2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round 19 – Sepang
Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia
Saturday
Jorge Martin – P1
“Today was a difficult day, you know, before the race I was thinking about, today the normal result would have been first and second, first for Pecco and second for me. But, you know, I wanted to race like a, you know, a normal race, try to win. For sure Pecco have had to risk a bit more than me and he did, it’s normal. But from that point it was really mental, you know, to try to keep everything precise, don’t make any change, let’s say. So, really difficult one. Marc was even closing the gap at some point with me, and I was thinking, okay, maybe after that we might finish on second, but, you know, I saw I could manage the situation quite well. Tomorrow will be a really long race, but I feel I should be prepared, so let’s try to do the best. I was pushing a lot. Then I saw the crash on the dash, but I thought it was a mistake because when I went to the straight, I saw again that Pecco was behind. So, I still pushed for another lap and then I saw eight-tenths with Marc. Then I realised I was in first and I just went to my start. I know you won’t want to think about it too much, but tomorrow is the first opportunity for you to win the MotoGP World Championship. I’m really grateful to be in this position, for sure, I’m super happy we are doing an amazing job. I want to be focused on tomorrow. I think it will be really difficult to finish it tomorrow, there is still a long way to go, but the important thing is to do us today, try to give 100 per cent, ride to be precise, and if I have the opportunity to do it, I will take it. If not, I think Pecco will risk a lot to them tomorrow, so it will be a big challenge to win.”
Marc Marquez – P2
“The team did a very good job. Was one of the first time that we struggled, because in this second part of the season every every Friday was more or less comfortable, but this Friday we were struggling and the team did a very good job. We tried a few things on the on the set-up and on the qualification practice I start to feel much better. Then on the Sprint Race just I start and I had the speed. I was able to follow them. I was able to be there and I was riding in a good way. I knew that they will push a lot and I expect a more conservative Martín but he was just pushing in the in the first two laps and and Pecco did what he what he need to do, taking risk try to finish in front of Martín. Unfortunately today he lose the front, he crash, but in Thailand he take the risk and he was a hero so in the end this sport means about manage the risk. Nobody will want to do mistakes but we are human so so yeah let’s see what they will do tomorrow but we will try to to do our best. For tomorrow we will try to adjust small things but it’s true that for the long race will be more difficult because they have more pace than us. But let’s see what we can do. At the moment we take the podium so being on the podium I don’t want to lose the occasion to dedicate to all Spanish especially Valencian people because they are in a very difficult moment. It’s nothing for them this podium but try to give a big hug and all the support.”
Enea Bastianini – P3
“It was quite a difficult sprint race and surely, I could have done without the morning crash. Today, in the race, I was unable to lap with the same pace I showed in previous sessions and struggled a lot more. There was a point in the encounter where I got closer to the frontrunners, but then the grip dropped a lot and ended up losing ground. We need to analyse the data because we’d like to do a little better tomorrow. The other frontrunners did make a little step forward performance wise, while we kind of stayed at the same level. We’ll try to improve before the race.”
Alex Marquez – P4
“I had a good start, but unfortunately the others in front of me did even better. We did a good race, and our pace was worthy of a fifth place, maybe even fourth as I didn’t expect Marc to be so quick today, but we must be happy with this race. The goal tomorrow will be more or less the same. If it rains, anything can happen, but at the moment we’re ready to be in the top five.”
Fabio Quartararo – P5
“It was nice! I think that we made a step with the electronics this weekend, and that pays off, especially concerning the race pace. Hopefully, we can do the same thing tomorrow. We had an issue with the front, so it wasn’t super comfortable at the end. Let’s see what we can achieve tomorrow. I think that the momentum we’re building is great. We’re in P5, and there was only one crash in front of us. We didn’t get this P5 handed to us because of five crashes, for example, so this is a positive point. We have made some steps. There’s still a margin for improvement, but I think we can be happy with what we have done so far.”
