes and quallie was good,” he said. He fell (unhurt, as usual) “because it looks like the track is really sensitive in these conditions.”
It was two Yamahas alongside him, with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha) ousting factory rider Valentino Rossi after the flag, after switching from soft/soft to medium/medium tyres on the drying surface. “I lost a couple of tenths on that lap, but I don’t know if I could have gone as fast as Marc,” he admitted.
Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) ended up third, three tenths down but still on the front row. “I am happy, but I hope for a dry race,” he said, “because they have anticipated the race for tomorrow.” He was referring to the fact that, after the rain hit at what would have been race time, organisers immediately rescheduled tomorrow’s race two hours earlier.
The Yamahas’ late rush pushed Andrea Iannone (Ecstar Suzuki) into fourth by less than a tenth, to lead the second row from the winner in the wet for the last two years, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati). Dovi also tipped off unhurt at the end of the session, striving to get back onto the front row.
Another erstwhile front-row candidate, Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati) was sixth; his team-mate Danilo Petrucci seventh, heading row three from Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki) and Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Ducati). Bautista was through from Q1; so too Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), though he could do no better than 12th, behind Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and second Movistar Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales.
It was a bad result for Australian GP winner Vinales, caught out by the wet, after placing second in FP4.
Scott Redding (Aprilia) and Michele Pirro (Ducati) were best of the rest. Pirro only jumped on Lorenzo’s factory bike this morning, after the Spaniard withdrew from the meeting.
SHELL MALAYSIA MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX
MotoGP Qualifying Classification 2018
Sepang, Saturday, November 03, 2018
| 1 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 308.3 | 2’12.161 | |
| 2 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 297.6 | 2’12.709 | 0.548 / 0.548 |
| 3 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 294.3 | 2’13.009 | 0.848 / 0.300 |
| 4 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 299.0 | 2’13.097 | 0.936 / 0.088 |
| 5 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 301.0 | 2’13.183 | 1.022 / 0.086 |
| 6 | 43 | Jack MILLER | AUS | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 301.4 | 2’13.274 | 1.113 / 0.091 |
| 7 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 306.6 | 2’13.413 | 1.252 / 0.139 |
| 8 | 42 | Alex RINS | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 308.8 | 2’13.463 | 1.302 / 0.050 |
| 9 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Angel Nieto Team | Ducati | 301.4 | 2’14.185 | 2.024 / 0.722 |
| 10 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 290.5 | 2’14.443 | 2.282 / 0.258 |
| 11 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 293.3 | 2’14.856 | 2.695 / 0.413 |
| 12 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 303.6 | 2’15.340 | 3.179 / 0.484 |
| 13 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 290.2 | 2’13.786 | 0.475 / 0.451 |
| 14 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 291.5 | 2’13.823 | 0.512 / 0.037 |
| 15 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 291.3 | 2’13.971 | 0.660 / 0.148 |
| 16 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 279.0 | 2’14.132 | 0.821 / 0.161 |
| 17 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 287.1 | 2’14.332 | 1.021 / 0.200 |
| 18 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 286.7 | 2’14.843 | 1.532 / 0.511 |
| 19 | 21 | Franco MORBIDELLI | ITA | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 285.1 | 2’14.994 | 1.683 / 0.151 |
| 20 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | LCR Honda CASTROL | Honda | 284.5 | 2’15.364 | 2.053 / 0.370 |
| 21 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Angel Nieto Team | Ducati | 284.6 | 2’15.679 | 2.368 / 0.315 |
| 22 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | 281.9 | 2’16.558 | 3.247 / 0.879 |
| 23 | 55 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | MAL | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 285.4 | 2’16.825 | 3.514 / 0.267 |
| 81 | Jordi TORRES | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati |
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