2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round 19 – Sepang
Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia
MotoGP Friday Quotes
Francesco Bagnaia – P1
“I’m happy with this first day. We had a different strategy compared to other riders as we tried the medium tyre already in the morning, which was positive. In the afternoon, we started with a set-up that had the lowest possible grip and then build from there, and it worked. The base set-up was very close to the one with new tyres, and I’m very happy about it. Obviously, the goal for the weekend is to get maximum points before playing our cards right in the final event of the season: we’ll see if we manage to do so, but our potential at the moment is really high.”
Jorge Martin – P2
“Not the ideal after a crash, but I think it was good to crash because it’s always interesting to understand why and to find the limit is always good. So yeah, I feel confident. I feel we are doing a good job. Confident with our job, with our work, we have no reason to be nervous or nothing like that. So let’s see tomorrow if we can do a great qualifying. I think in terms of pace, we are at the moment quite good. I still miss a bit to understand the front tyre because it seems like with the medium is not bad. So normally we struggle to ride with it, but here with these temperatures is not bad. So let’s see. And yeah, overall a good day. We need to keep this way of working and everything will go good.”
Enea Bastianini – P3
“It was quite a good day. Lately we haven’t been able to be competitive already from the first session and we had to work more than expected on both the set-up and the riding style, but we adjustments we made ahead of Practice allowed us to make a good step forward. Time attack also went well, despite a small mistake at turn one. We’ll need to keep working and analysing the data in order to make the right tyre choice for tomorrow, as the difference performance-wise between the different compounds is really significant here at Sepang.”
Maverick Vinales – P4
“Despite the results, it was still a complicated day. Riding was difficult, but I was able to do some outstanding laps in the time-attacks. I managed to express the full potential of the bike and that keeps my motivation high. We’ll strive to give one hundred percent and aim to be the top Aprilia.”
Alex Marquez – P5
“It was a tough day as we battled against the heat, but a positive one nonetheless: we’re still missing the pace we had last year, but the feeling is good. We need to make another step forward tomorrow, have a good qualifying and keep our heads down.”
Fabio Quartararo – P6
“It was a good day, a really good day. We usually struggle in the time attack, but I was already doing good laps whilst in race-pace mode. This morning, I was really impressed by my lap times on the hard in low grip conditions because we were at the top of the live timing for a long time with this tyre. I mainly rode on the same bike as I did in Thailand today. I’m happy that Álex and I are both in Q2. There are some things we need to improve, but I feel great on the bike, so it was a really positive day.”
Alex Rins – P8
“Today we collected a lot of information. Yamaha brought a new engine. The base is a little bit different. I did the time attack with the new engine because the set-up on that bike was closer to our base one. Overall, our pace is not so good, but we are in Q2, and we have a margin to improve for tomorrow.”
Jack Miller – P9
“Good to be back here in Sepang and honestly felt pretty good from the get-go! Obviously really happy to go through straight to Q2 tomorrow being so close the last couple of weeks so let’s see what we can make of it!”
Marc Marquez – P10
“The opening day at Sepang is often a bit of a struggle, and today was no exception. We achieved our goal of securing the direct seed to Q2, but there’s a lot to do in order to be among the best on Sunday. We need to keep working on the bike set-up as well as on my riding style. In any case, it was a good day.”
Pedro Acosta – P11
“It was a good day overall, although we did not go to Q2. We were not far, but I am not too worried, as we normally improve from one day to the other. We will prepare well for tomorrow, and then finalise everything in FP2. Our pace has been good all day, so let’s try to continue on that path and qualify well on the grid.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P12
“The feeling while riding has definitely improved compared to the tests and I’m happy about that. The difficulties are very similar to those encountered in February: with new tyres I struggle, the bike doesn’t turn. I’m struggling between turns 5/6, then in turns 11, 12 and 14. It’s a shame about the Q2, lost by breath, this complicates things, but there are some positive notes overall.”
Johann Zarco – P13
“The practice was great, better than we expected, but we missed the Q2 spot. This weekend, we have the potential to do a good job, although the competitors’ level is high, and the situation can be tough sometimes for us. I should have done a perfect lap, but it wasn’t easy to nail. I’m proud that I’ve noticed the evolution since the last time we came here, which is really important”.
Brad Binder – P14
“Not how we planned to start our weekend here in Malaysia. Small crash in this afternoon session meant a little bit of chaos so I’ll have to go the long road through Q1 tomorrow . Confident we can have a better day.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P15
“Today, at some point I realised we had real options to get inside the Top 10. In the end, it was difficult, I couldn’t clinch it. Overall we’ve got the same problem: we are struggling due to a lack of rear grip. Thinking ahead of tomorrow, we’ll make some changes on the settings to see if we can improve. To look at the bright side, despite having classified 15th, the gap is not huge”.