Brad Binder – P7
“Much better than yesterday and we went onto the track with the best configuration we could find and worked from there. It was good to get through Q1 and then tried our best in Q2. The Sprint was tricky because it was so hot but the grip was decent compared to last year. I would have loved to have finished further forward but we will keep working and fighting for more pace.”
Jack Miller – P8
“A ding-dong with Pedro again! It’s a shame it was not a bit further up…but the pace was tough and qualifying times. It was impressive. We had a little KTM train going on there. It was a good race. I had a good start but didn’t brake hard enough and couldn’t get the front device unlocked which left the door open into Turn 2. Solid race afterwards and we can be happy with that.”
Pedro Acosta – P9
“The sprint was not easy, but it was a good day overall. For sure we missed out on Q2 by not much, so we had to settle in 13th on the grid, but anyway, the pace had been good all day. In the sprint, it was difficult to overtake Jack Miller, I was always running wide, struggled with the braking, and sometimes I just could not go ahead. I took a lot of info in the last four laps, I learned, we pointed out some issues, and I am sure that tomorrow we can do a good job if we manage to solve our problems.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P10
“It’s a weekend where I’m struggling, but even today I had fun in the race. I made some overtaking moves, a nice battle with Jack and Pedro (Miller and Acosta), then the tire started to get really hot in the final stages. Realistically tomorrow we can make another step, the approach to the long race is different and the pace is not bad. On the flying lap, I’m always at the limit, and with new tyres, it’s always very hard. I had a great start: that’s always positive!”
Alex Rins – P11
“It was a really positive day. In the morning, we worked on electronics, and it gave us a good feeling. I felt the bike a bit better, and it suits me, and that was quite nice. We did a really good qualifying after that. In the Sprint race, there was a bit of chaos in the first corner. I fell back to 11th place, and I held that position for most of the Sprint. I couldn’t overtake as I wanted, but we did take good information. Tomorrow is going to be a very long and demanding race, also for the tyres. Let’s see how we can handle that.”
Aleix Espargaro – P12
“I must say that I am satisfied with my performance in the sprint race. I managed to come back and overtake several riders with a better pace than I thought I’d have. We know that the heat conditions the way the bike performs, but in spite of this, I am pleased with the result and the pace I maintained after starting from so far back.”
Augusto Fernandez – P13
“It was a good race for us after a bad qualifying, where we did not have a good feeling at all with the new tyres, and I could not push as I wanted. The crash did not help, so P21 on the grid was not great. However, our pace from the morning’s FP2 was good, and it gave us a bit of confidence heading to the sprint. The start was not perfect, but we could get up to the race pace pretty fast and go forward, which ended with P13. We need to get a good start tomorrow, and I think that we can be in the points with our current pace.”
Maverick Vinales – P14
“When I’m in the group, I am unable to stop the bike and I always go long. It is a problem that I’ve been having for a few races now and we are trying to figure out what is causing it. I hope to improve in the long race so I can close out the weekend in the best possible way.”
Luca Marini – P15
“We had a decent race, I got a good start and was able to fight in the early laps. Our pace was still not there with the other riders and I was risking too much to stay in the 1’59s, so I wasn’t able to stay with the group ahead of me. Overall I feel that we have made a step compared to yesterday, which is a positive and I want to say thank you to my team for doing a lot during the night. There are still some improvements for us to make, especially under straight braking so I hope we can make some steps with that. Let’s see what will happen tomorrow, there’s still more to come.”
Joan Mir – P16
“There were some steps forward today, I know that we struggled and lost a lot in Qualifying but in the Sprint we were able to get something back. We changed a few things on the bike to ride in a more natural way, which also helped us. I made a good launch but then got stuck in some traffic, then in Turn 4 someone’s wing flew at me so I had to stand up. The opening laps were quite tricky but then we settled into our pace and we were quite competitive from the middle of the race.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P17
“The Sprint has been challenging as I could not get the feeling to push due to some vibrations, and it was difficult to keep the pace. However, I focused on not making mistakes and gathering information to improve on tomorrow’s race. It was a pity because this morning’s pace was quite strong. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow; we’ll do our best”.
