Qualifying report

MotoGP Malaysian GP: Bagnaia destroys lap record to grab pole

Bagnaia edges Martin in qualifying as both shatter Sepang MotoGP lap record

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

2024 Malaysian GP - Saturday

Francesco Bagnaia will start the Malaysian Grand Prix from pole position after winning a remarkable qualifying duel with championship leader Jorge Martin.

The Italian factory Ducati rider beat his own lap record by over a second with a scorching lap of 1m56.336s. This was a response to Martin earlier taking Sepang MotoGP qualifying times into uncharted territory with what looked like an unbeatable 1m56.553s.

Martin had time for one further lap to counter Bagnaia’s time, but simply had no response aboard his Pramac Ducati.

The pole sets up Bagnaia perfectly for the sprint and the grand prix, in which he must try to make a serious dent in Martin’s 17-point advantage going before the final round.

The title protagonists were effectively in a private duel in qualifying, with next-best rider Alex Marquez almost a second away from Bagnaia’s pole time. The 2023 Sepang sprint winner will nonetheless complete the front row aboard his Gresini Ducati.

Earlier, Bagnaia had continued his sparkling weekend form by leading FP2, meaning he had topped all three practice sessions ahead of qualifying.

Then, in Q1, LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco banged in a late 1m57.635 to top the session and book a spot in Q2.

KTM’s Brad Binder was the other rider to progress from Q1, just edging out Tech3 GasGas rider Pedro Acosta.

While all eyes were then on the front-runners in Q2, Franco Morbidelli secured his best qualifying result since San Marino to claim fourth place for Pramac Ducati.

The Italian will share the second row with Marc Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and factory Ducati rider Enea Bastianini, who fell at the last corner in the final moments of the session.

Marquez and Bastianini will continue their battle for third in the championship, which Marquez leads by 11 points.

Jack Miller continued to show the way for KTM in Malaysia, with the factory rider lining up seventh alongside the Yamahas of Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins, who made the top 10 together for the first time this season.

Miller’s team-mate Binder was 10th after having a time cancelled late in the session due to the yellow flags brought out by Bastianini. He will share row four with Zarco and Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales.

Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati) was in contention for a place in Q2, but had to pull out of his final Q1 lap whilst second on the timesheets. His net result was fourth in the session and 14th on the grid behind Acosta.

Andrea Iannone was competitive after spending most of the session following his team-mate Bezzecchi. Returning to MotoGP after five years away to replace Fabio di Giannantonio at VR46 this weekend, Iannone defeated five regulars to earn 17th on the grid.

Q2 results:

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	1	Ducati	7	1'56.337		171.525
2	J. Martin Pramac Racing	89	Ducati	7	+0.216 1'56.553	0.216	171.207
3	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73	Ducati	7	+0.938 1'57.275	0.722	170.153
4	F. Morbidelli Pramac Racing	21	Ducati	7	+0.942 1'57.279	0.004	170.148
5	M. Marquez Gresini Racing	93	Ducati	7	+0.964 1'57.301	0.022	170.116
6	E. Bastianini Ducati Team	23	Ducati	6	+1.029 1'57.366	0.065	170.021
7	J. Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	43	KTM	7	+1.221 1'57.558	0.192	169.744
8	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20	Yamaha	7	+1.255 1'57.592	0.034	169.695
9	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42	Yamaha	7	+1.389 1'57.726	0.134	169.502
10	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33	KTM	7	+1.545 1'57.882	0.156	169.277
11	J. Zarco Team LCR	5	Honda	7	+1.634 1'57.971	0.089	169.150
12	M. Viñales Aprilia Racing Team	12	Aprilia	7	+1.709 1'58.046	0.075	169.042
View full results

Q1 results:

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	J. Zarco Team LCR	5	Honda	6	1'57.635		169.633	330
2	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33	KTM	7	+0.165 1'57.800	0.165	169.395	336
3	P. Acosta Tech 3	31	KTM	7	+0.204 1'57.839	0.039	169.339	334
4	M. Bezzecchi Team VR46	72	Ducati	7	+0.234 1'57.869	0.030	169.296	331
5	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25	Aprilia	7	+0.388 1'58.023	0.154	169.075	333
6	A. Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team	41	Aprilia	6	+0.472 1'58.107	0.084	168.955	333
7	A. Iannone Team VR46	29	Ducati	6	+0.548 1'58.183	0.076	168.846	329
8	T. Nakagami Team LCR	30	Honda	7	+0.665 1'58.300	0.117	168.679	328
9	L. Marini Repsol Honda Team	10	Honda	7	+0.885 1'58.520	0.220	168.366	329
10	J. Mir Repsol Honda Team	36	Honda	7	+0.983 1'58.618	0.098	168.227	332
11	A. Fernandez Tech 3	37	KTM	5	+1.371 1'59.006	0.388	167.678	331
12	L. Savadori Trackhouse Racing Team	32	Aprilia	6	+1.628 1'59.263	0.257	167.317	330
View full results