Raul Fernandez – P16
“I’m happy! Happy with my team as we are always trying something new. Although we couldn’t try a different aerodynamic package, different chassis or engine, they always try to find something on the electronics. I’m happy also because we all want to improve the bike and the whole project. I think it will be a difficult weekend for us as we have overheating on the rear tyre and after three laps we have a lot of movement, so we need to find some solutions for Sunday because if not, it will be a very long race for us. Apart from that, I was unlucky with the yellow flags and I lost my fastest lap which was not 100% real. I had a bit of margin to go into Q2, as I had a bit more than what we did so, for this part, I’m satisfied because I think tomorrow we have a bit more to give.”
Aleix Espargaro – P17
“Luckily I’m fine. The two crashes on turn 9 were at low speed. I have very little grip on this track and I’m struggling a lot. At the end of the day, due to the crashes, I was unable to get a lot of laps in and I also ran into a yellow flag. The goal for Saturday is to work towards finding the right pace.”
Luca Marini – P18
“Today we were very busy, trying a new frame and preparing everything for the weekend. The frame was not a clear benefit so we will go to the spec we have been using in the previous races. We also need to work to understand the rear trye better because here it’s different to other races. Corner entry is an area we need to work on more because normally we are stronger there. Some work to do tonight because I am not satisfied, we keep going to do our best like always.”
Augusto Fernandez – P19
“It was not a bad day overall. When we were working for the race with used tyres, we were really close to the top 10, which was positive. Then in the time attacks we struggled. We did not feel great on the first exit, and then we did not put everything together. I made mistakes and it was not coming easy. Let’s try to study everything and try to improve for tomorrow’s qualifying.”
Joan Mir – P20
“Today, and I think this weekend overall, has been very useful for us to compare our situation to the test. Times are of course different because the conditions during the test are better, but still we can assess how our feeling and performance has changed. An average day at the office for us, we still have the limitations of the last few rounds. We have to check a few things we’ve done during the season; it’s going to be an important weekend for this.”
Andrea Iannone – P21
“I have to say that I’m happy and we couldn’t have started better this morning with the Top 10. Everything is new, the technological step has been really impressive compared to the past. First of all, there are the tyres to understand, it’s not easy, but with in every run, especially this afternoon with used tyres, the sensations were better. Tomorrow we’ll try to do my best, it will be my first Sprint. What can I say: the evolution is incredible, especially in terms of aerodynamics. You can’t understand the limit, maybe this is the real difficulty. A great day!”
Lorenzo Savadori – P22
“We are still working. I tried some different aero configurations and it was quite good so we need to continue to work on that tomorrow morning. It’s super hot on track but we focus on the work for 2025 and want to gather more information about these pieces and these conditions. I already used them here at the test and Aprilia needs to understand the direction better.”
Team Managers
Paolo Bonora – Aprilia
“Sepang has always been a challenging track, with heavy braking and fast acceleration. Despite this, Maverick managed to go straight into Q2 with an excellent fourth position. Aleix, on the other hand, hasn’t yet found the ideal set-up for this track. We need to continue working on improving the grip of the bike and giving our riders more confidence when braking.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“We had a productive first day in Sepang. Despite a lack of grip in the morning, we were able to be competitive and to evaluate different things. Overall, today’s data again underline how hard Yamaha has been working this year to improve the bike. The work continues this weekend: Fabio and Álex also have a new engine to try here. Both our riders did a great job to secure a direct place in tomorrow’s Q2. It’s a great way to start the weekend, but this is only the beginning. We have to keep our head down. The next goal is to stay on this positive trajectory tomorrow in qualifying and the Sprint.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Trackhouse Team Manager
“This first day in Sepang was not easy. Clearly, the grip is there because the lap times from the top boys are good. But we are struggling a lot with the hard rear tyre and lap time wise we need to improve, for sure half a second, or more. The only one from Aprilia who was able to qualify directly for Q2 was Maverick (Viñales) and he did an incredible lap. So, we need to check his data, try to find out what our main issues are and how we can resolve them for tomorrow. But we need half a second and clearly some time to improve for tomorrow.”
MotoGP Practice
From early in the session, Martin sat at the summit as title rival Bagnaia was enduring a not-so-smooth sailing session in the afternoon heat. A change of gloves was needed heading into the final 20 minutes of Practice and with less than 15 minutes to go, Pecco was outside of the all-important – and more crucial than ever – top 10.
