MotoGP Malaysia Sepang FP1: Yamaha hat-trick with Fabio Quartararo at the controls

This Malaysian Grand Prix opens a week after a new demonstration from Marc Márquez this season. This time, it was the windy and humid Australian meeting which fell under the influence of the eight-time winner with eleven successes this year and fourteen successive podiums. A campaign so impeccable that he is only nine points away from surpassing his points record in a MotoGP championship... Will the torrid Malaysia bring the competition out of its torpor to stop the parade of the Honda official ? We are waiting for the Yamaha riders around the corner, but also a Ducati revolt…

This is also the second Grand Prix on a Honda John Zarco while Jorge Lorenzo must make us forget his waking nightmare lived in Australia. What will this first game give us as references at Sepang, home ground of a Petronas Yamaha team which would like to shine at home with its young prodigy? fabio quartararo ? Before answering this question, here is the table that sets the scene…

MotoGP Sepang™	2018	2019
FP1	1'59.697 Andrea Dovizioso (See here)	1'59.027 Fabio Quartararo
FP2	1'59.608 Alex Rins (See here)
FP3	1'59.231 Maverick Viñales (See here)
FP4	2'00.083 Marc Marquez (See here)
Q1	2'13.311 Álvaro Bautista (See here)
Q2	2'12.161 Marc Márquez (See here)
Warm-up	2'11.476 Maverick Viñales (See here)
Course	Marquez, Rins, Zarco (See here)
All time lap record	1'59.053 Dani Pedrosa (2015)	1'59.027 Fabio Quartararo

We will recall that Miguel Oliveira was declared fit to run despite his hands and shoulder being in poor condition since Phillip Island. For Tito Rabat, on the other hand, it’s the package… Quarterly as Petrucci have a sore ankle following their respective Australian antics.

It's 31,1 degrees in the air and 37,3 degrees on the track. The sun finally came out and invaded the sky over the Sepang route.

It's gone and at the start of the session it's Márquez who came to position himself at the forefront with a time of 2.01.320s while playing acrobats on his Honda.

Red comes to position 2nd, Casa Particular in Viñales 3th and Alex and Pol Espargaro, 4th and 5th.

Casa Particular in Viñales quickly took control by setting the best lap time in 2.00.373s. Marquez is 2th, Red is 3th, Alex Espargaró is 4th and Quarterly, 5th who gets a little hot in turn 8…

zarco ranks 16th. Lorenzo is 15th. Local, Syahrin which is the last Grand Prix in MotoGP on this track, is 20th.

Márquez idling in safety lanes. This would obviously be a fuel consumption test carried out by the team…

20 more minutes of session and ahead Casa Particular in Viñales passes the 2min mark, he sets a lap time of 1.59.955s. Márquez who returned to the track after passing through the pits is second, Morbidelli, Rossi and Petrucci make up the top5. Quarterly is 6th. The Tech3 KTM rider, Olive tree, still convalescing, is last in the ranking. The Suzukis of Kidneys et Mir are in the top 10, ranking 8th and 9th. The Ducatis are not transcendent at the moment, Petrucci is 5th, Dovizioso 10th, Miller 12th and bagnaia 11th. The KTMs of Pol Espargaro et Rock are struggling, they are 18th and 19th. It is Aleix Espargaró for Aprilia which is the fastest, he is 10th while Iannone is 13th. At Honda LCR, it's a rout, Crutchlow is 13th, his teammate, zarco 15th in front Lorenzo however.

There are still 10 minutes to go to shake up the times. Casa Particular in Viñales holds up well with his time of 1.59.955s. He is ahead Kidneys et Marquez, Morbidelli. Quartararo and Rossi are 5th and 6th.

Mir, Dovizioso, Miller, and Petrucci convalescent, make up the top10.

End of session and it's Quarterly who achieved the best time of the session in 1.59.027s ahead of Morbidelli and Vinales. Márquez is 4th, Dovizioso 5e. Rins, Aleix Espargaró, Rossi, Crutchlow and Miller closed the top 10.

zarco finished 16th, Lorenzo 18e.

Full results:

Pos	Name	Race time	Gap (first/prev)	number	Nat.	Team
1	Fabio QUARTARARO	01'59.27		20	FRA	Petronas Yamaha SRT
2	Franco MORBIDELLI	01'59.11	+0.083 / 0.083	21	ITA	Petronas Yamaha SRT
3	Maverick VIÑALES	01'59.218	+0.191 / 0.108	12	SPA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
4	Marc MÁRQUEZ	01'59.517	+0.490 / 0.299	93	SPA	Repsol Honda Team
5	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	01'59.527	+0.500 / 0.010	4	ITA	Ducati Team
6	Alex RINS	01'59.546	+0.519 / 0.019	42	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR
7	Aleix ESPARGARÓ	01'59.854	+0.827 / 0.308	41	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
8	Valentino ROSSI	01'59.893	+0.866 / 0.039	46	ITA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
9	Cal CRUTCHLOW	01'59.975	+0.948 / 0.082	35	GBR	LCR Honda CASTROL
10	Jack MILLER	01'59.996	+0.969 / 0.021	43	AUS	Pramac Racing
11	Joan Mir	02'00.41	+1.383 / 0.414	36	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR
12	Danilo PETRUCCI	02'00.826	+1.799 / 0.416	9	ITA	Ducati Team
13	Karel ABRAHAM	02'00.874	+1.847 / 0.048	17	CZE	Avintia Racing
14	Pol ESPARGARÓ	02'00.951	+1.924 / 0.077	44	SPA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
15	Francesco BAGNAIA	02'01.	+1.973 / 0.049	63	ITA	Pramac Racing
16	Johann ZARCO	02'01.38	+2.011 / 0.038	5	FRA	LCR Honda IDEMITSU
17	Andrea IANNONE	02'01.172	+2.145 / 0.134	29	ITA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
18	Jorge LORENZO	02'01.515	+2.488 / 0.343	99	SPA	Repsol Honda Team
19	Hafizh SYAHRIN	02'01.579	+2.552 / 0.064	55	MAL	Red Bull KTM Tech 3
20	Mika KALLIO	02'01.959	+2.932 / 0.380	82	END	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
21	Miguel OLIVEIRA	02'05.412	+6.385 / 3.453	88	POR	Red Bull KTM Tech 3