It is rare to arrive at a new circuit and we can consider that the Sepang International Circuit is a semi-new one since the references there are obsolete, following the major overhaul which it underwent this year.
However, knowing that in Superbike Tom Sykes rode a 2'02.246 in 2016 compared to 2'03.240 in 2015, i.e. a differential of one second, to within 6 thousandths, our usual table is not completely useless.
| Sepang Moto 3 | 2015 | 2016 |
| FP1 | 2'13.715 Danny Kent | |
| FP2 | 2'13.906 Miguel Oliveira | |
| FP3 | 2'12.731 Danny Kent | |
| Qualification | 2'12.653 Niccolo Antonelli | |
| Warm Up | 2'13.502 Efren Vazquez | |
| Course | Oliveira, Binder, Navarro | |
| All time lap record | 2'12.450 Jack Miller 2014 |
An element that has not moved is the weather, always constant at this time of year: temperature between 25 and 33°, dry in the morning, showers in the afternoon. We therefore logically expect that the drivers will show a certain eagerness in FP1 and even more in FP3…
Local Hafiq Azmi replaces injured John Mc Phee at Peugeot, just like Ayumu Sasaki replaces Enea Bastianini at Gresini.
The sun is out, the air is at 28° and although the track is at 27° when the red lights go out, it is still covered in large patches of humidity which should not really make this first session of the week any easier. -end. Slick tires are nevertheless required but around ten drivers prefer to stay in the box temporarily while waiting for a gradual improvement.
Meanwhile, fabio quartararo set a first benchmark in 2'19.549 mid-session even though he has never ridden here.
Halfway through the first session of the weekend & @FabioQ20 is top of the pile from Canet & Norrodin! #MalaysianGP pic.twitter.com/37s4mhEO6f
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 28, 2016
The times then drop to 2'18 under the leadership of Philipp OettlFollowed by Rodrigo, Ramirez, Mir, Quartararo, Navarro, Locatelli, Bagnaia, Bendsneyder et Law 10 minutes from the checkered flag.
gabriel rodrigo inaugurates the list of crashes of the weekend by losing the front of his RBA team Ktm at turn #14 which will also trap Maria Herrera a few minutes later.
The final packaging sees everything first Brad Binder register a 2'18.000 after having done only 4 laps. The pace then speeds up noticeably and Francesco Bagnaia slams a 2'17.151. Immediate reaction from Binder in 2'16.234 ahead Khairul Idham Pawi.
fabio quartararo finishes in 10th position at 1,6 seconds, Jules Danilo 17th.
Ranking compiled by Peter McLaren for Crash.net
1. Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 2m 15.520s
2. Khairul Idham Pawi MAL Honda Team Asia (Honda) 2m 16.371s
3. Francis Bagnaia ITA Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra Team (Mahindra) 2m 16.534s
4. Marcos Ramirez SPA Platinum Bay Real Estate (Mahindra)
2m 16.834s
5. Livio Law BEL RW Racing GP BV (Honda) 2m 16.898s
6. Aron canet SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (Honda) 2m 16.900s
7. George Martin SPA Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra Team (Mahindra) 2m 16.902s
8. Joan mir SPA Leopard Racing (KTM) 2m 17.141s
9. Jorge Navarro SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (Honda) 2m 17.171s
10. fabio quartararo FRA Leopard Racing (KTM) 2m 17.185s
11. Jakub Kornfeil CZE Drive M7 SIC Racing Team (Honda)
2m 17.424s
12. Hiroki Ono JPN Honda Team Asia (Honda) 2m 17.448s
13. Andrea Locatelli ITA Leopard Racing (KTM) 2m 17.836s
14. Andrea Migno ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 2m 17.942s
15. Will Bendsneyder NED Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 2m 18.026s
16. Philipp Oettl GER Schedl GP Racing (KTM) 2m 18.112s
17. Jules Danilo FRA Ongetta-Rivacold (Honda) 2m 18.279s
18. Albert Arenas SPA Peugeot MC Saxoprint (Peugeot) 2m 18.291s
19. Darryn binder RSA Platinum Bay Real Estate (Mahindra)
2m 18.375s
20. Niccolo Antonelli ITA Ongetta-Rivacold (Honda) 2m 18.447s
21. gabriel rodrigo ARG RBA Racing Team (KTM) 2m 18.491s
22. Ayumu Sasaki JPN Gresini Racing Moto3 (Honda) 2m 18.959s
23. Lorenzo Dalla Porta ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 2m 18.981s
24. Adam Norrodin MAL Drive M7 SIC Racing Team (Honda) 2m 18.996s
25. Nicholas Bulega ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 2m 19.002s
26. Tatsuki suzuki JPN CIP-Unicom Starker (Mahindra) 2m 19.221s
27. Juanfran Guevara SPA RBA Racing Team (KTM) 2m 19.544s
28. Hafiq Azmi BAD Peugeot MC Saxoprint (Peugeot) 2m 19.728s
29. Fabio DiGiannantonio ITA Gresini Racing Moto3 (Honda)
2m 20.160s
30. Lorenzo Petrarca ITA 3570 Team Italia (Mahindra) 2m 20.872s
31. Maria Herrera SPA MH6 Team (KTM) 2m 21.087s
32. Stefano Valtulini ITA 3570 Team Italia (Mahindra) 2m 22.263s
Fabio Spiranelli ITA CIP-Unicom Starker (Mahindra) 2m 25.224s