Raul Fernandez – P18
“We are in a really difficult situation. Today we improved a lot and in the time attack, I was one of the fastest Aprilia’s on track, so this is something I have in my hand. But it is strange because in the Sprint, I felt like we changed the bike. For some reason, the engine brake didn’t work well, I went wide several times and I don’t know why this happened. For me now, we are a bit far back and it was the first time that I lost 0.7 seconds a lap and this is really frustrating. In the end, I’m here to improve the bike and we have to understand why, especially in the Sprint and also in the main race, we can’t be competitive in the slipstream and lose all the feeling. The bike feels completely different in the race than when I do my lap alone in the practice. Tomorrow, we have 20 laps ahead of us and we need to find something as I really want to end the season well.”
Andrea Iannone – P19
“If I think about the whole day, the feeling is positive. In the race I started well, but I made a mistake in my evaluation. The first 2/3 laps I started to push, but this bike is really very heavy, braking requires crazy strength and from a physical point of view at the moment I’m not in a suitable condition. This category requires a completely different training, the potential is enormous. I’m back after 5 years, the Team really welcomed me warmly. Everyone is supporting me and I can say that the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team has nothing to envy to an official Team. Yesterday was an emotional day, even the fans were really affectionate. A great emotion, this paddock has been my home for many years.”
Lorenzo Savadori – P20
“We are still working and in general, we need to improve. In the Sprint, I had a minor issue but that happens when you test new parts. For us, Sepang is a quite difficult track, so we need to work to improve for next year. We tried a different aero package and need to have the reference, also for the test here next year, in order to get some early understanding of it. But, during the winter test here, there is really a lot of grip on the track because we ride here for six days, all day long, so the situation here is quite different during this race weekend.”
Francesco Bagnaia – DNF
“At the moment the gap that I’m having in the championship is just thanks to the sprint races where Jorge did a better job than us. The only mistakes that this season were on the sprint races. So, surely, in the future, I will have to improve it. But today, I was thinking that everything was set. I was just waiting a bit to fight back with Jorge. And that lap I just said, okay, we’ll entry is lower just to don’t risk. But this is not the first time. And as soon as I enter that corner, I hit the bump that is there and I lost the front. It’s a shame, but it is something that can happen. And I absolutely will not change my mentality and my mindset for tomorrow and my approach. I will go full send, try to win the races. I just hope that Marc and Enea will improve their pace because I need some help by them in terms of result. And I will have to win absolutely. I will try to start the best way possible and then I will try to be more aggressive. I know that in the long races, in the race, I’m better in terms of a fight because in the sprint races, I’m missing something to fight well. But we know perfectly how quickly things can change. Today crashed, tomorrow, let’s see what will happen. We know perfectly that the only one that can lose this championship is Jorge. So, let’s see tomorrow.”
Johann Zarco – DNF
“I felt good during qualifying, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the same feeling on the Sprint. I didn’t want to make mistakes, and to avoid them, I had to be patient to control the situation. While recovering some positions, I had a technical problem and had to retire. But we’re not giving up. We’ll have another chance tomorrow, and I’m determined to make the most of it”.
Team Managers
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“Taking two places on the third row in qualifying was realistically the best result we could do, and it proved very valuable, especially for Fabio. He did a great job to stay with the front-runners in the opening stages, which put him in a good position to fight for points today. This top-5 result is a nice boost for morale and a small reward: the fruit of our labour. Álex has been making great progress this weekend. His one-lap speed is strong, and this helped him get a good qualifying result. He’s still working on getting as comfortable and competitive with his race-pace, but compared to a week ago, he is in a much better place, which is promising.”
Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“Finally into Q2 with both riders and that was a positive situation after our work on Friday and Saturday morning. They hit traffic into the first corners because the layout here is a bit weird and very tight at some points. We have to be a bit smarter there tomorrow for more positions and to be a bit higher up.”
