MotoGP riders reflect on opening day of practice in Malaysia

MotoGP 2023

Round 18 – Malaysian Grand Prix
Friday Practice

Alex Marquez – P1

“Sometimes to take to the track and things come to you naturally… Today was one of those days, we were comfortable and competitive in dry conditions from the get-go. We’re working on the tyre side of things in order to be ready for Sunday, but generally speaking we’re good. It could rain tomorrow, but I like this type of conditions so there shouldn’t be any issue if it happens. I’m not sure if I was expecting to break the 1’58s barrier, but as I already said we were comfortable so it went well. The goal for tomorrow is to do a good qualifying in order to start from the front of the grip and save some tyre.”

Jack Miller – P3

“Really happy with how the opening day here at Sepang has gone, I have not been up there for a while so we’ll take that! The bike seems to be doing everything I’d like it to do so l’m looking forward to Q2 tomorrow.”

Brad Binder – P4

“Good Day out here in Malaysia, looking forward to what tomorrow brings. I know my guys are working hard and I will give it my all in Q2 tomorrow.”

Luca Marini – P6

“I expected more from today, in general the tarmac conditions are very different from the testing session. There is no rubber on the track and, without grip, everything is much more complicated. In the second free practices I felt better, but I wasn’t really competitive. Now let’s go back to the data, look at Alex (Marquez) who was very fast today and try to close the gap. The first two rows in qualifying are always the goal.”

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“It was a great day. I didn‘t expect to make this lap time at the end of the Practice, it was pretty fast. The grip on the first day is always low here, but this afternoon I felt great, so I‘m happy. Also the pace is looking good. I‘m hoping to make further progress tomorrow because, for sure, our rivals will do so. I need to improve in Sector 3, and hopefully we can make a big step.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P8

“It was one of the best Fridays in a long time, the first time that I didn’t ask anything to my team for Saturday. I feel good and with the used tyres I was very fast. The first time-attack went very well for me, but in the second unfortunately I missed the second lap a bit after having had the yellow in the first, I’m happy because it was important to have a feeling like that and above all being able to express a lot of speed straight away was fundamental, and as for the race pace we are very strong now. This weekend we began immediately with a better starting setting, and everything came as a consequence. For sure it will be important to do another little step tomorrow morning. I aim to start the sprint race well and push very hard right from the start.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P9

“I’m happy, especially regarding the race pace. I was hoping for something more on the flying lap, but I had to change my plan during the session. This morning I used one tire more than expected, so I only had one time attack available in the afternoon. Overall I’m satisfied, we need to work on some riding aspects and make a step in the electronics and settings in the third and fourth sectors.”

Franco Morbidelli – P11

“It was a good day. The bike is working well here. I have a good feeling and I‘m able to be quick. Unfortunately, with the new tyre I was not able to put everything together and put in a lap that was good enough for a direct entry into Q2. We missed out by just a little. We have the duty to get better and try to make that extra step on new tyres in a time attack to push through and get into Q2 – that‘s the main focus. That should be our main target with the pace we have lately: we should start more towards the front to do good races.”

Enea Bastianini – P12

“Doing more today was difficult because we tried many new things so P12 was acceptable, even if it wasn’t the position that we were aspiring to, but there were some ups and downs today and tomorrow we must try to be more consistent to get into Q2. I’ve never used the rear thumb brake and obviously, it took me a while to adapt and then this afternoon the conditions were different, so we tried to make changes to meet the needs of the track, but we arrived a bit late and with the second tyre I only managed to do one lap so unfortunately, I didn’t get into the top-10 by a tenth. I think it was a positive day all in all, and even in the afternoon I had a good rhythm; I was able to keep a pace of 1’59 quite easily, so things are not as black as in the previous races.”

Augusto Fernandez – P13

“We are out of Q2, but I am happy with our day to be honest. Having done the test during the preseason is a huge help and I felt good from the start today. I already knew how to enter the corners, how to brake, so it gave me confidence for the rest of the day. We are feeling very well, we can take another step and fight for the Q2.”

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Fabio Di Giannantonio – P14

“Unfortunately, as often happens, I don’t feel good physically here in Malaysia. Between this and some things to adjust on both bikes set-up wise, we weren’t perfect today. But we’re not too far away, we need to work well today and possibly get some good rest tonight.”

Marc Marquez – P15

“At some tracks we have the one lap speed and not the pace, but here it is the opposite, and our pace is quite good, but the one lap speed is not there. It was a day that we were expecting, so it is not a big surprise. I started both sessions well but couldn’t find that extra bit when we switched to the time attack. Qualifying will be very important, with two races starts this year, so I will keep giving my 100% to see what’s possible in Q1.”

Joan Mir – P16

“It’s a pretty similar Friday to what we have had throughout the year honestly. It’s difficult to make big steps here, the grip changed a lot here over the course of the day and I felt pretty good with the second and third tyres we used in the afternoon. Tomorrow we will keep trying to improve and giving our all, hopefully we can be close to the spots moving into Q2. It will be important to see what the weather does as well.”

