Malaysian MotoGP Sunday Race Day Guide – By Martin Raines
• Marc Marquez is on pole for the 13th time in 2014 – a new record for most poles in a single season in the premier-class of Grand Prix racing. This is the 50th time that Marquez has qualified on pole from 113 Grand Prix starts. If Marquez wins the race it will be his 12th victory of the season, which would equal the record for most wins in a single season in the premier-class of GP racing
• In second place on the grid is Dani Pedrosa; this is his ninth front row start of the year. Pedrosa, who is making his 150th start in the MotoGP class, has won at Sepang for the last two years
• Taking the final place on the front row is Jorge Lorenzo, who has finished either first or second at the last seven successive MotoGP races. Lorenzo has never won in the MotoGP class at the Sepang circuit
• Stefan Bradl heads the second row – his best qualifying result since he was third on the grid at the Sachsenring. Bradl will be aiming to reach the podium for the first time since he finished second at Laguna Seca last year
• The top Ducati rider in qualifying is Andrea Dovizioso, in fifth place on the grid
• Taking the final place on the second row is Valentino Rossi, six-time winner at the Sepang International Circuit. Following his win at Philip Island last weekend, Rossi could take back-to-back GP wins for the first time since 2009
• Aleix Espargaro, who heads the third row of the grid, has been the first CRT rider across the line for the last two years in Sepang
• In eighth place on the grid is Cal Crutchlow, who has failed to finish at the last two races
• Following his first MotoGP podium one week ago in Australia, Bradley Smith is in ninth place on the grid. If Smith achieves a top three finish at Sepang he will become the youngest British rider to celebrate back-to-back podium finishes in the premier-class since Mike Hailwood, at the final race of 1963 and the first race of 1964
• Alvaro Bautista is tenth on the grid – his best qualifying result since the German GP earlier this year • In 11th place on the grid is Hiroshi Aoyama – his best qualifying result since the Japanese GP in 2011
Moto2
• Tito Rabat, the Moto2 winner at Sepang last year, is on pole for the tenth time in 2014. Rabat will become the Moto2 World Champion if he finishes seventh or better at Sepang, even if closest championship challenger Mika Kallio wins the race
• Mika Kallio is in second place on the grid – his best qualifying result since he was on pole at Misano
• In third place on the grid is Sandro Cortese – his first front row start since the Czech GP, when he also achieved his first podium in the Moto2 class
• Heading the second row is Maverick Viñales, who has won two of the last three Moto2 races. Viñales won the 125cc race at Sepang in 2011, his rookie year in Grand Prix racing
• Tom Luthi, who is in fifth place on the grid, has finished on the podium at the last two races. Luthi won the 125cc race at Sepang in 2005 and the Moto2 race in 2011
• Takaaki Nakagami is in sixth place on the grid and will be aiming to improve on his best result so far in 2014, which is 10th at Misano; this also remains the best result from a Japanese rider so far in the Moto2 class this year
Moto3
• Jack Miller is on pole for the eighth time this year. Following his win in Australia, Miller could take back-to-back wins for the first time since the opening two races of the year in Qatar and Austin
• John McPhee is second on the grid – his best qualifying result in Grand Prix racing. McPhee will be aiming to take the first podium finish of his GP career, having missed out on a top three finish by less than 0.2 seconds at the last two races
• Jakub Kornfeil is in third place on the grid, equalling his best ever qualifying result from Mugello earlier this year
• Efren Vazquez heads the second row of the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was in second place on the grid at Indianapolis; he went on to clinch a career-first GP win
• Championship leader Alex Marquez, who is in fifth position on the grid, has finished either first or second at the last five races
• Romano Fenati takes the final place on the second row – his best qualifying result since he was in fourth place on the grid in Indianapolis
• Ninth-placed qualifier Miguel Oliveira finished third last year in Malaysia – his only podium of 2013
• Championship challenger Alex Rins has qualified down in 17th place on the grid, which is his worst qualifying result since the final race of 2012 in Valencia