Nicolas Goyon – GASGAS Team Manager
“This Saturday in Malaysia has been a bit more difficult than what we expected. Pedro Acosta showed fast race pace all weekend, but he struggled in Q1 and failed to go through Q2 which was a bit of a surprise for us. We know that everything becomes more difficult when you are not in the top 12, but overtakes are not too difficult in Sepang, so we had high hopes for the sprint. Pedro did a good start, but he remained stuck around the top 10, to finish in P9. The good thing is that he identified some key problems that we are hoping to fix ahead of tomorrow. Augusto Fernandez suffered two crashes this morning, including one in qualifying, so he was in P21 on the grid. He showed an interesting pace in the sprint to end up in P13, which gives us some hope for Sunday’s main race.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Manager
“The Sprint is done and it was a difficult race I have to say as we were out of the points, which is not a good sign. The riders had some issues and addressed it to the team, so now we need to try to find some more consistency and grip. The rear grip was very tricky so let’s hope that we will be able to find something good tomorrow.”
Romano Albesiano- Aprilia
“In qualifying, we were unable to repeat Friday’s performance and, unfortunately, in MotoGP, starting from behind always compromises the race. Maverick also had some difficulties braking and going into corners that we are analysing. Aleix had a good start and a good comeback, but he was also conditioned by his starting position.”
Sepang MotoGP Sprint Race Report
The tension rose even more following a brief spattering of raindrops, but as the grid roared off, the track was dry and Martin got the jump from second on the grid, nabbing the inside as Bagnaia hung it round the outside. But Bagnaia had to concede into Turn 2 and they shot off at the front together as the shuffle settled, with Marc Marquez for close company.
Just behind, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) had dropped back from the front row and was squabbling with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Prama Racing) for fifth, with Bastianini having leapfrogged them into fourth. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was soon up into that mix too, off the mark quick and with the speed to go with it.
Meanwhile at the front, the leading trio pounded on. Martin was setting some serious space, with Bagnaia and Marquez in hot pursuit. And then it happened – the moment that may have decided the 2024 MotoGP World Championship. Or certainty one of them.
As Martin pushed on, Bagnaia had no choice but to push just as hard – with a 17-point deficit on the way into the Sprint. That then suddenly became a potential 29 as the reigning Champion slid out in one of the lowest speed, highest stakes crashes in recent memory. Bagnaia was forced to watch on as Martin kept Marquez at bay at the front, likely cheering for Marc for the first time in his life.
Martin did keep him at bay, however, never letting the Gresini machine really home in over the seven laps between the him and that 29-point advantage. Martin kept it calm to cross the line with just under a second in hand, setting up his first ever outright Championship point in MotoGP. Marc Marquez took second, keeping some pressure on but not able to really cut that lead.
Bastianini’s quick start and good pace rewarded him with third after he proved able to pull away from Alex Marquez, who took fourth. Just behind him came Quartararo after a stunning Saturday afternoon for El Diablo, taking his and Yamaha’s best result of the season in a Sprint or GP, equalling the P5 from Jerez on Saturday.
Morbidelli was forced to settle for sixth, ahead of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) at the head of a KTM/GASGAS showdown – with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) just able to stay ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) this time round.
Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) missed out on the final Sprint point by just seven tenths.
If Martin wins the Sunday Grand Prix, Bagnaia has to follow him home in second or it’s game over in the title fight and a new name will be etched onto the trophy today.