And it was with 14 minutes to go when we saw the time attacks come in. Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) was the first big mover, the Japanese rider climbed to P3 behind Martin and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Then, the goalposts were moved by the #1. Bagnaia set a 1:58.280 to go 0.091s quicker than teammate Bastianini, with Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) now inside the top three too.
Bagnaia’s stint at the top didn’t last long though. Martin dipped into the 1:57s for the first time to sit nearly half a second clear of the pack with 10 minutes to go, as Bastianini improved to leapfrog Bagnaia into P2. On his next flying lap, Martin gained more time to set a 1:57.729 to put him 0.532s clear of Bastianini. Now, how could Pecco respond?
The answer was very well. Bagnaia nailed his final two sectors on a fresh medium rear Michelin tyre to beat Martin’s time by 0.050s, as Rins – shadowing the reigning Champion – jumped to P4 ahead of team-mate Fabio Quartararo.
Then, a small dose of drama was served up. Martin was down at Turn 1 as he clicked back into time attack mode, at that was his session over. Day 1 belonged to Bagnaia, but further down the time-sheets, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) needed a last-lap PB to hop into the top 10.
And Marc produced the goods – but only just. Marquez went P8 but improvements from Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) and Quartararo shuffled the eight-time World Champion down to P10, and those late laps demoted Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) to P11.
So at the end of play, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) led the charge behind the leading trio in P4, with Top Gun the only other rider to get within half a second of Bagnaia’s impressive effort. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) was 0.6s away in P5, as less than a tenth split Alex to his brother Marc Marquez in P10. Making up the filling in the Marquez sandwich were Quartararo, Morbidelli, Rins and Miller, as both Yamahas enjoy fruitful Fridays in Sepang – a rare double automatic Q2 entry. Miller the only KTM in the top ten.
On Saturday morning, Acosta, Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) are the standout names that will need to progress through Q1 in Malaysia.
MotoGP Practice Times
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| 1 | F Bagnaia | Duc | 1m57.679 | 336.4 |
| 2 | J Martin | Duc | +0.050 | 329.2 |
| 3 | E Bastianini | Duc | +0.198 | 332.3 |
| 4 | M Viñales | Apr | +0.462 | 331.2 |
| 5 | A Marquez | Duc | +0.617 | 327.2 |
| 6 | F Quartararo | Yam | +0.624 | 330.2 |
| 7 | F Morbidelli | Duc | +0.631 | 329.2 |
| 8 | A Rins | Yam | +0.657 | 332.3 |
| 9 | J Miller | Ktm | +0.681 | 332.3 |
| 10 | M Marquez | Duc | +0.683 | 328.2 |
| 11 | P Acosta | Ktm | +0.759 | 335.4 |
| 12 | M Bezzecchi | Duc | +0.781 | 326.2 |
| 13 | J Zarco | Hon | +0.946 | 331.2 |
| 14 | B Binder | Ktm | +0.970 | 332.3 |
| 15 | T Nakagami | Hon | +1.321 | 330.2 |
| 16 | R Fernandez | Apr | +1.428 | 329.2 |
| 17 | A Espargaro | Apr | +1.509 | 331.2 |
| 18 | L Marini | Hon | +1.696 | 330.2 |
| 19 | A Fernandez | Ktm | +1.723 | 329.2 |
| 20 | J Mir | Hon | +1.856 | 328.2 |
| 21 | A Iannone | Duc | +1.939 | 325.3 |
| 22 | L Savadori | Apr | +2.429 | 329.2 |
MotoGP Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Martin | 453 |
| 2 | Bagnaia | 436 |
| 3 | Marquez | 355 |
| 4 | Bastianini | 345 |
| 5 | Binder | 203 |
| 6 | Acosta | 197 |
| 7 | Viñales | 180 |
| 8 | Di Giannantonio | 165 |
| 9 | Morbidelli | 155 |
| 10 | Espargaro | 143 |
| 11 | Bezzecchi | 137 |
| 12 | Marquez | 136 |
| 13 | Quartararo | 93 |
| 14 | Miller | 82 |
| 15 | Oliveira | 71 |
| 16 | Fernandez | 66 |
| 17 | Zarco | 48 |
| 18 | Nakagami | 31 |
| 19 | Rins | 23 |
| 20 | Mir | 21 |
| 21 | Fernandez | 21 |
| 22 | Marini | 14 |
| 23 | Espargaro | 12 |
| 24 | Pedrosa | 7 |
| 25 | Bradl | 2 |
| 26 | Gardner | 0 |
| 27 | Savadori | 0 |
Moto2
Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini Moto2) heads into Saturday’s Sepang Moto2 running as the benchmark after the Spaniard slotted home a 2:05.576 to finish a healthy 0.333s clear of second place Filip Salač (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team). 0.035s further back in third was rookie Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who set an impressive pace on his first outing in the class in Malaysia.