Pol Espargaro – P17

“We were inside the top 10 this morning with decent lap times, so our weekend started quite well. Then in the afternoon’s time attack, I struggled a bit more with the front tyre, especially on the entry of the corners, so I could not turn properly. Tomorrow will be a new day to prove ourselves that we can be amongst the fastest.”

Raul Fernandez – P18

“Honestly, I feel really happy especially during the time attack which was more or less good. I felt like I was improving a lot, I was fast, I had a good lap almost as fast as Brad Binder at that moment. It was alright but the problem is more of the same from the last few races. We have issues with the tyres and we need to work on that for the future.”

Miguel Oliveira – P19

“Today was hot! It was not a bad day, I have to say. I felt good on the bike, especially in the afternoon. I just had a couple of different feelings with the new rear tyres, so I couldn’t repeat and improve my lap time that I have done in the second outing, so I’m disappointed for that.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P21

“The feeling on the bike is better than on the last races, but we still struggle with the rear grip. I’m losing a lot of time when exiting the corners, and we are committed to fixing this situation to be ready for the Sprint”.

Alvaro Bautista – P22

“I can say it was a positive Friday because the feeling improved a lot during the day. In FP1 I had a lot of difficulties while in FP2 we managed to take a solid step forward. It’s clear that it’s not easy to come back after a long time on the Desmosedici GP and be competitive right from the first laps. But we did a good job with the team, and we were able to bring the bike’s set-up closer to my needs. We definitely still have room for improvement and we’ll continue to work in this direction tomorrow morning in FP2”.

Iker Lecuona – P23

“I was improving my lap time when another rider jeopardized it. In any case, I have to say that I’ve enjoyed the first day despite some tricky areas we are working on. I want to say thanks to LCR, this is a complicated track for me but we are pushing to improve session after session and the important is to keep taking steps forward”.

MotoGP Friday Practice Report

Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) was looking strong from the off and set a scintillating 1m57.823 in his late Practice time attack to take the top spot after falling just short of the all-time lap record.

Marquez’s pace saw him deny title contender Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) a Friday clean-sweep. The ‘Martinator’ topped Practice 1 but was 0.174s back from his compatriot during the Friday afternoon time attack battle.

Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), meanwhile, enjoyed a positive return to form as the Aussie had the bit between his teeth in Practice to take the final spot inside the top three.

Next up on the timesheets was Binder. The South African threatened the top spots throughout and finished the session just behind his teammate in P4, with Viñales just 0.005s behind him in 5th. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was another 0.022s back as he took a solid P6.

It was a positive day in the Yamaha camp as both riders showed glimpses of promise during Friday’s running. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was one of five riders in the 1m58.3 club as he kept himself in contention in P7 ahead of his 2022 title rival Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), as the World Championship leader bagged a very important Q2 spot in P8.

Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) also showed decent potential in Sepang. The Italian picked up P9 ahead of Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), the Frenchman claiming the final automatic Q2 spot in P10.

Q1 is set to be a tense affair as always with Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP being the first rider to miss out on Q2.

The Yamaha rider will have to battle it out with his compatriots Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP), as well as both factory Honda and GASGAS Tech3 riders.

MotoGP Friday Afternoon Practice Results

MotoGP FP1 Results

MotoGP Championship Points

Moto2

Ai Ogura’s 2m06.093 came from a late Practice 2 charge where the Team Asia rider became the only competitor to beat Fermin Aldeguer’s (Beta Tools SpeedUp) P1 time. The latter had topped P1 with his 2m06.183, a time that held firm to consolidate 2nd place on the combined timings, as Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) made his presence known after his P2 time attack saw the Spaniard sit just 0.100s back from the top spot in P3.

Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) is also looking strong around the Sepang International Circuit. The Brit’s personal best times from P1 and P2 were within 0.003s of each other with his P1 time seeing him just miss out on the top three by 0.050s.

Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) rounded out the top five as he made positive steps forward in the afternoon to finish just ahead of Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing) and Sergio Garcia (Pons Wegow Los40).

Moto2 Friday Practice Results (Combined)

Moto2 Championship Points

Moto3

Championship leader Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) started his weekend as he means to go on as the Spaniard’s 2:12.065 saw him top the pile on Day 1. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was looking strong from the off as well and was closest to Masia in P2, looking to keep his title hopes alive. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), fresh from a maiden podium, also took well to the Petronas Sepang International Circuit and made a big step in Practice 2 to put himself into the top three on combined timings.

Buriram winner and Championship contender David Alonso (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) had another strong showing as the rookie found himself just 0.037s away from the top three in P4. Matteo Bertelle (Rivacvold Snipars Team) made it three Hondas in the top five as the Italian rounded out that top five ahead of title challenger Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3).

The returning Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team) looked strong in Practice 1 and ended the day 7th overall ahead of title contender Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), as Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) rounded out the top 10.

Moto3 Friday Practice Results (Combined)

Moto3 Championship Points

Malaysian Grand Prix Schedule
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2023 MotoGP Calendar