Sepang MotoGP Sprint Race Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | J Martin | Duc | 19m49.230 |
| 2 | M Marquez | Duc | +0.913 |
| 3 | E Bastianini | Duc | +2.010 |
| 4 | A Marquez | Duc | +6.575 |
| 5 | F Quartararo | Yam | +7.917 |
| 6 | F Morbidelli | Duc | +8.957 |
| 7 | B Binder | KTM | +11.015 |
| 8 | J Miller | KTM | +11.834 |
| 9 | P Acosta | KTM | +12.091 |
| 10 | M Bezzecchi | Duc | +12.840 |
| 11 | A Rins | Yam | +14.901 |
| 12 | A Espargaro | Apr | +15.224 |
| 13 | A Fernandez | KTM | +17.115 |
| 14 | M Viñales | Apr | +18.603 |
| 15 | L Marini | Hon | +19.090 |
| 16 | J Mir | Hon | +20.204 |
| 17 | T Nakagami | Hon | +21.711 |
| 18 | R Fernandez | Apr | +23.814 |
| 19 | A Iannone | Duc | +25.898 |
| 20 | L Savadori | Apr | +29.778 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | J Zarco | Hon | 3 laps |
| DNF | F Bagnaia | Duc | 8 laps |
Malaysian MotoGP Qualifying Times
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| Q2 | ||||
| 1 | F Bagnaia | Duc | 1m56.337 | 334.3 |
| 2 | J Martin | Duc | +0.216 | 335.4 |
| 3 | A Marquez | Duc | +0.938 | 331.2 |
| 4 | F Morbidelli | Duc | +0.942 | 335.4 |
| 5 | M Marquez | Duc | +0.964 | 334.3 |
| 6 | E Bastianini | Duc | +1.029 | 337.5 |
| 7 | J Miller | Ktm | +1.221 | 333.3 |
| 8 | F Quartararo | Yam | +1.255 | 330.2 |
| 9 | A Rins | Yam | +1.389 | 330.2 |
| 10 | B Binder | Ktm | +1.545 | 333.3 |
| 11 | J Zarco | Hon | +1.634 | 334.3 |
| 12 | M Viñales | Apr | +1.709 | 333.3 |
| Q1 | ||||
| 13 | P Acosta | Ktm | (*) 0.204 | 334.3 |
| 14 | M Bezzecchi | Duc | (*) 0.234 | 331.2 |
| 15 | R Fernandez | Apr | (*) 0.388 | 333.3 |
| 16 | A Espargaro | Apr | (*) 0.472 | 333.3 |
| 17 | A Iannone | Duc | (*) 0.548 | 329.2 |
| 18 | T Nakagami | Hon | (*) 0.665 | 328.2 |
| 19 | L Marini | Hon | (*) 0.885 | 329.2 |
| 20 | J Mir | Hon | (*) 0.983 | 332.3 |
| 21 | A Fernandez | Ktm | (*) 1.371 | 331.2 |
| 22 | L Savadori | Apr | (*) 1.628 | 330.2 |
MotoGP Championship Standings
Moto2
A replacement rider pinching pole position doesn’t happen very often – but it has today! A brilliant all-time lap record in Sepang from Jorge Navarro (OnlyFans American Racing Team) saw the Spaniard claim a Saturday afternoon P1, as OnlyFans American Racing Team celebrate a Q2 1-2 as Marcos Ramirez secured a P2 start. A late flying lap from Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) saw the Italian grab a front row start for Sunday’s encounter.
Albert Arenas (Gresini Moto2) was the rider to get demoted from P3 following Vietti’s late lap, so the Practice pacesetter will have to settle for a P4 starting slot. Rookie Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) are the other two riders who will set off from the second row.
World Champion Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) qualified seventh, while second in the Championship Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) will hope to clinch the 2024 silver medal from P13 on the grid. Luckily for Canet, his two main challengers – Alonso Lopez (Sync SpeedUp) and Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) – failed to make it out of Q1 and will start from P20 and P19 respectively.
Senna Agius’ strong performance saw him finish fourth fastest in Q2, where the young Australian had some bad luck with yellow flags and had to settle for 18th place on the sixth row of the grid.
Senna Agius – P18
“We took an important step in the morning and then another in Q1. That meant we made it into Q2. But unfortunately, I felt pretty much on the limit and was unlucky with yellow flags in the last minutes of Q2. We have to stay strong and analyze where we can be better. But for sure, things are not as easy as they used to be previsously. There is definitely work to do. We start from 18th place, but the goal for tomorrow is to finish in the points.”
