MotoGP Malaysia Sepang FP1 LIVE: Lap times and flames!

After two Grands Prix MotoGP where Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) consolidated its lead over George Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) in the general classification of the championship, the solid success made in Thailand by the latter allowed him to reduce his deficit from 27 to 13 units, and conversely to increase the pressure weighing on the shoulders of the two men.

With still 111 points to potentially score from this 18th of the 20 stages which takes place this weekend on the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, everything remains open, including for Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) still theoretically in the race for the world title, unlike Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who lost all possibility in Thailand despite his good races in Buriram.

In this confrontation with tense ears, we will not forget the sword of Damocles suspended above Jorge Martin, namely his first and only warning for non-compliant tire pressure in Thailand, before a possible 3-second penalty which could prove decisive at the end of the season...

Among the changes in the list of participants, Iker Lecuona is back in the saddle of the Honda LCRalex rins, while the big news consists of the expected wildcard of the double Superbike world champion Alvaro Bautista under the Aruba.it Racing colors.

Last year, after going through Q1, Francesco Bagnaia, who fell in FP3 as well as in Q2 and qualified in ninth position, Francis Bagnaia had finally imposed itself in front of Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and fabio quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™). Conversely, the pole sitter George Martin had not finished the race in which he had managed to escape in the lead, falling alone after 6 laps. The two title contenders have certainly not forgotten this 2022 GP…

The rest of the story will now take place on the well-known 5,543 km track, the abrasive asphalt of which has recently been resurfaced between turns 7 and 12, and which has two straight lines, one of which exceeds 900 meters in length. length.

As always in Malaysia at this time, showers could well disrupt the proceedings...

To taste it, enthusiasts will in any case have to make themselves available earlier than usual.

While waiting to discover more, as the 23 drivers prepare for this first 45-minute free practice session, with a generally clear sky and temperatures of 30° in the air and 41° on the ground, let's take advantage of these few live moments thanks to the official website MotoGP.com :

What will this MotoGP round in Malaysia have in store for us? Before you know it, here is the table that summarizes the facts known so far.

MotoGP Sepang™	2022	2023
FP1	1'59.749 Brad Binder (See here)	1'59.513 Jorge Martin (See here)
Practice	2'05.710 Cal Crutchlow (See here)	(See here)
FP2	1'58.583 Jorge Martin (See here)	(See here)
FP4	1'59.925 Marco Bezzecchi (See here)	XXXXX
Q1	1'58.645 Pecco Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
Q2	1'57.790 Jorge Martin (See here)	(See here)
Sprint		(See here)
Warm-up	2'02.442 Johann Zarco (See here)	(See here)
Course	Bagnaia, Bastianini, Quartararo (See here)	(See here)
All time lap record	1'57.790 Jorge Martin (2022) (See here)

When the red lights go out, Fabio Di Giannantonio et Alex Marquez take the lead in operations, while fabio quartararo remains faithful to its strategy of starting last to have a free track.

On the tire side, no surprise: everyone is on soft front, hard at the rear.

Alex Espargaro is the fastest at the end of a first flying lap where Marco Bezzecchi made a straight line, in 2'02.066, in front fabio quartararo et Francesco Bagnaia.

In the next passage, George Martin takes charge of operations in 2'00.984 ahead of Alex and Marc Márquez, Aleix Espargaro, Enea Bastianini, Fabio Quartararo, Jack Miller and Brad Binder.

Alex Marquez seems in good shape posting 2'00.680 then 2'00.604 ahead Aleix Espargaro, Fabio Quartararo, Jorge Martin, Pol Espargaro, Marc Márquez, Augusto Fernandez, Johann Zarco, Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi.

Without real surprise, Alvaro Bautista starts slowly, for the moment 22nd, 2,5 seconds behind the fastest, alone Iker Lecuona being behind him

Most of the pilots return to their boxes after this first 15-minute burst, with the notable exception of Francis Bagnaia currently 19th on an offbeat strategy.

No one is really worried to see the championship leader so far into the first run, the man being accustomed to doing so before generally recovering as the weekend progresses to always be at the front during the races …

At mid-session, the hierarchy is made up of Alex Márquez, Aleix Espargaro, Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo, Pol Espargaro, Marc Márquez, Jack Miller, Augusto Fernandez, Johann Zarco, Brad Binder, Marco Bezzecchi, Luca Marini, Maverick Vinales, Miguel Oliveira, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Joan Mir, Takaaki Nakagami, Francesco Bagnaia, Raul Fernandez, Álvaro Bautista and Iker Lecuona.

It's a work session and the minutes tick by when Alex Espargaro fall without gravity. But when he gets closer to his motorbike, it starts spewing flames from the exhaust and the Catalan runs away...

Meanwhile, Johann zarco moves up to fifth position, Francis Bagnaia in sixth, still on worn tires.

Franco Morbidelli surprises everyone by taking second position 11 minutes from the checkered flag, then setting the best time in 2'00.055. The Yamaha apparently acclimatizes better than expected to local conditions, as confirmed fabio quartararo also making good progress before Luca Marini et Augusto Fernandez do not fit very temporarily between the two M1s.

George Martin et Marco Bezzecchi then decided to test the medium rear tire, and the Pramac driver jumped from ninth to first position, in 1'59.513.

Meanwhile, Alex Espargaro left with a new hard rear is also progressing in the first sectors. Two minutes from the checkered flag, there are five in this case, Jorge Martin, Alex Marquez, Aleix Espargaro, Marco Bezzecchi and Johann Zarco.

Finally, Alex Marquez rises to second place, Johann zarco in the third, without the last round changing this order.

Overall, it seems difficult to draw certainties from this first work session, some times having been achieved on medium tires, others on new hard tires, others on worn hard tires. The strategies are therefore diverse depending on whether they concern qualifying, the Sprint or the Grand Prix.

Check Francis Bagnaia only 15th is in this respect not a big surprise, just like the modest beginnings ofAlvaro Bautista. The two Yamahas fourth and fifth, more, even if fabio quartararo was on the podium last year.

Practice will take place at 8:00 a.m.

Results of Free Practice 1 of the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com