Prima Pramac’s Jorge Martin secured pole position with a new 1’57.790 all-time record at Sepang in a dramatic MotoGP qualifying session. All three title challengers floundered in the closing stages with Pecco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro crashing out and Fabio Quartararo saving a turn eight moment on his final lap.
The trio lining up ninth, tenth and twelfth respectively as Gresini’s Enea Bastianini and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez completed the front row for the Malaysian GP.
A dramatic qualifying day saw both Ducati Lenovo riders Bagnaia and Jack Miller facing the Q1 fight alongside Pramac’s Johann Zarco and eight-time champion Marquez.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Franky Morbidelli penalised with a double long lap penalty in Sunday’s race following his part in the FP3 controversy after running slow on the racing line and impeding the front runners while teammate Quartararo suffered a crash and left hand injury in FP4.