Moto2 Qualifying Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| Q2 | ||||
| 1 | J Navarro | Kal | 2m04.412 | 275.5 |
| 2 | M Ramirez | Kal | +0.063 | 272.0 |
| 3 | C Vietti | Kal | +0.147 | 274.1 |
| 4 | A Arenas | Kal | +0.231 | 273.4 |
| 5 | D Öncü | Kal | +0.285 | 275.5 |
| 6 | T Arbolino | Kal | +0.344 | 272.7 |
| 7 | A Ogura | Bos | +0.347 | 274.1 |
| 8 | M Gonzalez | kal | +0.390 | 270.0 |
| 9 | D Moreira | Kal | +0.507 | 271.3 |
| 10 | F Salac | Kal | +0.525 | 272.0 |
| 11 | I Guevara | Kal | +0.532 | 272.0 |
| 12 | J Dixon | Kal | +0.592 | 273.4 |
| 13 | A Canet | Kal | +0.623 | 270.0 |
| 14 | Z Goorbergh | Kal | +0.834 | 269.3 |
| 15 | S Chantra | Kal | +0.927 | 270.0 |
| 16 | B Baltus | Kal | +1.031 | 266.0 |
| 17 | J Alcoba | Kal | +1.101 | 269.3 |
| 18 | S Agius | Kal | +1.448 | 270.6 |
| Q2 | ||||
| 19 | S Garcia | Bos | (*) 0.342 | 274.1 |
| 20 | A Lopez | Bos | (*) 0.422 | 266.6 |
| 21 | M Aji | Kal | (*) 0.593 | 274.1 |
| 22 | D Binder | Kal | (*) 0.683 | 274.1 |
| 23 | D Foggia | Kal | (*) 0.716 | 274.1 |
| 24 | J Masia | Kal | (*) 1.060 | 271.3 |
| 25 | A Surra | Bos | (*) 1.281 | 273.4 |
| 26 | X Cardelus | Kal | (*) 1.553 | 271.3 |
| 27 | A Escrig | For | (*) 1.865 | 272.0 |
| 28 | X Artigas | For | (*) 2.134 | 272.7 |
| 29 | H Azman | Kal | (*) 2.352 | 269.3 |
| 30 | K Pawi | Kal | (*) 2.368 | 266.0 |
| 31 | H Voight | Kal | (*) 2.883 | 264.0 |
Moto2 Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | A Ogura | 261 |
| 2 | A Canet | 201 |
| 3 | S Garcia | 179 |
| 4 | F Aldeguer | 175 |
| 5 | M Gonzalez | 170 |
| 6 | A Lopez | 168 |
| 7 | J Roberts | 153 |
| 8 | J Dixon | 142 |
| 9 | C Vietti | 140 |
| 10 | T Arbolino | 135 |
| 11 | M Ramirez | 101 |
| 12 | S Chantra | 91 |
| 13 | J Alcoba | 79 |
| 14 | A Arenas | 76 |
| 15 | S Agius | 63 |
| 16 | F Salac | 61 |
| 17 | D Moreira | 58 |
| 18 | D Binder | 54 |
| 19 | I Guevara | 44 |
| 20 | B Baltus | 40 |
| 21 | D Öncü | 40 |
| 22 | Z Vd | 31 |
| 23 | D Foggia | 18 |
| 24 | X Artigas | 10 |
| 25 | J Navarro | 7 |
| 26 | A Sasaki | 7 |
| 27 | B Bendsneyder | 7 |
| 28 | J Masia | 4 |
| 29 | M Aji | 4 |
| 30 | M Ferrari | 1 |
| 31 | X Cardelus | 0 |
| 32 | M Schrotter | 0 |
| 33 | A Escrig | 0 |
| 34 | M Pasini | 0 |
| 35 | H Voight | 0 |
| 36 | D Muñoz | 0 |
| 37 | U Orradre | 0 |
Moto3
Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) stole the Q2 show in Sepang after the Spaniard left it late to land a sensational all-time lap record – a 2:09.542 – and a debut Grand Prix pole. That time saw pole position snatched from Ivan Ortola’s (MT Helmets – MSI) grasp as Ortola settles for P2, while World Champion David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) lines up on the outside of the front row in third.
Tatsuki Suzuki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) spearheads the second row of the grid, with the Japanese rider joined on Row 2 by Q1 graduate Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) and SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Luca Lunetta.
Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) will aim to wrap up the Rookie of the Year crown from P7 after crashing at Turn 1 in the closing stages of qualifying. Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) hunts a podium in his quest to beat Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) to P2 overall, as the latter launches from P11.
Jacob Roulstone will start from 20th place on the grid.
Jacob Roulstone – P20
“The final position is disappointing for us looking at where we were yesterday. We improved our feeling on the bike and the set up, but we did not put things right in qualifying to make a fast lap. I feel like I have a good race pace, so starting from P20 is not what I wanted, but we will try to be aggressive directly from the start tomorrow to be able to try to go with the front group if we can.”
Moto3 Qualifying Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| Q2 | ||||
| 1 | A Fernandez | Hon | 2m09.542 | 226.4 |
| 2 | I Ortola | KTM | +0.353 | 228.3 |
| 3 | D Alonso | CFM | +0.473 | 229.7 |
| 4 | T Suzuki | Hus | +0.586 | 231.7 |
| 5 | J Kelso | Ktm | +0.736 | 221.7 |
| 6 | L Lunetta | Hon | +0.747 | 229.2 |
| 7 | A Piqueras | Hon | +0.970 | 229.7 |
| 8 | C Veijer | Hus | +0.976 | 224.5 |
| 9 | D Almansa | Hon | +1.037 | 229.2 |
| 10 | J Rueda | KTM | +1.205 | 228.3 |
| 11 | D Holgado | Gas | +1.272 | 227.8 |
| 12 | R Yamanaka | KTM | +1.293 | 227.3 |
| 13 | S Nepa | KTM | +1.326 | 234.2 |
| 14 | N Carraro | KTM | +1.428 | 228.3 |
| 15 | D Muñoz | KTM | +1.513 | 226.4 |
| 16 | R Rossi | KTM | +1.542 | 226.8 |
| 17 | T Furusato | Hon | +1.656 | 222.6 |
| 18 | S Ogden | Hon | +1.772 | 230.7 |
| Q1 | ||||
| 19 | M Bertelle | Hon | (*) 0.658 | 227.3 |
| 20 | J Roulstone | Gas | (*) 0.750 | 232.2 |
| 21 | J Esteban | CFM | (*) 0.810 | 228.8 |
| 22 | E O’shea | Hon | (*) 0.877 | 228.8 |
| 23 | F Farioli | Hon | (*) 1.148 | 221.3 |
| 24 | T Buasri | Hon | (*) 1.249 | 225.4 |
| 25 | X Zurutuza | KTM | (*) 1.370 | 228.8 |
| 26 | N Dettwiler | KTM | (*) 2.104 | 224.5 |
Moto3 Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | D Alonso | 371 |
| 2 | D Holgado | 236 |
| 3 | C Veijer | 225 |
| 4 | I Ortola | 204 |
| 5 | D Muñoz | 162 |
| 6 | A Fernandez | 153 |
| 7 | A Piqueras | 137 |
| 8 | A Rueda | 129 |
| 9 | J Kelso | 124 |
| 10 | R Yamanaka | 111 |
| 11 | T Furusato | 108 |
| 12 | L Lunetta | 106 |
| 13 | T Suzuki | 88 |
| 14 | S Nepa | 85 |
| 15 | J Roulstone | 53 |
| 16 | M Bertelle | 49 |
| 17 | J Esteban | 45 |
| 18 | R Rossi | 33 |
| 19 | F Farioli | 29 |
| 20 | S Ogden | 23 |
| 21 | N Carraro | 22 |
| 22 | X Zurutuza | 11 |
| 23 | D Almansa | 11 |
| 24 | V Perez | 3 |
| 25 | N Dettwiler | 2 |
| 26 | J Whatley | 0 |
| 27 | T Buasri | 0 |
| 28 | J Rosenthaler | 0 |
| 29 | E O’shea | 0 |
| 30 | R Wakamatsu | 0 |
| 31 | D Shahril | 0 |
| 32 | H Al | 0 |
| 33 | A Aditama | 0 |
