The MotoGP World Championship’s return to Malaysia saw a typical Sepang day with roaring temperatures in the morning and an intense afternoon shower, Marquez and Espargaro dodging puddles for third and 16th respectively.

Warm morning conditions would be replaced by a typical torrential downpour in the afternoon, the intensity of the rain causing a delay to Free Practice 2. Conditions would improve as the afternoon session went on, but no times would be improved and the results of the day were dictated by FP1. Forecasts are currently predicting rain around the time of the race on Saturday, so FP2 may yet prove to be a critical session.

Consistent top three speed from the first green flag had Marc Marquez feeling pleased as the Malaysian GP began. The three-time Malaysian GP winner did back-to-back tests of the new aero package debuted in Australia during Free Practice 1. With the afternoon session impacted by rain, Marquez’s 1’59.623 from the morning easily secured him a spot in the top ten. Third fastest overall, Marquez ends the day pleased with the work done and ready to continue on Saturday.

Pol Espargaro had another Friday of finding steady improvements. Ending the morning session with a best time of 2’01.200, the #44 was eager to continue working in the afternoon but the rain changed his plans. Focusing on getting the most out of his Honda RC213V in the wet, Espargaro completed several longer runs during the afternoon to gather data and see how the condition of the track improved. Currently outside the combined top ten, Espargaro is hoping for a dry Free Practice 3 session to make further improvements. Unfortunately, Espargaro received a three-place grid penalty of an incident early in FP1.

Marc Marquez

Third 1'59.623

“Today I was able to finish in the top three and a lot of this was because of the strategy we used. I used a soft tyre straight away in FP1 because I know that being in the top ten is really important here. But honestly, our feeling isn’t the best and there are still things to improve to make us more comfortable on track. We made a small step in FP2 with our second run so the aim is to keep going like this tomorrow. Happy to be in the top three, but there’s work to do.”

Pol Espargaro

16th 2'01.200

“We didn’t have a great day today. There was the penalty from Free Practice 1 which is a shame, I went to explain the situation to Race Direction but still we have it. It’s a shame because it adds an extra complication to the weekend. Anyway, we made some improvements in Free Practice 1 while a lot of people used the soft tyre. Then in the afternoon we learned as much as we could but towards the end of the session the track was very hot and there wasn’t much more to do. We go again tomorrow.”

MotoGP 2022
Practice Round 19   Malaysia

Malaysian Grand Prix Practice Results

Mixed
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Binder Brad 33 RSA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'59.479
2 Rins Alex 42 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 0.097
3 Marquez Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 0.144
4 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.396
5 Mir Joan 36 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 0.472
6 Martin Jorge 89 SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 0.487
7 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1.064
8 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 1.073
9 Marini Luca 10 ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 1.254
10 Bezzecchi Marco 73 ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 1.288
11 Bagnaia Francesco 62 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 1.291
12 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1.292
13 Marquez Alex 73 SPA LCR Honda Honda 1.536
14 Miller Jack 43 AUS Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 1.555
15 Zarco Johann 5 FRA Pramac Racing Ducati 1.569
16 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1.721
17 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1.768
18 Crutchlow Cal 35 GBR WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 1.772
19 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 1.849
20 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 2.175
21 Gardner Remy 87 AUS Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 2.225
22 Binder Darryn 40 RSA WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 2.352
23 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia 2.352
24 Nagashima Tetsuta 45 JPN LCR Honda Honda 3.387
Location Information

Specifically built for speed and exciting racing, the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia is one of the world’s best. The 2,300 acre complex cost around £50m to construct and was built in just 14 months, holding its first Grand Prix in April 1999 and setting the standard for race circuits… read more.

Length 5.543 kilometres / 3.444 miles
Width 25 metres
Left corners 5
Right corners 10
Longest straight 0.920 kilometres / 0.572 miles
Constructed 1998

Sepang International Circuit Klia Pahang Malaysia - View in Google Maps

Records

Pole Position 1m 57.790s (169.4km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2022)
Race Lap 1m 59.661s (166.7km/h) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha, 2019)
Race Time 40m 14.332s (165.3 km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati,2022)
2022 Race Winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)