Repsol Honda Team duo soldier on despite Sepang hardships
A complicated Q1 locked both Repsol Honda Team riders into a race of recovery, from 16th and 20th respectively Joan Mir and Marc Marquez made early progress but had their march forward halted by crashes.
Saturday in Sepang was another day of complications for the Repsol Honda Team, both Marc Marquez and Joan Mir forging ahead despite the hardships. Having to contest Q1, it was a busy start to the day for the pair of Honda RC213V riders who worked on their final setup changes in the morning. Mir was able to put in a respectable time, his 1’58.440 would have been good enough to contest the front row here in 2022. Marquez suffered a fall on his final flying lap and took 20th position on the grid.
Immediately shooting forward, the #93 made up seven places on the first lap of the Sprint. Hungry for more, he attempted to keep his pace up but a small crash at Turn 14 ended his charge. With the spirit of a champion, Marquez remounted and finished the 10-lap Sprint to gather as much information as possible for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Mir yet again made positive progress when the Sprint began and advanced several positions in the opening corners. Settling into his rhythm, he was able to make steady progress forward in the following laps. Coming off at Turn 15 just a lap after his teammate, the #36 jumped to his feet, picked up his Repsol Honda Team RC213V and rejoined to finish the Sprint.
The Repsol Honda Team will be aiming for better fortunes when the lights go out on the 20-lap Grand Prix at 15:00 Local Time on Sunday, November 12.
Marc Marquez
“This is a difficult weekend, our pace has not been too bad but we made a big mistake during Qualifying practice and starting down in 20th is a big battle. In the Sprint race I started really well in the first two laps and made up a lot of positions, but when you push like this you overheat the tyres and I lost the front. We got back up and finished the race, getting the information for the team which is necessary for tomorrow. Finishing 21st or 15th in the Sprint doesn’t really change much. We go again tomorrow.”
Joan Mir
“An intense day with the conditions and what we had to do. I was able to keep improving my feeling throughout the day and our times weren’t too bad as we went into Q1. If we did this time last year we would have been on the front row I think! But we still need to find more speed in Qualifying. Again, starting where we did made the race a bit complicated and falling at the last corner was not ideal. 📄 to get as much information as possible for Sunday.”
Malaysian GP - Sprint Race
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 12 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 19'58.713 |
| 2 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 9 | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1.589 |
| 3 | Bagnaia Francesco | 1 | ITA | 7 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 3.034 |
| 4 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 6 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 3.242 |
| 5 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 5 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 3.310 |
| 6 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 4 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 4.318 |
| 7 | Bezzecchi Marco | 72 | ITA | 3 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 5.307 |
| 8 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 2 | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 5.501 |
| 9 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 1 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 6.420 |
| 10 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | 0 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 7.241 |
| 11 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 0 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 8.775 |
| 12 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 0 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 9.995 |
| 13 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 0 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 10.067 |
| 14 | Fernandez Augusto | 37 | SPA | 0 | Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing | KTM | 10.643 |
| 15 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | 0 | Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing | KTM | 11.005 |
| 16 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 0 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 11.911 |
| 17 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | 0 | RNF MotoGP Team | Aprilia | 13.591 |
| 18 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 0 | RNF MotoGP Team | Aprilia | 15.058 |
| 19 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda | 16.015 |
| 20 | Lecuona Iker | 27 | SPA | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda | 23.484 |
| 21 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 0 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 24.930 |
| 22 | Bautista Alvaro | 19 | SPA | 0 | Ducati Test Team | Ducati | 36.501 |
| 23 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 0 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 40.594 |
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bagnaia Francesco | 1 | ITA | 396 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 2 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 385 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
| 3 | Bezzecchi Marco | 72 | ITA | 313 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 4 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 254 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 5 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 198 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 6 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 196 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
| 7 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | 170 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 8 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 165 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 9 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 148 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 10 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 145 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 11 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 129 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 12 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 93 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 13 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 84 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 14 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 81 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
| 15 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 76 | RNF MotoGP Team | Aprilia |
| 16 | Fernandez Augusto | 37 | SPA | 67 | Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing | KTM |
| 17 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 54 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 18 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 52 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 19 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 51 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 20 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | 40 | RNF MotoGP Team | Aprilia |
| 21 | Pedrosa Dani | 26 | SPA | 32 | KTM Test Team | KTM |
| 22 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 24 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
| 23 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | 12 | Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing | KTM |
| 24 | Savadori Lorenzo | 32 | ITA | 9 | RNF MotoGP Team | Aprilia |
| 25 | Folger Jonas | 94 | GER | 9 | Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing | KTM |
| 26 | Bradl Stefan | 6 | GER | 8 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
| 27 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | 5 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 28 | Pirro Michele | 51 | ITA | 5 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 29 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | 3 | Yamaha Test Team | Yamaha |
| 30 | Lecuona Iker | 27 | SPA | 0 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
| 31 | Bautista Alvaro | 19 | SPA | 0 | Ducati Test Team | Ducati |
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 57.491s (169.8km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2023) |
| Race Lap | 1m 58.979s (167.7km/h) Alex Marquez (Ducati, 2023) |
| 2023 Race Winner | Enea Bastianini (Ducati) |
| 2023 Sprint Winner | Alex Marquez (Ducati) |
