Sepang GP QP Reports

—  MotoGP 2013 – Round 15 – Sepang
—  Marquez takes Sepang Pole Position ahead of Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow

Marc Marquez will start from a fourth consecutive MotoGP™ pole position for the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Multiple Sepang winner Valentino Rossi lines up second from Britain’s Cal Crutchlow, with title contenders Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa on the second row of the grid.

Having crashed out in dramatic fashion at MotorLand Aragón, it was Pedrosa who topped the first three practice sessions at the Sepang International Circuit. However, when it came to qualifying, the 2012 race winner was unable to muster anything other than fifth place, six tenths of a second down on Marquez’s 2’00.011 pole which breaks Casey Stoner’s record of six years ago. This marks Marquez’s eighth pole of 2013, his fourth in succession and fifth from the latest six race events.

Rain had hit just before Qualifying 2, yet had dried out in most places of the track for slicks to be a viable option. However, riders were initially cautious, with many avoiding near crashes at Turn 6, which was still damp. Only in their second runs were riders able to push closer to their true potential.

In a repeat of the German GP front row, albeit with the second and third-placed riders reversed, Rossi and Crutchlow will start second and third for their respective Yamaha Factory Racing and Monster Yamaha Tech3 outfits. In the case of the nine-time World Champion, he provisionally held pole position after enjoying a slipstream from Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso down the back straight, whereas Crutchlow celebrates a first front row start since his home race at Silverstone last month.

Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing), who won his first MotoGP™ title at Sepang in 2010, will start fourth after missing out on pole by half a second. Behind the reigning World Champion, Marquez’s teammate Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) misses the front row despite his rapid pace throughout practice, while the championship contenders will be accompanied on Row 2 by Alvaro Bautista; incidentally, the GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider will rise to sixth in the riders’ standings if he finishes fifth or higher in the race, as LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl was put out of action after suffering a right ankle fracture through a crash in final practice.

Row 3 will consist of Tech3’s Bradley Smith, equalling his second best MotoGP™ qualifying position of seventh from the aforementioned Dovizioso and leading CRT runner Aleix Espargaro (Power Electronics Aspar), who passed through to the final shootout from Q1. Andrea Iannone rounds out the top ten for Energy T.I. Pramac Racing from Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, whereas the absent Bradl qualified 12th but is now set to return to Barcelona for surgery. This promotes NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards to a fourth row position, with the grid completed by Damian Cudlin who contrary to initial plans races again with PBM this weekend.

Heading into Sunday’s race, which begins at 4pm local time (GMT +8) and with rain expected by many, Marquez heads Lorenzo in the standings by 39 points. Pedrosa is third overall and 59 points off the lead, meaning he could be mathematically ruled out of title contention depending on the results of Sunday’s 15th round of the season.

—  MotoGP™ Qualifying Practice Classification
1 Marc Marquez 2’00.011 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Valentino Rossi 2’00.336 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Cal Crutchlow 2’00.359 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
4 Jorge Lorenzo 2’00.578 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
5 Dani Pedrosa 2’00.692 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
6 Alvaro Bautista 2’00.974 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
7 Bradley Smith 2’01.306 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
8 Andrea Dovizioso 2’01.635 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Aleix Espargaro 2’02.151 SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar
10 Andrea Iannone 2’02.536 ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
11 Nicky Hayden 2’02.900 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
12 Stefan Bradl 2’01.083 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
13 Colin Edwards 2’02.858 USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
14 Claudio Corti 2’03.175 ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
15 Hector Barbera 2’03.212 SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
16 Hiroshi Aoyama 2’03.418 JAP FTR Avintia Blusens
17 Yonny Hernandez 2’03.651 COL DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team
18 Randy De Puniet 2’03.805 FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Test Team
19 Michael Laverty 2’04.198 GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
20 Danilo Petrucci 2’04.310 ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
21 Luca Scassa 2’05.199 ITA ART Cardion AB Motoracing
22 Bryan Staring 2’06.038 AUS FTR-HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
23 Lukas Pesek 2’06.203 CZE IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
24 Damian Cudlin 2’06.273 AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport

—  Moto2

Tito Rabat continued his domination of the Sepang weekend by clinching pole position for the Moto2™ Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Having locked out every session so far, the Spaniard retained the top spot, but both Tom Luthi and Pol Espargaro were less than one tenth of a second slower. Championship leader Scott Redding will start the race from tenth on the grid.

RelatedPosts

The Vincent Black Lightning is the rarest of the rare – Motorcycle History

March 21, 2025

Yamaha to line up MotoGP and WorldSBK stars at Suzuka 8 Hours

March 21, 2025

Sublime all weekend, Rabat sealed his second pole (his first having come in Jerez) with a 2’07.063 lap time. As he and Tuenti HP 40 teammate Espargaro sandwich Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing’s Luthi into second place, Espargaro is seven positions in front of championship rival Redding, who once again struggle with traffic; however, Redding started 13th last time out in Aragón but was able to finish one position behind Espargaro. At present, the Englishman heads Espargaro by 20 points, with Rabat 44 behind the leader.

