The warning has been issued by Jorge Martín: the rider led the first free practice of the MotoGP Malaysian GP, being one of the three riders to lap under 2m00s on Friday morning in Sepang.
After the first flying laps, the leader was Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) with a 0.401s margin over Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha). Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati) had a track excursion in his first attempt but managed to stay on his bike.
The table changed with the second flying laps, and Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) moved to the top, with Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) and Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) following closely, both at 0.175s. Álex Márquez eventually took the lead, while Aleix Espargaró improved to second. Martín dropped to third. The table stabilized with this order at the top, although Álex Márquez solidified his position.
Sixteen minutes before the checkered flag, Aleix Espargaró crashed in the final corner, and his Aprilia had a minor fire – quickly extinguished by the marshals.
Changes in the timing sheet in the last quarter of an hour, with Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) taking the lead ahead of Álex Márquez.
As for Aleix Espargaró, at the same time, he was overtaken by Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia) and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati). Shortly after, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) moved up to second. The Frenchman was quickly overtaken by Marini and Augusto Fernández (GasGas Tech3/KTM) but regained both positions shortly after.
With less than four minutes to go, Martín returned to the top, being the first to lap below two minutes. Until the end, only two more riders managed to do lap times in the 1m59s, but none of them could beat Martín. Álex Márquez finished second, 0.049s behind, and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati) in third, 0.401s behind. Morbidelli and Quartararo completed the top five.
Further down, the championship leader, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), started quietly with the 15th time, 1.375s behind Martín. However, it’s important to emphasize that this session is not about lap times but primarily about adaptation and preparation.
Timesheets: