Mixed conditions in Malaysia on Friday shakes things up

MotoGP 2022 – Round 19 – Sepang
Friday Report

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder took Friday honours in Malaysia, fastest in FP1 by less than a tenth ahead of Australian GP winner Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) completes the top three, with some riders not putting in a time attack in the morning… and the weather closing in in the afternoon.

Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) is P11 overall. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) is seventh, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) down in a difficult P20. Neither Quartararo nor Bagnaia fitted new tyres for their final runs, and Aleix Espargaro suffered a crash on one bike and a technical problem on the other.

On a day of mixed weather, FP2 belonged to Cal Crutchlow (WithU Yamaha RND MotoGP Team), who set the quickest lap in a damp afternoon session at Sepang after a late change to slicks. However, his afternoon benchmark of 2:05.710 was several seconds away from the 1:59.576 which Binder achieved earlier in the day when the circuit was completely dry.

A huge downpour had caused a lengthy red flag period in the preceding session, Moto2 FP2, but the sun was shining by the time the premier class rolled out for their second session of the day. All 24 riders started on wets but there was precious little spray being kicked up by then. The session ended on slicks and with Crutchlow top as Bagnaia took second. Quartararo was fifth on wets.

But on combined times it all comes from FP1, with Brad Binder heading Rins’ late charge and Marc Marquez third.

Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP), who’s facing his last stand in the title fight, was fourth, ahead of 2020 World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar).

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) slots into sixth ahead of Quartararo, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP) in P8.

Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) while team-mate and Rookie of the Year Marco Bezzecchi completes the top ten and are therefore provisionally into Q2 ahead of Bagnaia.

Bagnaia, and teammate Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team), will most definitely be hoping for dry skies on Saturday morning to try and move into the top ten.  Miller is suffering significant pain from last weekend’s Phillip Island crash which is affecting his mobility on the motorcycle.

2022 Sepang MotoGP Combined Friday Practice Results

MotoGP Riders Friday Quotes

Brad Binder – P1

“Did one long run in the first session, and then put a new tyre in late in the session, I am really glad we made that decision to put a new tyre in, because of the wet this afternoon. We didn’t expect a big storm this afternoon, so I am sure it caught a lot of people off guard. Anyway, a good Friday, I am looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow. Hopefully we have some solid dry conditions in the morning.”

Alex Rins – P2

“Today was a bit tricky and we needed to be focused. Despite the fact we weren’t expecting rain for the afternoon, we gave it everything in FP1 just in case, and it paid off. I was able to be pretty strong, with second place, and I feel happy with that because quite often on a Friday I don’t have pace immediately. FP2 was difficult to manage because of the drying track with wet patches, so I decided to stay out on wet tyres. At the moment we don’t know if tomorrow will be dry or wet, it looks 50/50, so we have to wait and see what we can do in terms of qualifying, but if we can go directly to Q2 it will definitely help.”

Marc Marquez – P3

“Today I was able to finish in the top three and a lot of this was because of the strategy we used. I used a soft tyre straight away in FP1 because I know that being in the top ten is really important here. But honestly, our feeling isn’t the best and there are still things to improve to make us more comfortable on track. We made a small step in FP2 with our second run so the aim is to keep going like this tomorrow. Happy to be in the top three, but there’s work to do.”

Enea Bastianini – P4

“I’m happy with the morning’s performance: we did well on the dry, even though the feeling wasn’t the same as during testing. There’s a lot of work to do in wet conditions because I wasn’t comfortable on the bike – and we still need to fine-tune something on our dry-track set-up. We’re in Q2 for now and we did well in using the soft tyre. Now we hope for a dry FP3 to continue working.”

Joan Mir – P5

“Things seem to be positive for us in both wet and dry conditions right now, although the track is challenging due to the low grip even when it’s dry, so it’s a bit complicated. We couldn’t really add to the grip today by putting rubber down because of it being so wet, so it seems likely that tomorrow will also be tough. But either way I feel fairly strong, and my FP1 session was nice. Let’s see how things are tomorrow, but I’m aiming high.”