Row 2 will be filled by Came Iodaracing Project’s Johann Zarco, Marc VDS Racing Team’s Mika Kallio and Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami, who re-joined the session after a crash at the final corner. Alex de Angelis will line up seventh for NGM Mobile Forward Racing from Xavier Simeon (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team) and Jordi Torres (Aspar Team Moto2). Joining Redding on Row 4 will be Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) and Marcel Schrotter (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team).

Moto2™ Qualifying Practice Classification
1- Tito Rabat ITA Kalex 2:07.063
2- Thomas Luthi SWI Suter+0.018
3- Pol Espargaro SPA Kalex +0.098

— Moto3™

Moto3™ championship leader Luis Salom has clinched pole position for the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, his third of the season. Alexis Masbou and Niccolo Antonelli shone for front row places, while title contenders Alex Rins and Maverick Viñales qualified sixth and ninth, respectively.

Having been seemingly off the pace at Sepang on Friday, Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) sent out a warning to rivals by topping the final practice session on Saturday morning. He went on to clinch his first pole for almost four months courtesy of a leading lap time of 2’13.867. The Mallorcan now targets a first victory since Silverstone.

The standout performers were arguably France’s Masbou and Italy’s Antonelli, riding FTR Hondas for their respective Ongetta-Rivacold and GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 outfits. Second place marks Masbou’s best ever World Championship qualifying result, while Antonelli’s first front row slot of the season equals a career best.

Miguel Oliveira will start fourth for Mahindra Racing, ahead of Estrella Galicia 0,0 duo Alex Marquez and Alex Rins, with Rins having won the last two races and heading into this event only nine points behind championship leader and pole-sitter Salom. Caretta Technology – RTG’s Jack Miller and Mahindra’s Efren Vazquez will head Row 3 from Team Calvo’s Viñales.

Viñales – who has demonstrated tremendous consistency so far this year – is currently third in the standings and only 12 points in arrears of Salom, but finds himself ninth on the grid after qualifying seven tenths of a second slower. The top ten was completed by Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Jonas Folger, while local favourite Zulfahmi Khairuddin managed 14th for Red Bull KTM Ajo despite having undergone surgery only last week in order to assist a fractured right wrist.