Free Practice pacesetter, Jake Dixon (CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team), ended Friday in P4 but the Briton’s day was hampered by a huge final corner highside in the afternoon session. Dixon didn’t sustain any serious injuries and will be back on track on Saturday, and having looked strong until the crash, the #96 will be hoping to bounce back ahead of qualifying.
Newly crowned World Champion, Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI), rounded out Friday’s top five in Malaysia. The Japanese rider was just over half a second away from Gonzalez, with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) searching for Saturday improvements after the Spaniard finished P11 on the weekend he could clinch P2 overall.
Senna Agius was just inside the top ten on Friday, just under 1.5-seconds behind the benchmark set by Gonzalez.
Moto2 Practice One Times
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| 1 | M Gonzalez | Kal | 2m05.576 | 269.3 |
| 2 | F Salac | Kal | +0.333 | 274.8 |
| 3 | D Öncü | Kal | +0.368 | 273.4 |
| 4 | J Dixon | Kal | +0.464 | 271.3 |
| 5 | A Ogura | Bos | +0.520 | 270.0 |
| 6 | T Arbolino | Kal | +0.559 | 271.3 |
| 7 | A Arenas | Kal | +0.573 | 270.6 |
| 8 | D Moreira | Kal | +0.585 | 270.6 |
| 9 | C Vietti | Kal | +0.589 | 273.4 |
| 10 | M Ramirez | Kal | +0.618 | 270.0 |
| 11 | A Canet | Kal | +0.634 | 267.9 |
| 12 | J Navarro | Kal | +0.673 | 273.4 |
| 13 | Z Goorbergh | Kal | +0.847 | 272.0 |
| 14 | A Lopez | Bos | +1.017 | 267.9 |
| 15 | B Baltus | Kal | +1.118 | 267.9 |
| 16 | M Aji | Kal | +1.158 | 274.1 |
| 17 | I Guevara | Kal | +1.233 | 272.7 |
| 18 | S Garcia | Bos | +1.421 | 271.3 |
| 19 | S Agius | Kal | +1.447 | 273.4 |
| 20 | A Sasaki | Kal | +1.459 | 273.4 |
| 21 | D Foggia | Kal | +1.500 | 272.7 |
| 22 | S Chantra | Kal | +1.517 | 270.6 |
| 23 | J Alcoba | Kal | +1.583 | 272.7 |
| 24 | J Masia | Kal | +1.954 | 270.0 |
| 25 | A Escrig | For | +2.346 | 270.6 |
| 26 | A Surra | Bos | +2.660 | 269.3 |
| 27 | D Binder | Kal | +2.672 | 272.0 |
| 28 | X Cardelus | Kal | +2.901 | 270.6 |
| 29 | H Azman | Kal | +3.151 | 268.6 |
| 30 | X Artigas | For | +3.466 | 269.3 |
| 31 | H Voight | Kal | +4.226 | 266.0 |
| 32 | K Pawi | Kal | +4.469 | 261.5 |
Moto2 Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | A Ogura | 261 |
| 2 | A Canet | 201 |
| 3 | S Garcia | 179 |
| 4 | F Aldeguer | 175 |
| 5 | M Gonzalez | 170 |
| 6 | A Lopez | 168 |
| 7 | J Roberts | 153 |
| 8 | J Dixon | 142 |
| 9 | C Vietti | 140 |
| 10 | T Arbolino | 135 |
| 11 | M Ramirez | 101 |
| 12 | S Chantra | 91 |
| 13 | J Alcoba | 79 |
| 14 | A Arenas | 76 |
| 15 | S Agius | 63 |
| 16 | F Salac | 61 |
| 17 | D Moreira | 58 |
| 18 | D Binder | 54 |
| 19 | I Guevara | 44 |
| 20 | B Baltus | 40 |
| 21 | D Öncü | 40 |
| 22 | Z Vd | 31 |
| 23 | D Foggia | 18 |
| 24 | X Artigas | 10 |
| 25 | J Navarro | 7 |
| 26 | A Sasaki | 7 |
| 27 | B Bendsneyder | 7 |
| 28 | J Masia | 4 |
| 29 | M Aji | 4 |
| 30 | M Ferrari | 1 |
| 31 | X Cardelus | 0 |
| 32 | M Schrotter | 0 |
| 33 | A Escrig | 0 |
| 34 | M Pasini | 0 |
| 35 | H Voight | 0 |
| 36 | D Muñoz | 0 |
| 37 | U Orradre | 0 |
Moto3
David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), once again, is the Moto3 rider to beat after the 2024 World Champion set a late PB time to top Practice 1. The Colombian’s 2:11.241 was 0.216s quicker than second place Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), with Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) just under half a second adrift of Alonso in P3.
Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) made it two Japanese riders in the top four, with silver medal-chasing Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) completing the fastest five on Day 1. The Dutch star was 0.560s down on Alonso’s best lap.
The rider currently second in the championship standings, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), ended Friday in P7 behind sixth place Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Meanwhile, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) – another rider who is hunting second overall – has work to do on Saturday morning after a P16 finish in Practice 1.
Rookie Jacob Roulstone had a strong opening day in eighth place while countryman Joel Kelso will be looking to move inside the top ten on Saturday.
Jacob Roulstone
“I am quite happy with our first day in Malaysia. Getting the first session on a wet track was not easy, but we felt much more confident in the afternoon in the dry. I was feeling good on the bike, it is a shame that I was not able to position myself well in a good slipstream to move up even more, but we have to be happy with the first day here, and continue on that path tomorrow morning.”
Moto3 Practice One Times
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| 1 | D Alonso | CFM | 2m11.241 | 228.8 |
| 2 | A Fernandez | HON | +0.216 | 229.7 |
| 3 | T Furusato | HON | +0.466 | 227.3 |
| 4 | R Yamanaka | KTM | +0.492 | 229.2 |
| 5 | C Veijer | HUS | +0.560 | 221.7 |
| 6 | J Rueda | KTM | +0.645 | 228.3 |
| 7 | D Holgado | GAS | +0.763 | 227.8 |
| 8 | J Roulstone | GAS | +0.924 | 226.4 |
| 9 | S Ogden | HON | +0.961 | 226.4 |
| 10 | T Suzuki | HUS | +1.004 | 229.2 |
| 11 | A Piqueras | HON | +1.045 | 229.2 |
| 12 | L Lunetta | HON | +1.112 | 229.2 |
| 13 | J Kelso | KTM | +1.167 | 224.0 |
| 14 | S Nepa | KTM | +1.198 | 225.9 |
| 15 | R Rossi | KTM | +1.246 | 226.4 |
| 16 | I Ortola | KTM | +1.416 | 223.1 |
| 17 | F Farioli | HON | +1.634 | 228.8 |
| 18 | D Muñoz | KTM | +1.690 | 228.8 |
| 19 | M Bertelle | HON | +1.705 | 227.3 |
| 20 | D Almansa | HON | +1.774 | 227.8 |
| 21 | T Buasri | HON | +2.018 | 225.9 |
| 22 | E O’shea | HON | +2.020 | 223.1 |
| 23 | N Carraro | KTM | +2.207 | 226.8 |
| 24 | X Zurutuza | KTM | +2.354 | 229.2 |
| 25 | J Esteban | CFM | +2.449 | 225.9 |
| 26 | N Dettwiler | KTM | +2.941 | 221.7 |
Moto3 Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | D Alonso | 371 |
| 2 | D Holgado | 236 |
| 3 | C Veijer | 225 |
| 4 | I Ortola | 204 |
| 5 | D Muñoz | 162 |
| 6 | A Fernandez | 153 |
| 7 | A Piqueras | 137 |
| 8 | A Rueda | 129 |
| 9 | J Kelso | 124 |
| 10 | R Yamanaka | 111 |
| 11 | T Furusato | 108 |
| 12 | L Lunetta | 106 |
| 13 | T Suzuki | 88 |
| 14 | S Nepa | 85 |
| 15 | J Roulstone | 53 |
| 16 | M Bertelle | 49 |
| 17 | J Esteban | 45 |
| 18 | R Rossi | 33 |
| 19 | F Farioli | 29 |
| 20 | S Ogden | 23 |
| 21 | N Carraro | 22 |
| 22 | X Zurutuza | 11 |
| 23 | D Almansa | 11 |
| 24 | V Perez | 3 |
| 25 | N Dettwiler | 2 |
| 26 | J Whatley | 0 |
| 27 | T Buasri | 0 |
| 28 | J Rosenthaler | 0 |
| 29 | E O’shea | 0 |
| 30 | R Wakamatsu | 0 |
| 31 | D Shahril | 0 |
| 32 | H Al | 0 |
| 33 | A Aditama | 0 |
