MotoGP Malaysia Qualifying LIVE: Francesco Bagnaia strikes a huge blow in Sepang!

What would ultimately and fortunately be the penultimate round of the season, the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, saw a first day that was completely dominated Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), double world champion MotoGP in title and challenger this year of George Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), only 17 small points ahead in the general classification.

Crushing the field by 7 tenths in FP1 thanks to the use of the softest tires, the official Ducati saw his only opponent for a new crown come back to 5 hundredths in the afternoon despite a small slide, thus indicating to him that the task of regaining the lead of the championship was not going to be easy, especially since if George Martin always finishes 2nd behind Pecco, the Spaniard will still be world champion by one point!

In a session where we had not seen the Yamaha in such good shape for a long time, Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini, Maverick Vinales, Alex Márquez, Fabio Quartararo, Franco Morbidelli, Alex Rins, Jack Miller and Marc Márquez won their direct access to Q2 during Practice, leaving Pedro Acosta, Marco Bezzecchi, Johann Zarco and Brad Binder explain themselves among themselves to try to get back into Q1.

Another focus of this Malaysian meeting, Andrea Iannone didn't do too badly at all, following on the heels of drivers like Aleix Espargaro, Luca Marini or Joan Mir...

Pre-qualifying Practice Ranking: 

This morning in FP2, Francis Bagnaia et Jorge Martin played cat and mouse for a while, each more or less refusing to serve as the other's target. One clearly gets the impression that the Italian is trying to destabilize the Spaniard who probably shouldn't be playing this kind of game...

While waiting to discover more, as the 22 riders prepare for these high-tension 15-minute qualifying sessions, under a sky covered by a very light shower during the Moto2 session, and with morning temperatures of 28° in the air and 36° on the ground, let's enjoy these few moments of live coverage thanks to the official website MotoGP.com :

Here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

MotoGP™ Malaysia, Sepang	2023	2024
FP1	1'59.513 Jorge Martin (See here)	1'58.795 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Practice	1'57.823 Alex Marquez (See here)	1'57.679 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP2	1'58.960 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'58.658 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Q1	1'57.823 Fabio Di Giannantonio (See here)	1'57.635 Johann Zarco (See here)
Q2	1'57.491 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'56.337 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Sprint	Alex Marquez, Martin, Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
Warm Up	1'59.218 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	(See here)
Course	Bastianini, A. Marquez, Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
All time lap record	1'57.491 Francesco Bagnaia 2023 (See here)	1'56.337 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)

 

Qualification 1:

When the red lights go out... Takaaki Nakagami rushes first.

At the end of the first round, Brad Binder displays 1'58.063 in front Aleix Espargaro, Pedro Acosta, Johann Zarco, Marco Bezzecchi and Andrea Iannone.

In the next passage, Marco Bezzecchi achieves 1'57.974 ahead Pedro Acosta. Brad Binder is third, Alex Espargaro fourth, John Zarco fifth.

We go back to the box and load the rear tire.

The second run starts badly for Alex Espargaro who comes back to his box screaming that something is wrong with his Aprilia…

Similarly, Johann zarco appears to have stalled at the edge of the track but manages to restart on its own.

Sectors light up red everywhere whileAugusto Fernandez makes a mistake. Marco Bezzecchi improves a little but cannot contain Brad Binder in 1'57.800.

In the last lap, if the best time does not seem achievable, many are able to compete for second place. In the end, Johann zarco proves us wrong and achieves 157635, thus obtaining his passage into Q2!

Results of Qualifying 1 of the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:

Qualification 2:

When the red lights go out, Fabio Quartararo changes strategy and sets off first with Marc Marquez. Johann Zarco, who has one less tire than everyone else, nevertheless takes to the track, but it is not known whether it is with a new tire or the rear tire that was already used in Q1.

A group is formed with Francesco Bagnaia leading Marc Marquez, Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.

At the end of the first round, Francesco Bagnaia beats the absolute circuit record in 1'57.191 but his joy is probably short-lived since Jorge Martin immediately delivers a 1'56.996!

In the next passage, George Martin made another thunderous showing by posting 1'56.553, half a second faster than his opponent for the title: no doubt, the Martinator did well!

After this first run, the hierarchy is made up of Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini, Marc Márquez, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Vinales, Alex Rins, Jack Miller, Alex Márquez, Johann Zarco and Brad BinderThe gaps are large, as is the circuit, since only the first four are in the same second.

George Martin et Francesco Bagnaia The first to set off again for the second run, the Italian turning towards the Spaniard to gauge the gap between them.

In his first flying lap, Francesco Bagnaia gives it his all and lights up the first sector in red, the second in orange, the third in red and… takes pole position in 1'56.337! More than a second faster than his own record from last year!

The tension is at its peak and Jorge Martin tries to retaliate but fails, while Enea Bastianini fall in the last minute.

By taking up the gauntlet of a Jorge Martin yet exceptional in its privileged field, Francis Bagnaia has dealt a huge blow to the Spaniard's mental state. However, he must not let himself be destabilized by the feat of the Italian who has nothing left to lose, and remember that even if he finishes second in every race, he will be crowned at the end of the year...

See you at 8:00 a.m. for the Sprint!

Results of Qualifying 2 of the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com

MotoGP Malaysia Qualifying

MotoGP Malaysia Qualifying

MotoGP Malaysia Qualifying

MotoGP Malaysia Qualifying