Also suffering a fractured right wrist, due to separate incidents in this morning’s respective final practice and qualifying sessions, were Kiefer Racing’s Florian Alt and La Fonte Tascaracing’s Alessandro Tonucci; as a result, neither will take any further part in the event. At the end of Qualifying, there was a crash for Ambrogio Racing’s Brad Binder who will start 23rd on the grid. Moto3™ Qualifying Practice Classification 1- Luis Salom SPA KTM 2:13.867 2- Alexis Masbou FRA FTR Honda +0.118 3- Niccolo Antonelli ITA FTR Honda +0.139 —  HRC Report World Championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) scorched to his eighth pole position of the season at sweltering Sepang this afternoon. Qualifying was made somewhat treacherous when a rain shower dampened part of the circuit, causing many riders a frightening moment or two. However, the track was dry enough by the end of the 15 minute session for Marquez to increase his pace and establish a new qualifying record. This pole was his fourth in a row, following on from Silverstone, Misano and Aragon. The remarkable 20-year-old carries a 39 point advantage into tomorrow’s race which is arguably the toughest of the year due to the heat and high humidity that push riders, bikes and tyres to the limit. Team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) ended the outing in fifth place to start tomorrow’s race from the middle of the second row. The Spaniard, who is still experiencing pain from his highside crash at Aragon two weeks ago, topped free practice but when the rain came down before qualifying, he decided to take fewer risks than usual, rather than chance aggravating his injuries with another tumble. Winner here last year, the former 250 and 125 World Champion is taking painkilling pills to tackle the discomfort he has from his bruised right hip and left buttock. Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) will start the race next to Pedrosa after qualifying sixth fastest. The Spaniard had been confident of a good qualifying session but he wasn’t able to fully evaluate a settings change during the final free practice session. That and the tricky conditions prevented him from reaching his own limit. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) was ruled out of tomorrow’s race when he slid off at Turn One during FP4, shortly before qualifying got underway. The German lost the front in what shouldn’t have been an injurious crash, then caught his right foot as he slid of the track and fractured the ankle. The former Moto2 World Champion will have the break fixed by specialists as soon as possible with the hope of riding in next weekend’s Australian GP. The injury is a real blow for the German who has been gathering momentum at recent races. He had ended free practice here a close fourth fastest. Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) put his CRT machine 22nd on the grid. The Australian isn’t happy with his pace and hopes he can find something extra for the race. Outside contender for the Moto2 World Championship Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) took pole position in the hard-fought Honda-powered category, his first since May’s Spanish GP, which he won. The Spaniard ended the session a slender 0.018 seconds ahead of Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Suter). Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex), who currently lies second in the title battle, took the final spot on the front row, 0.080 seconds behind Luthi, which means that the front row is covered by less than one tenth of a second. Johann Zarco (Came Ioda Racing Project Suter) was three tenths further back to lead row two in fourth place, just ahead of Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) and Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex). The third row consists of Alex De Angelis ((NGM Mobile Forward Racing Speed Up), Xavier Simeon (Desguaces La Torre Maptaq Kalex) and Jordi Torres (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter). World Championship leader Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) could do no better than tenth, 0.917 seconds off pole, due to rear-grip issues. Moto3 qualifying started on a damp track, which gave Alexis Masbou, (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda), Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda) and Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR Honda) the chance to show their talent. At one point the Frenchman, Italian and Australian were first, second and third. Masbou kept up his impressive pace to end the session in second place, just over a tenth of a second behind World Championship leader Luis Salom (KTM). It was the Frenchman’s best grid position of the year and he thinks he can run at the front tomorrow, so long as he gets away with the lead group. Just as impressive was Italian teenager Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini FTR Honda) in third place, making it two Hondas on the front row. Miller ended the session in seventh place to lead the third row. The next Honda men were Fenati in 13th and Isaac Vinales (Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR Honda) in 18th. Tomorrow’s Malaysian GP is the first of three consecutive races, with the Australian and Japanese GPs following over the next two Sundays. Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: pole position, 2m 00.011s “I’m really happy with this pole position, particularly as earning it was a little different to my previous poles. At the start of qualifying there were two completely wet corners, which made it hard to put in a hot lap as we had to calculate the amount of risk, whilst still maintaining our speed. I knew that the final lap of the session would be definitive, because the surface was drying out and conditions were getting better by the minute. Things worked out for us and I set a time that I really wasn’t expecting. Tomorrow will be a different story, because Lorenzo and Dani both have a great pace, so we shall see if we have a bit of good fortune and the conditions remain dry.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 5th, 2m 00.692s “Qualifying today was difficult to tackle, due to the rainfall, but in the end we all opted to go out on slicks. I was not able to clock the best time but I am happy with the pace that we have had during practice. Let’s see if tomorrow we can get a good start in the race.” Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 6th, 2m 00.974s “The second row is not bad considering what a tough day we have had today. We worked hard this morning to improve our pace and made a little progress but not enough. We worked on a different setting in the final free practice this afternoon, based on what we used in preseason testing, and it felt good but it only lasted for a lap because we had a little problem. So we went out in qualifying not feeling entirely confident with the setting and with the track conditions being less than perfect in a few places because of the rain. Overall if things had worked out better for us I could have gone much faster but the second row is still important. We have a few things to check with the setting in morning warm-up and then hopefully we can have a strong race.” Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: DNS “I was quite confident in the final practice and we were on a new tyre to get ready for QP2. So I started to push but for some reasons I felt a bit strange with the rear tyre because I could not get the proper grip quickly. Thus I tried to push on braking a bit too much for the first corner so I lost the front. Honestly it was not a heavy crash but I was unlucky. The handle bar of my bike hit the plastic grass and it comes up (not flat anymore) and my right leg got stuck in there. I immediately felt the pain and the x-ray exam reveals the fracture of the right malleolus.” Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 2m 06.038s “I am pretty disappointed to be honest because we have not made much progress on the lap times we set here during preseason testing. I can’t honestly explain exactly why this is but clearly we’re not fast enough. Hopefully we will have a turnaround overnight.” Moto2 rider quotes Esteve Rabat, Tuenti HP 40 Pons: pole position, 2m 07.063s “I’m very happy with this pole position and even more so with my rhythm for the race because it’s very good. We have found a very good bike set-up for tomorrow which makes me feel quite confident. As always, I will give my 100 per cent, try and get a good start and see what’s the best result we can achieve at the end of the race.” Thomas Luthi, Interwetten Paddock: 2nd, 2m 07.081s “I hope I can go with Tito [Rabat]. He has been very strong all weekend, and yesterday I didn’t think it would be possible to catch him but now we are very close. We have been getting better all weekend, so I hope that the race will be dry. I felt confident in qualifying and we have a good pace. In the race I hope Tito cannot make the early break like he did at Aragon.” Pol Espargaro, Tuenti HP40 Pons: 3rd, 2m 07.161s “The race will be hard because the heat here is amazing. I’m surprised because I didn’t expect to be on the front row. We made an amazing improvement in FP3 – we tried a different tyre and a completely different setting from yesterday. The weekend is going very well. We have a good rhythm and tomorrow we will see what happens in the race.” Honda Moto3 Rider quotes Alexis Masbou, Ongetta-Rivacold: 2nd, 2m 13.985s “That was good! The track was still damp in a few places, so the conditions weren’t perfect, which helped us because I don’t think second place would’ve been possible in normal conditions. But I was very nearly fastest in FP1, so we are going pretty well here, especially since I lost a little time on my best lap when someone got in my way. I had a crash this morning – I made a mistake when I was trying a different tyre. Tomorrow I will try and go with the first group – we have the rhythm – but it will depend on the start and the first few laps. It won’t be easy because we have two long straights here.” Niccolo Antonelli, GO&FUN Gresini: 3rd, 2m 14.006s “I am delighted to have qualified on the front row and to finally get my hands on a new cap! The team have done a great job and I have been able to repay them with a performance that gives us all a great boost. We have been making good progress for the last few races and this result confirms our good form. It won’t be an easy race tomorrow but starting from the front row will be important and I want to make the most of the opportunity ahead of me.” Jack Miller, Caretta Technology – RTG: 7th, 2m 14.436s “That could’ve been better but nevertheless it was all right. The track was still damp at the last corner and in the change of direction between five and six – a couple of times the bike lit up. Things are going pretty good – the bike is pretty strong and I think the KTMs are struggling a bit with the humidity. It could’ve been a different story if the track had been fully dry, but seventh is good enough, we can deal with it.” — Yamaha Report Yamaha Factory Racing rider Valentino Rossi enjoyed his best qualifying heat of the season today scoring second on the grid for tomorrow’s Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The 15-minute qualifying heat was one of the most complicated of the season with uncertain track conditions after a pre-session rain shower tested the rider skills to the limit. Having saved a big moment at turn six on his first lap, Rossi put his head down and set a 2’03.499 to take provisional pole position. A flurry of activity at the top followed and the nine-time champion came in to change to a fresh rear tyre in third position. As the last minutes counted down Rossi became a key protagonist in the battle for pole, delivering a scorching 2’00.336 lap to take provisional pole, a position he held for a few seconds before a final hot lap from rival Marc Marquez moved him to second, 0.325 seconds from pole. Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo shared a similar experience to his teammate Rossi, having a big moment at turn six on his first lap. Like Rossi he was also able to save it and then returned to the pits to watch the session unfold and decide on a strategy. As the lap times began to tumble he came back out with six minutes remaining and immediately took provisional pole with a 2’00.792 second lap. He kept the pressure on, immediately dropping further with 2’00,578. A lack of trust in the treacherous track conditions held him back from attempting a perfect lap, his time good enough to take fourth on the grid on the second row, 0.567 seconds from pole. Valentino Rossi – 2nd / 2’00.336 / 7 laps – “I’m very happy about today, from this morning we really improved the bike. We worked hard with the team this weekend and I like the set up a lot, I can really push and have a good pace. Just before qualifying it started to rain and everything became more difficult. I expected it to be full dry but two or three corners were not, I had a big moment on the first lap and I was very happy to not crash, I have to say thank you to my Yamaha! After that I tried to push and I made a very good lap time, especially considering the conditions. Now we wait for tomorrow and I hope it will be dry because I think in the dry we are very competitive.” Jorge Lorenzo – 4th / 2’00.578 / 7 laps – “Today we improved the bike a lot and I feel much more comfortable than yesterday. I did a long run in free practice which went quite well. Then before qualifying we changed the bike a little and we were able to improve it further. The problem was in some corners, especially in turn six and turn seven as it was wet. On my second lap I almost crashed there so I didn’t trust the corners to be able to make a perfect lap.” Yamaha Factory Racing Wilco Zeelenberg – “It was an exciting qualifying, the rain before the practice was of course not ideal and Jorge found out directly on his first lap that it was wet in places. Luckily he didn’t crash and then he decided to come in. I think in the second stint he didn’t want to do that again so he tried to put the bike in the best possible position with a little bit of safety. Second row is a little disadvantage but with our starts I think we should be fine tomorrow, we’re feeling quite confident.” Yamaha Factory Racing Massimo Meregalli – “An unusual qualifying session, the rain came just five minutes before starting so the conditions were very tricky. Both Jorge and Vale almost crashed on their first tyres but were lucky. Starting from first and second row here is very important as always. We improved the bike a lot over today and now we are ready to start the race tomorrow. We have to see the weather forecast as unfortunately it looks like it’s going to be wet. We haven’t had any possibility to do any practice in the wet conditions so it’s going to be interesting tomorrow.” Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Cal Crutchlow made a welcome return to the front row of the grid in Malaysia this afternoon, the British rider dodging rain showers throughout the second day at Sepang to finish third fastest in a dramatic conclusion to qualifying. Rain showers had fallen on and off throughout today’s proceedings and when a downpour fell just minutes before the start of QP2, it looked like the 15-minute session would be disrupted by rain. Fortunately it was only a very short cloudburst but the session commenced with some corners still damp. Crutchlow though superbly calculated where he could push hard to battle for a third pole position throughout a tense and exciting QP2. A lap of 2.01.801 put Crutchlow on top of the rankings by just 0.006s over Dani Pedrosa shortly after the halfway stage. And in a frantic last lap sprint in improving conditions, the 27-year-old improved his pace to a 2.00.359 to clinch a deserved spot on the front row of the grid for the seventh time in 2013. Today’s QP2 session was also a positive experience for rookie Bradley Smith, who too mastered the unpredictable track conditions with supreme confidence to score his best qualifying result since the Czech Republic round in August. The 22-year-old got a massive confidence in the earlier FP4 session when he set the seventh best time and he took that impressive form into QP2. A best lap of 2.01.306 was just over 0.3s away from clinching a second row start and he will start the physically demanding 20-lap race from seventh position. Cal Crutchlow – 3rd 2.00.359 – 7 laps “I am really happy to be back on the front row because it was not an easy session at all. It was hard with a dark visor to see where the track was wet and in some corners it was pretty tricky. It was a bit of a lottery with the damp sections and I think it came down to who was willing to take the most risks right at the end when the track was improving. Today’s result is a great reward for my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew because they have done a brilliant job giving me a very competitive package this weekend. It has been tough for me physically because of the pain coming from my right arm. I first damaged it at Silverstone but the pain has been pretty bad this weekend and I’m a bit surprised because I felt nothing in Misano and Aragon. The swelling is pretty big but I am really motivated for tomorrow’s race. It is going to be a very tough race in the heat and humidity but hopefully I can put up a good fight. It will be hard for the tyres as well because 20-laps is a long race and the tyres have been going off quite quickly.” Bradley Smith – 7th 2.01.306 – 7 laps “Today was the first opportunity to see how much I have improved compared to the tests I did here in February. Qualifying was the first time all weekend when I ran low fuel and new tyres like we did in testing and I am happy with the performance to finish seventh. The conditions were not ideal at all and it was a bit sketchy at Turn 6 and 7 after the rain showers. The team though did a great job and I’ve done some longer runs to check tyre life and I’m happy in that area. We have also improved my feeling with a full fuel load, so hopefully I can have a strong race. It will be hard to fight for the top six but my aim will be to get a good start and go with the leading group in the early stages to try and learn as much as possible. A big plus this weekend has been that we have improved in every session and made good progress with the bike set-up, so I’ve got more confidence for the race than normal.” — Ducati Report Today’s MotoGP Q2 session took place in extremely challenging conditions at Sepang International Circuit. Following a lunchtime rain shower, the track surface was spotted with damp patches when the session kicked off, and with the possibility that the weather could worsen again, riders were forced to ride very close to the limit. Instead, the situation improved toward the end of the session, making it possible for riders to drop their times in the final laps. Andrea Dovizioso managed the situation well and set his best time of 2:01.635 on his very last lap, putting him eighth best at 1.6 seconds from pole-man Marc Marquez. Nicky Hayden, meanwhile, wasn’t satisfied with his performance in the damp Turn 6, which contributed to his eleventh-place finish. The Ducati Team riders will start tomorrow’s Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix from the third and fourth rows, respectively. Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team, 8th (2:01.635) “The session was a bit more challenging than usual, and very dangerous because the colour of the asphalt here is strange—quite light—and it’s difficult to see where it’s wet. In fact, many of us risked crashing on our out-laps, in Turn 6. It was damp and I didn’t see if there were any flags, and slicks don’t work very well in those conditions! It was very difficult to manage, because the track dried quickly in the heat, but we could only push at 100% on the last lap; in those circumstances, it depends how much you want to risk. I kept a bit of margin in those two corners, but I pushed hard on the rest—I hadn’t done a 2:01.6 the entire weekend, so it’s not bad considering I didn’t push hard in that section. We’ll see how things go in the race tomorrow, but at least we start from the third row.” Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team, 11th (2:02.900) “It’s a real shame about how my qualifying session went, and it was my fault. In FP4 I went the quickest I’ve been all weekend and had the best feeling, and I thought I could maybe do something better in qualifying. Unfortunately, a rain shower came through at lunchtime, and when I went out I had a bad feeling with my GP13, especially in the wet part at Turn 6. It was really hard to see where the track was wet and where it was dry and to understand how much grip it had. That’s no excuse, as everybody improved their lap times and I didn’t. I just couldn’t get hooked up through the wet part. It was my problem and I apologize to the team. We’ll see if we can recover something tomorrow.” —  Bridgestone Report Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium & Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium (Symmetric) & Hard (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main) & Soft (Alternative) Weather: FP3 – Dry. Ambient 28-28°C; Track 34-35°C (Bridgestone measurement) FP4/QP – Dry. Ambient 29-30°C; Track 36-41°C (Bridgestone measurement) Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez set yet another qualifying lap record at Sepang, the current MotoGP™ championship leader clocking a time of 2’00.011 to shave three-tenths of a second off the existing mark. Marquez claimed his eighth pole position of the season on his last timed lap and will line up on the front now next to a pair of Yamaha riders. Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi’s time of 2’00.336 slots the nine-time World Champion in at second on the grid for tomorrow’s race, while Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow was third quickest and a mere 0.023 seconds behind Rossi. Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro topped Qualifying Practice 1 and showed strong pace in QP2 by qualifying in ninth place with a time of 2’02.151. Conditions were predominantly dry today, the exception being a rain shower at the end of QP1 which caused a premature ending to the session, and caused created greasy track conditions for the start of QP2. Track conditions improved throughout the second qualifying session, with the pace being the quickest of the weekend and most riders using the combination of the softer front and rear slicks. Some riders assessed the hard compound front slick tyre in practice, although the softer front and rear slicks are still preferred by most riders and will be the most widely used options should the race be dry. The final session before tomorrow’s race is the Warm Up session at 1140 local time (GMT +8), with the twenty lap Malaysian MotoGP™ race set to start at 1600. Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “We had the same kind of weather conditions and track temperatures as yesterday, and this was reflected in the tyre choices by the riders today being quite similar to what was used in Friday practice. The softer slick options were again preferred by the majority of riders, although feedback from some of the CRT riders indicates that some of them could choose the harder options for the race, particularly for the front tyre. Given the rain we had at the end of QP1, the pace in QP2 was extremely quick which shows how the improved feel offered by our latest generation of tyres gives riders the confidence to attack in less than ideal conditions. It was also pleasing to see another qualifying lap record broken and overall it was a positive day for Bridgestone here at Sepang.”

