Malaysian MotoGP Free Practice Results: Quartararo destroys lap record

Fabio Quartararo laid down the gauntlet to his rivals with a stunning performance on ‘home soil’ as he dominated free practice for the Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang.

One of the few circuits he knows well on a MotoGP machine having tested at the Sepang circuit prior to what would become a sensational rookie season, the Frenchman demonstrated why he is one of the favourites for race victory by smashing the lap record in FP1 and doing it again in FP2.

Stopping the clocks at 1m 58.576, he was a full half-second quicker than the opposition by the time the chequered flag came out, this despite having a potentially even quicker final effort denied when he was baulked by Hafizh Syharin.

On the day Yamaha confirmed he will be upgraded to an A-spec M1 in 2020, he led a Petronas SRT 1-2 from Franco Morbidelli, the pair impressing around the circuit that essentially funds the Malaysian team.

With Maverick Vinales – who didn’t attempt a soft tyre lap in FP2 - and Valentino Rossi fourth and fifth, Andrea Dovizioso was the only rider to penetrate the Yamaha stronghold in third position. 

Champion Marc Marquez continued his ‘against the grain’ strategy of focusing on race pace and relying on his FP1 time to leave him sixth on the timesheets, ahead of Suzuki’s Alex Rins, Jack Miller and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, while Cal Crutchlow picked up the last remaining provisional Q2 spot in tenth.

Johann Zarco was 14th quickest on the LCR Honda, though stood to be placed in the top ten potentially after losing out on a quick final lap when he crashed at turn one. 

Malaysian MotoGP Free Practice Results [Combined]