Malaysian MotoGP, Sepang - Friday Practice Results
| 2023 Malaysian MotoGP, Sepang - Practice (2) Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Alex Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP22) | 1'57.823s | 19/19 | 331k |
| 2 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP23) | +0.174s | 19/20 | 333k |
| 3 | Jack Miller | AUS | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.409s | 19/20 | 334k |
| 4 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.484s | 19/19 | 334k |
| 5 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) | +0.489s | 15/17 | 333k |
| 6 | Luca Marini | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.511s | 21/21 | 330k |
| 7 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.576s | 15/19 | 331k |
| 8 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP23) | +0.597s | 16/20 | 334k |
| 9 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.627s | 18/21 | 333k |
| 10 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP23) | +0.664s | 15/16 | 331k |
| 11 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.748s | 15/19 | 331k |
| 12 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP23) | +0.782s | 19/19 | 333k |
| 13 | Augusto Fernandez | SPA | Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* | +0.855s | 19/20 | 330k |
| 14 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP22) | +0.886s | 13/15 | 327k |
| 15 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.965s | 18/19 | 332k |
| 16 | Joan Mir | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +1.079s | 18/19 | 334k |
| 17 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) | +1.151s | 17/17 | 332k |
| 18 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) | +1.201s | 13/15 | 328k |
| 19 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) | +1.327s | 7/16 | 332k |
| 20 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) | +1.903s | 4/9 | 332k |
| 21 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +1.932s | 17/22 | 327k |
| 22 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Aruba.It Ducati (GP23) | +2.547s | 20/21 | 326k |
| 23 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +2.628s | 17/22 | 328k |
*Rookie.
Official Sepang MotoGP records
Best lap: Jorge Martin 1m 57.790s (2022)
Fastest race lap: Jorge Martin 1m 59.634s (2022)
Alex Marquez charges to the top in Friday practice for the 2023 Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang, while brother and future team-mate Marc Marquez plus Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro are among those to miss the top ten cut and will take part in Saturday's Qualifying 1.
The hectic closing minutes saw a fall for Raul Fernandez, causing some laps to be cancelled, while morning leader and title challenger Jorge Martin had three Hondas (Marc Marquez, Joan Mir and Takaaki Nakagami) in his wake, desperately seeking a tow.
The Pramac rider had the pace to pull clear and duly set the first 1m 57s lap of the weekend on his penultimate lap. But the battle wasn't over with Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez pipping Martin for the top spot by just 0.174s on his final lap.
The KTMs of Jack Miller and Brad Binder were third and fourth, followed by the lead Aprilia of Maverick Vinales, Luca Marini's VR46 Ducati plus the Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo, who was angry with team-mate Franco Morbidelli, who made a big save at the end of the session.
Just 15th this morning after staying on used rubber, reigning champion and title leader Francesco Bagnaia was eighth this afternoon with Marco Bezzecchi and Johann Zarco completing the list of direct Qualifying 2 riders.
After a fiery fall at the last corner this morning, Aleix Espargaro's day went from bad to worse when he slid off at Turn 1 early this afternoon, followed by a fall at Turn 9... then another lowside at the fast Turn 5! Espargaro was left just 20th on the timesheets, but at least there weren't any more flames.
After the heat problems in Thailand, when the RS-GP riders struggled to breathe, a new air duct was fitted on Friday, directing fresh air from the screen to the rider's face when tucked in on the straights.
WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista, 22nd and +3s after remaining on used tyres this morning, was +2.5s for the same position (ahead of LCR stand in Iker Lecuona) this afternoon.
After soft front and hard rear tyres were used by most riders this morning, mediums (front and rear) were the overwhelming choice this afternoon.
| 2023 Malaysian MotoGP, Sepang - Practice (1) Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP23) | 1'59.513s | 14/16 | 330k |
| 2 | Alex Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP22) | +0.049s | 16/17 | 331k |
| 3 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP23) | +0.401s | 13/14 | 332k |
| 4 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.542s | 11/16 | 331k |
| 5 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.621s | 13/17 | 332k |
| 6 | Luca Marini | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.729s | 14/18 | 330k |
| 7 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) | +0.731s | 9/11 | 328k |
| 8 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.738s | 15/15 | 329k |
| 9 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) | +0.785s | 14/14 | 326k |
| 10 | Augusto Fernandez | SPA | Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* | +0.954s | 13/18 | 327k |
| 11 | Jack Miller | AUS | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.006s | 13/17 | 332k |
| 12 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) | +1.081s | 12/18 | 329k |
| 13 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) | +1.267s | 13/13 | 326k |
| 14 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP22) | +1.356s | 11/15 | 327k |
| 15 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP23) | +1.375s | 12/16 | 333k |
| 16 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP23) | +1.389s | 7/18 | 332k |
| 17 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +1.597s | 6/15 | 330k |
| 18 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.665s | 14/16 | 331k |
| 19 | Joan Mir | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +1.835s | 10/15 | 331k |
| 20 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) | +1.839s | 15/16 | 332k |
| 21 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +2.024s | 13/17 | 325k |
| 22 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Aruba.It Ducati (GP23) | +3.003s | 9/15 | 324k |
| 23 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +3.780s | 12/15 | 320k |
*Rookie.
Official Sepang MotoGP records
Best lap: Jorge Martin 1m 57.790s (2022)
Fastest race lap: Jorge Martin 1m 59.634s (2022)
MotoGP title contender Jorge Martin starts the 2023 Malaysian GP as he means to go on by leading FP1 at Sepang.
But while Martin joined most riders in fitting new fresh rubber at the end of the 45 minutes (albeit on mediums, rather than soft front-hard rear), title leader Francesco Bagnaia kept his usual tactic of sticking with old tyres on the way to 15th place.
There were more 'heat' problems for Aprilia, with Aleix Espargaro's RS-GP catching fire after a harmless-looking fall at the final turn. Espargaro initially ran over to the bike, but soon sprinted away again when big flames began firing out of the exhaust.
WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista began his first grand prix weekend since 2018 with 22nd place, ahead of Iker Lecuona, with a lap time 3.003s from Martin.
Just 13 points separate reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia from title rival Jorge Martin heading into the final triple header of the MotoGP season, starting at Sepang this weekend.
While Bagnaia holds a narrow points advantage, momentum is back with Martin after taking a perfect double of Sprint and GP victories last time out in Thailand.
However, Martin was also among several riders to receive an official warning for low tyre pressure in the Buriram GP. Another infringement in the remaining rounds will result in the Pramac rider receiving a 3s post-race time penalty.
With tyre pressure tricky to predict, varying massively depending on if a rider is leading or following, the best way Martin can now be sure of keeping future race victories is to win on track by a margin of at least 3s... The same applies to any other finishing position he achieves.
Aside from the title fight, the big news this weekend is a wild-card entry for reigning World Superbike champion Alvaro Bautista. The Spaniard, making his first MotoGP start since 2018, is riding a factory spec Ducati GP23 in Aruba.It colours.
Bautista is not the only WorldSBK rider on the grid with Alex Rins, who missed Thailand after undergoing further leg surgery, replaced by Iker Lecuona for both Sepang and next weekend’s Qatar round.
Sepang was the venue for the opening pre-season test of the year, in February, when Luca Marini (fastest), Francesco Bagnaia, Maverick Vinales, Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin were all covered by 0.315s at the top of the timesheets.
Weather forecasts currently warn of an increasing risk of rain as the weekend goes on, rising to over 90% by lunchtime on Sunday…
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
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