Dani Pedrosa stunned the grid in the final moments of the qualifying session by taking an incredible pole position. Johann Zarco proved his caliber by taking P2 spot after putting in some great laps. Key title rival Andrea Dovizioso starts his challenge from back of the first row at P3. Valentino Rossi will start the Malaysian GP from the front of the second row, after showing great temperament right from FP3. Alex Rins and Pol Espargaro finished as the top 2 in Q1 and eventually went to the next session. Octo Pramac Ducati riders Danilo Petrucci and Scott Redding couldn't make it to the Q2, as they suffered with rear grip issues.
As the Q2 went underway it was Marquez who drew the first blood by topping the time-sheets on his very first lap. Johann Zarco, Jorge Lorenzo, Maverick Viñales and Andrea Dovizioso also made a tough fight at the top. Meanwhile Marquez had an early crash within a few minutes as he lost the front end of his Honda RC213V, after a sensational save in FP4. Rossi on the other hand made a few laps and decided to pit earlier.
All riders began to improve their lap times in their second outing and Johann Zarco topped the sheets. Valentino Rossi came back to the track with only three odd minutes remaining in the session, and quickly went to top the time-sheets. On their last laps Dani Pedrosa, Johann Zarco, Andrea Dovizioso all made quicker times than Rossi and climbed on top, leaving Rossi behind at fourth. Maverick Viñales will start the race from P5 followed by fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo at P6. Championship leader Marc Marquez starts the penultimate round from behind at P7, with a chance to clinch his fourth MotoGP World Championship. The top 10 of the grid is completed by Alex Rins, Andrea Iannone and Cal Crutchlow respectively.
The penultimate round of the MotoGP World Championship goes live from the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia tomorrow at 12:30 PM IST. The Malaysian round marks the first chance for Marc Marquez to get his hands on the 2017 Championship trophy. A mishap for Marquez and a win for Dovizioso would take the title fight down to the wire at Valencia. Let's hope for the best, and meanwhile stay tuned to BikesMedia for further updates on the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.
By: Aravind Rb
As the Q2 went underway it was Marquez who drew the first blood by topping the time-sheets on his very first lap. Johann Zarco, Jorge Lorenzo, Maverick Viñales and Andrea Dovizioso also made a tough fight at the top. Meanwhile Marquez had an early crash within a few minutes as he lost the front end of his Honda RC213V, after a sensational save in FP4. Rossi on the other hand made a few laps and decided to pit earlier. All riders began to improve their lap times in their second outing and Johann Zarco topped the sheets. Valentino Rossi came back to the track with only three odd minutes remaining in the session, and quickly went to top the time-sheets. On their last laps Dani Pedrosa, Johann Zarco, Andrea Dovizioso all made quicker times than Rossi and climbed on top, leaving Rossi behind at fourth. Maverick Viñales will start the race from P5 followed by fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo at P6. Championship leader Marc Marquez starts the penultimate round from behind at P7, with a chance to clinch his fourth MotoGP World Championship. The top 10 of the grid is completed by Alex Rins, Andrea Iannone and Cal Crutchlow respectively.
The penultimate round of the MotoGP World Championship goes live from the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia tomorrow at 12:30 PM IST. The Malaysian round marks the first chance for Marc Marquez to get his hands on the 2017 Championship trophy. A mishap for Marquez and a win for Dovizioso would take the title fight down to the wire at Valencia. Let's hope for the best, and meanwhile stay tuned to BikesMedia for further updates on the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.By: Aravind Rb