Jorge Martín – P6

“We can still improve a lot but already today we did a good job, the track is definitely favourable to our bike and I like it a lot. We hope to do a good qualifying tomorrow.”

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“On the dry, my feeling is good. I was able to push straight away. The first run in the afternoon was difficult, but from my second run on, I was immediately much faster. I wanted to put on slicks at the end of the session, but there were only 7 minutes remaining and I didn’t want to stop for just one or two laps. So, I decided to keep going. We often struggle in mixed conditions with wet patches on track, and it was much better at the end. In the end, it was a good day. I was just enjoying myself quite a lot today.”

Fabio DiGiannantonio – P8

“Was a good Friday; we started off well, but that’s how it is often times. We finished in the top ten and we’re provisionally in Q2 – and that’s surely important. It’ll also be key to continue this way and improve at least as much as the others. Our potential is high and let’s hope we’ll be able to show it in the next couple of days.”

Luca Marini – P9

“A good Friday: we were on track in both dry and wet conditions and this is positive considering that we are in Malaysia, a country with sudden changes in weather. I feel strong in both situations even if I can still improve in some points. We are working on the electronics to make the bike turn better and I hope for a good weather tomorrow. The choice on the tire for the race is still open and we need to run kilometres in the dry to decide.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P10

“Not a perfect start in FP1 with the crash right at the start of the session, but then some good sensations and a significant lap time. In the FP2 we were on track in the wet: not bad, I needed a session like this because in the last few GPs we struggled in these conditions and we had to try some new solutions. I hope for good weather for tomorrow to be able to work well on the race pace.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P11

“I am quite calm after this first day, despite finishing only 11th, three thousandths from the top ten. Unfortunately, on the last lap, I made a mistake coming out of Turn 9, losing a lot of time. I hope to be able to find the right conditions in tomorrow’s FP3 to try to get into the top ten. It will be important here, especially if qualifying should be wet. In any case, I am positive: our potential in the wet has grown a lot, and that makes me optimistic.”

Franco Morbidelli – P12

“It was a positive Friday. I just missed the Q2 by 0.004s whilst I hadn’t even put new tyres on. Then in the afternoon, I was really, really fast in the wet conditions, so I can’t complain about today. Also during our worst weekends, we always have a moment when we’re quick and we smile, but today it was a particularly bright moment. I hope it lasts.”

Álex Márquez – P13

“First day here in Malaysia, in the morning we were a little bit off with our set-up and the feeling was not very good and we made big changes for the afternoon, but unfortunately we did not try them as it was wet. We need to improve tomorrow, especially in the dry and see if those changes in set-up work because we need more grip. The grip is the main problem going in (to corners), turning and opening, I have zero rear grip. But in the wet I felt really, really good, throughout all the session (FP2), with the bike and that’s important because the weekend looks like it will continue like this. It will be unpredictable and we need to be ready for all conditions.”

Jack Miller – P14

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy because the bruises I got on my leg in the Phillip Island crash are in a place where I put a lot of pressure riding the bike, and I feel a lot of pain. In any case, I was able to improve lap by lap. This morning we didn’t try the time attack, so after the rain fell this afternoon, we are out of the top ten. Hopefully, tomorrow morning’s FP3 will be dry and will allow us to improve our time. In general, I feel comfortable on the bike. I am just a little worried about Sunday’s race which will be physically very demanding.”

Johann Zarco – P15

“The position is not the best but it does not entirely reflect the reality of the situation, I had a technical problem that stuck me a little bit but it is a track that I like very much and where we can do very well.”

Pol Espargaro – P16

“We didn’t have a great day today. There was the penalty from Free Practice 1 which is a shame, I went to explain the situation to Race Direction but still we have it. It’s a shame because it adds an extra complication to the weekend. Anyway, we made some improvements in Free Practice 1 while a lot of people used the soft tyre. Then in the afternoon we learned as much as we could but towards the end of the session the track was very hot and there wasn’t much more to do. We go again tomorrow.”

