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Practice report

Sepang MotoGP: Quartararo sets record FP1 pace

Fabio Quartararo set the fastest-ever MotoGP race weekend lap of the Sepang circuit with a 1m59.027s in Free Practice 1 for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Fabio Quartararo, Petronas Yamaha SRT

Fabio Quartararo, Petronas Yamaha SRT

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

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.

Read Also:

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

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