—  MotoGP 2013 – Round 15 – Sepang
—  Pedrosa lays down the law as Malaysian GP gets underway

Dani Pedrosa was just two tenths of a second off Jorge Lorenzo’s fastest ever lap of Sepang as the Repsol Honda Team rider upped the pace on Friday afternoon at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The 2012 winner topped the second practice session from teammate Marc Marquez and Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow, with Lorenzo fifth quickest for Yamaha Factory Racing.

As the premier class escaped the rain that did fall at the Sepang International Circuit on Friday, Pedrosa – already fastest in the morning – raised the bar to 2’00.554, half a second quicker than teammate Marquez. Crutchlow made the top three, despite suffering from pain in his right forearm from the big crash at Silverstone – he has stated that it will need an operation, though could not confirm when. Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi was marginally behind in fourth after finding a significantly better set-up in the afternoon session, though feels he can improve tomorrow.

GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista set a good pace before crashing at Turn 4, fortunately walking away unscathed. He had been testing a new Showa rear shock, which he has given positive feedback so far. Lorenzo, who was sixth in the afternoon, was in fact fifth fastest when taking into account the combined timesheet, though suffered what he described as one of his most difficult days this year, as both engine braking and rear grip issues hindered his progress.

All riders bar five improved on their best times for the day during the afternoon session; one who did not was Colin Edwards, whose NGM Mobile Forward Racing machine had been quickest of the CRTs in the morning. By the time the day met its end, Aleix Espargaro (Power Electronics Aspar) had moved ahead and was 11th quickest. Damian Cudlin rounded out the field as the Australian made his second appearance for PBM.

— Practice Results
1 Dani Pedrosa 2’00.554 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Marc Marquez 2’01.087 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Cal Crutchlow 2’01.423 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
4 Valentino Rossi 2’01.538 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
5 Alvaro Bautista 2’01.659 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
6 Jorge Lorenzo 2’01.710 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
7 Stefan Bradl 2’01.727 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
8 Nicky Hayden 2’02.373 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Andrea Dovizioso 2’02.487 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
10 Bradley Smith 2’02.551 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
11 Aleix Espargaro 2’02.610 SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar
12 Andrea Iannone 2’02.819 ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
13 Hector Barbera 2’03.225 SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
14 Colin Edwards 2’03.707 USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
15 Yonny Hernandez 2’03.780 COL DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team
16 Randy De Puniet 2’03.922 FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Test Team
17 Hiroshi Aoyama 2’04.414 JAP FTR Avintia Blusens
18 Claudio Corti 2’04.807 ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
19 Danilo Petrucci 2’04.965 ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
20 Michael Laverty 2’05.551 GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
21 Luca Scassa 2’05.598 ITA ART Cardion AB Motoracing
22 Bryan Staring 2’06.538 AUS FTR-HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
23 Lukas Pesek 2’07.024 CZE IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
24 Damian Cudlin 2’07.122 AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport

— Moto2™

Tito Rabat was comfortably quickest as Moto2™ practice began on Friday ahead of the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The Tuenti HP 40 rider led Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing’s Tom Luthi, as Scott Redding moved ahead of championship rival Pol Espargaro after beginning the day in 12th place.

Already quickest in the morning when rain had affected the opening session, Rabat proceeded to register a 2’07.321 lap time during the dry afternoon. There was a significant gap of seven tenths of a second back to Luthi, as Marc VDS Racing Team’s Redding made huge strides to crack the top three. This left the Englishman almost two tenths up on Rabat’s teammate and closest title rival Espargaro, as Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami finished fifth despite a crash.

Numerous riders were caught out by a lack of grip, particularly off the racing line following the rain of earlier in the day. As well as Nakagami, there were slip-ups for Azlan Shah (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), wildcard Decha Kraisart (Singha Eneos Yamaha Tech3) and Thitipong Warokorn (Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2). These in-turn followed incidents in the morning for Johann Zarco of Came IodaRacing Project and Rafid Topan Sucipto, whose QMMF Racing Team outfit suffered a garage fire during the afternoon which caused damage to bikes and equipment.

Alex de Angelis was sixth for NGM Mobile Forward Racing, ahead of Technomag carXpert’s Dominique Aegerter, Aspar Team Moto2’s Nico Terol, who won last time out in Aragón, Redding’s teammate Mika Kallio and the aforementioned Zarco.

— Moto3™

Conditions were very much mixed across the second Moto3™ practice session at Sepang on Friday for the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, with Jack Miler eventually going fastest for Caretta Technology – RTG. The Australian completed a reshuffled top three from Mahindra Racing’s Efren Vazquez and Ongetta-Rivacold’s Alexis Masbou, but it was Team Calvo’s Maverick Viñales whose morning time was quickest of the day.

After title contender Viñales posted a best effort of 2’14.961 in the morning, rain before the second session left riders with no option but to fit wet weather tyres. As the circuit eventually dried and slicks were used towards the end of the afternoon period, there were changes aplenty atop the leader board, but it was Miller’s FTR Honda going top with a leading afternoon lap time of 2’15.598. On the overall timesheets for the day, he would finish third behind the aforementioned Viñales and Masbou.

Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0 and also a championship contender) was fourth overall from Mahindra Racing’s Efren Vazquez and championship leader Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo), while Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Isaac Viñales was seventh, but led the way in the closing stages of the afternoon. The overall top ten was completed by Ambrogio Racing’s Brad Binder (continuing to adapt to the Mahindra machine) Miguel Oliveira on a factory Mahindra and Tec Interwetten Moto3 Racing’s Philipp Oettl, fresh from his career-best result of sixth in the Aragón Grand Prix.

With damp patches around the track, Eric Granado found himself caught out when entering Turn 7. The Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 rider, who ended proceedings 19th from Malaysia’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Red Bull KTM Ajo), suffered a fall but no injuries.

— Yamaha Report

The first of the three overseas triple-header weekend’s kicked off today in Sepang with the first two free practice sessions for the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi made solid improvements over the two practice sessions to wrap up the day in fourth in the combined times. The Italian made a 0.5 second improvement over the two sessions and finished 0.115 seconds behind Cal Crutchlow in third.

Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo had a tougher first day in Sepang. The Mallorcan struggled to find an optimum set up for the Malaysian circuit with mid-corner grip issues affecting his final times. He completed the first day in fifth overall, 0.085 seconds behind his teammate Rossi.

Valentino Rossi -4th / 2’01.538 / 18 laps
“For me personally, especially this afternoon, it was a good practice because we improved the setting of the bike a lot. We improved with the new tyre and with the old tyre I can stay with a good pace so I feel better on the bike. For sure we have to improve, but this afternoon I feel good. It seems our competitors are a little faster than us but I will try 100% because in the last races Jorge is always there fighting at the front. It will be hard but we have to concentrate on the bike. We are not very far but we have a small gap to recover.”

Jorge Lorenzo – 5th / 2’01.623 / 14 laps
“We are investigating what happened today because I didn’t have confidence in the middle of the corners and also with acceleration. I had a lot of spinning and the bike is very aggressive so we have to see what we can change for tomorrow to try to get back a good feeling with the bike again.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“A difficult first practice for us here in Sepang, we struggled a bit to find grip. We need to find out what is going on through the data; we don’t have an answer yet. We need to try to get it on the table before tomorrow morning so we can make the next step in the third practice.”

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“Today didn’t go as we wanted and as we expected. Anyway, we got a lot of data that we can study and for sure we will use it to improve a set up that is now not perfect. We are pretty confident that with the data and the rider comments we can analyse the issues and put together a different set up that will enable Jorge and Vale to get a better consistent pace and speed.”

Crutchlow makes flying start to flyaway triple-header in Sepang

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Cal Crutchlow made a fantastic start to the Malaysian MotoGP weekend today, the British rider setting the third fastest time on the opening day of practice at the physically demanding Sepang International Circuit.

Sixth fastest in typically hot and humid conditions in this morning’s opening 45-minute session, Crutchlow was almost a second faster in FP2 to surge up the rankings into the top three behind Spanish duo Dani Pedrosa and World Championship leader Marc Marquez. Crutchlow had struggled this morning with pain in the swollen right arm he first damaged at Silverstone recently, but happily he was able to ride in much less discomfort in FP2 and the improvement in his physical condition was reflected in his pace. The 27-year-old posted a personal best time of 2.01.423 that secured him a top three slot by 0.115s ahead of factory Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi on a track offering excellent grip levels, despite heavy rain falling in between sessions.

Teammate Bradley Smith was also able to enjoy a positive start to arguably the toughest spell of the World Championship campaign, with this weekend’s Sepang race closely followed by back-to-back trips to Australia and Japan.

The rookie finished inside the top 10 in both 45-minute practice sessions and a best lap of 2.02.551 placed him 10th on the combined timesheets. Smith dedicated much of his time on track today to further adapting to a new smoother braking technique he first began experimenting with at the previous round at the Motorland Aragon track in Spain. He also concentrated on his consistency on worn tyres and was satisfied with progress made ahead of planned significant set-up tweaks to evaluate tomorrow in advance of Sunday’s 20-lap race.

Cal Crutchlow 2.01.423 – 35 laps: “It was very difficult this morning to ride at my maximum level because I had some problems with the right arm I first injured during the recent British Grand Prix. I already know I need surgery at the end of the season but until now the big impact my arm took at Silverstone has only given me bad swelling but no pain. This morning instead it hurt me a lot and couldn’t use the arm that well. Fortunately the afternoon session was much better and on my final run of the day we made a positive step and I am pleased to finish inside the top three. I was immediately faster the first time I put in a new tyre because for most of FP2 we worked on the set-up of the bike with worn tyres I’d also used this morning.”

Bradley Smith 10th 2.02.551 – 36 laps: “After testing twice at Sepang in the winter I was looking forward to coming back here to understand how much progress I have made in my rookie season. It is nice to be riding on a track where I’ve got previous experience of riding the YZR-M1 and although I wasn’t able to lap as fast as I did in February, my consistency has improved a lot and that is a positive point. I did a lot of 2.02 laps and I am happy with my pace, but we will look at making some more drastic changes tomorrow to take another step into the 2.01s. I did some good times on old tyres and that gives me confidence that I will be strong in the race on Sunday.”

