Sepang MotoGP: Quartararo sets record FP1 pace

The Frenchman won out of a Petronas Yamaha shootout in the closing stages of the 45-minute session, pipping Franco Morbidelli by 0.083s.

The tiny margin was enough to leave Quartararo on the right side of the lap record, his 1m59.027s a new race weekend benchmark at the Sepang circuit.

Quartararo's final lap was a fine response to his teammate, who had knocked him off top spot moments earlier with a 1m59.110s.

Maverick Vinales was third best of a flourish of late improvements, making it a Yamaha top three with a 1m59.218s on his final lap.

The Spaniard led the way for the majority of the session, going quickest early with a 2m00.373s, before dipping under the two-minute barrier with a 1m59.955s at the 20-minute mark.

It wasn't until the late rush that his time was overhauled.

Marc Marquez finished up fourth quickest, the recently-crowned World Champion provided the majority of the highlights from a straightforward session.

It started with a low-side near-miss at Turn 2 on his opening run, before his Honda rolled to a stop 12 minutes in, the recovery involving a detour through the back of the paddock.

He was swiftly back in action, his 1m59.517s coming on his final run.

Andrea Dovizioso and Alex Rins were next, followed by Aleix Espargaro, Valentino Rossi, Cal Crutchlow and Jack Miller.

It was another tough session for Jorge Lorenzo, who ended up way down in 18th, 2.4s off the pace and two spots behind Johann Zarco.

Miguel Oliveira's ongoing participation has been left in serious doubt after FP1, the wrist injuries from his Phillip Island crash flaring up during the session.

He only completed four laps, the best of which was more than 6s off the pace, and exited the Tech 3 garage with more than a quarter of an hour to go.

Cla	#	Rider		Bike	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval
1	20	Fabio Quartararo		Yamaha	18	01'59.027
2	21	Franco Morbidelli		Yamaha	16	01'59.110	00.083	00.083
3	12	Maverick Viñales		Yamaha	16	01'59.218	00.191	00.108
4	93	Marc Marquez		Honda	13	01'59.517	00.490	00.299
5	4	Andrea Dovizioso		Ducati	16	01'59.527	00.500	00.010
6	42	Alex Rins		Suzuki	17	01'59.546	00.519	00.019
7	41	Aleix Espargaro		Aprilia	13	01'59.854	00.827	00.308
8	46	Valentino Rossi		Yamaha	17	01'59.893	00.866	00.039
9	35	Cal Crutchlow		Honda	16	01'59.975	00.948	00.082
10	43	Jack Miller		Ducati	14	01'59.996	00.969	00.021
11	36	Joan Mir		Suzuki	16	02'00.410	01.383	00.414
12	9	Danilo Petrucci		Ducati	14	02'00.826	01.799	00.416
13	17	Karel Abraham		Ducati	15	02'00.874	01.847	00.048
14	44	Pol Espargaro		KTM	14	02'00.951	01.924	00.077
15	63	Francesco Bagnaia		Ducati	16	02'01.000	01.973	00.049
16	5	Johann Zarco		Honda	16	02'01.038	02.011	00.038
17	29	Andrea Iannone		Aprilia	14	02'01.172	02.145	00.134
18	99	Jorge Lorenzo		Honda	15	02'01.515	02.488	00.343
19	55	Hafizh Syahrin		KTM	14	02'01.579	02.552	00.064
20	82	Mika Kallio		KTM	16	02'01.959	02.932	00.380
21	88	Miguel Oliveira		KTM	4	02'05.412	06.385	03.453