— Repsol HRC Report

The Malaysian Grand Prix got underway in mixed conditions today, as Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa laid down the marker with a blisteringly fast time in this afternoon’s FP2 session. Teammate, and Championship leader, Marc Marquez finished the day in second place.

2012 race winner Dani was already fastest in the morning, but in the afternoon he improved his time by 0.675s with a lap time of 2’00.554 (just 0.22 off Lorenzo’s record pole time in 2012) on lap 12 of 17. This was all the more impressive considering there was a torrential downpour in-between the sessions, washing away the rubber from the track. Teammate Marc, also second in FP1 this morning, shaved half a second off his morning lap time with 2.01.087 on lap 8 of 17.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Marco Simoncelli this weekend, as it marks the second anniversary of the HRC rider’s premature passing during the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2011, he will be forever missed.

Dani Pedrosa 1st 2’00.554
“Today went well; we had two good practice sessions and were able to ride in dry conditions in both the morning and afternoon. In the second session it looked like the track was going to be wet after a brief rain shower in-between FP1 and FP2, but it dried out quickly and we were able to continue working on our setups. When sitting on the bike I have quite a lot of pain, as the seat is very hard, so we shall see if a few more anti-inflammatories can help to alleviate the issue. We might also add a small cushion underneath my leathers, in order to absorb the bumps that we get when riding”

Marc Marquez 2nd 2’01.087
“We came here before in pre-season, when I had barely ridden a MotoGP bike so it was interesting to compare things again so many laps and miles later! I felt comfortable and this is important when trying to be more consistent every lap. On the single lap we are half a second off Dani who was very fast, as he always is at Sepang, but our pace in general isn’t too far off. We have to push hard because if he can do it, that means that the Honda is capable of those times. I was hoping to be more consistent but I had some problems with braking, which we were able to solve in the opening practice session. We still need to improve a few things, but I have realised that we are already fast, straight out of the box.”

— Ducati Report

As expected, the first day of the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit was marked by unpredictable weather, but the first two free-practice sessions saw the MotoGP riders lapping in dry conditions.

Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso were both pleased to finish the day in the top ten in the combined times, as they know that should rain strike tomorrow morning’s session, today’s times could well determine who transfers directly into Q2. Nonetheless, both Ducati Team riders hope to reduce their gaps to the leaders.

Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team, 8th (2:02.373)
“Things went pretty well this morning, but we fell further behind as the day went on. The biggest problem is that I have a lot of chatter, especially from the front and in the fast corners, which makes it very difficult to carry corner speed. That’s a normal problem we had here during testing, so it’s not something we didn’t expect, but we need to try to do something to improve it.”

Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team, 9th (2:02.487)
“It was important to make it into the top ten, and it’s good that I managed it while doing an entire session with one tyre, unlike most of the others. The gap to the front is bigger, but that’s normal; there isn’t much grip here and the tyre wears a lot, which hurts us a bit more. The Sepang track is very particular. When it dries, even if there are some wet patches, you can set good times, like Pedrosa did. Sure, the tyres don’t work so well and they wear a bit more, but you can still go fast.”

— Bridgestone Report

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium & Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium (Symmetric) & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main) & Soft (Alternative)
Weather: FP1 – Dry. Ambient 29-30°C; Track 37-41°C (Bridgestone measurement)
FP2 – Dry. Ambient 30-30°C; Track 41-44°C (Bridgestone measurement)

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa set a sizzling time of 2’00.554 in this afternoon’s Free Practice 2 session to finish half a second clear of his closest rival in the first day of practice at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang.

Pedrosa’s time was just two-tenths of a second off the qualifying lap record, the Spaniard topping the opening day ahead of teammate Marc Marquez who was second quickest with a personal best time of 2’01.087. Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow was the closest rider to the Honda duo, his lap time of 2’01.423 slotting him in at third in the overall classification. Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro was the quickest of the CRT today, setting a time 2.056 seconds off Pedrosa’s benchmark to finish eleventh on the timesheets.

Dry track conditions greeted riders in both sessions today despite a heavy downpour around midday, with a peak track temperature of 44°C recorded during FP2. At the start of Free Practice One all riders headed out on soft slick options front and rear to gauge the track condition, with two riders assessing the hard compound front slick later on in the morning session. In the second session of the day tyre choice was more varied, with five riders trying the harder rear slick options, while both the soft and hard front slicks were also used. The softer front and rear slick options were preferred by riders today, with almost every rider setting their quickest time on this tyre combination.

Similar weather conditions to today with the chance of rain are forecast for tomorrow. The final ranked practice session, FP3, starts at 0955 local time (GMT +8) before qualifying gets underway from 1410.

Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“Today was a good start to the race weekend and thankfully the heavy rain earlier didn’t disrupt the afternoon session. Softer slick options were preferred by the riders today, though the reasons for this preference were different for the front and rear tyres. The moderate track temperatures meant few riders felt the need to evaluate the harder rear slick options, while for the front, most riders felt that the softer front slick offered better bump absorption in the braking zones, which at this circuit feature quite heavy undulations. Considering we are already near record qualifying pace on the opening day here at Sepang, I expect we will see some more lap records set over the weekend.”