Cal Crutchlow – P18

“Today, I felt quite good overall. At the start of the session, it wasn‘t easy, the bike in that condition is not good, when the track is greasy and hot and there is some water. But afterwards, when it started to dry a little bit, the M1 started to feel really good. So I was able to push, and then I went with the slicks and felt okay with it. I think we could have been even faster, but it was nice to be on top of a session again, also for the team to have something to cheer during this difficult year for them. At the same time, it’s obviously great to do that here at the home GP with all the Malaysian fans and sponsors, although the session was quite irrelevant.”

Maverick Vinales – P19

“This morning in the dry sensations were less than perfect. The level of grip I felt was very low and that kept me from being fast. In the afternoon, grip was still lacking and we’ll need to analyse the data to figure out how to limit this difficulty. At the end of the day, that’s the element that is limiting us the most because it conditions all riding situations, from entering to exiting corners.”

Aleix Espargaro – P20

“It’s a bit difficult to comment on the day today because in the morning I had two problems on the two bikes that we were unable to solve in time. In the afternoon, in mixed conditions, it didn’t make much sense to push hard because we wouldn’t have been able to improve on our times from the morning anyway. In any case, I’m optimistic because I expect that I’ll be able to be fast with the right asphalt and no hindrances. I’ll get out on the track and push to the maximum from the first lap!”

Remy Gardner – P21

“I did not have a good feeling with the rear tyre in FP1 this morning but it seemed like it was the same with all KTM bikes. Brad Binder put a new medium at the end and said that it was a big jump forward, so it was probably because we had a green track. We had a good session anyway. In the afternoon, it was a bit trickier as we had a bit of wet and dry, but we had a pretty good rhythm and I enjoyed riding.”

Darryn Binder – P22

“This morning we had a little bit of bad luck, unfortunately I went out of the box and in the third flying lap I had a puncture  and had to stop and change tyre, and then I went back out and I was improving lap by lap and started to have a good feeling with the track but unfortunately I made a small mistake in Turn 4 and had a crash, because we couldn’t get the bike back in time so I couldn’t finish the session. Then this afternoon, heaven’s opened, we had a really wet track and it started drying towards the end. Anyway, we went on, we got a feel for the condition with the wet tyre on the track that was drying and we try again tomorrow.”

Raul Fernandez – P23

“Hot day! This morning we tried to feel the track, find our marks again and we decided to not use a new set of tyres, which will be interesting for the race on Sunday. In the afternoon, we had a bit of everything after the big rain as some parts of the track were wet, others dry towards the end of the session, so it was tricky to make a decision with tyres. Overall, it has been a positive first day, but we will need to analyse well tonight our tyre strategy for tomorrow.”

Tetsuta Nagashima – P24

“So today the feeling wasn’t bad. I know all the riders have done a test here and from the beginning they were quite fast. But my lap times weren’t bad, I tried to focus on my riding in FP1, in FP2 I wanted to push a bit more, but it was disappointing about the weather as it rained and then came dry. I never really liked these kind of conditions, but it was a good experience and I learned how I could push. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

MotoGP Championship Points Standings

Moto2

There’s no better way to bounce back from a mistake than absolute domination, and that’s what Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had for the rest of the field on Friday. Ending the day over eight-tenths clear after storming to the top in FP1, Fernandez was back in business in a big way.

His team-mate, Pedro Acosta, was first on the chase in second, with Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) third.

All three laps at the top were set in FP1, before the first of those from the afternoon: Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team). Gonzalez ends the day fourth thanks to that effort, which was set before a downpour mid-FP2.

Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) sits fifth from his FP1 time, ahead of Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) thanks to his FP2 best.

Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team), Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) and Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) complete the top ten, the latter from FP2.

Ogura leads by just 3.5 points and it seems to be advantage Fernandez heading into qualifying.

2022 Sepang Moto2 Combined Friday Practice Results

Moto2 Championship Points Standings

Moto3

Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) and Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) led the way at the top of the Moto3 time-sheets, split by just 0.070 on Friday. Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team), who leads the battle for championship silver by two points, had a tougher day down in P14.

Rain hit for other classes but not Moto3, with the lightweight runners enjoying two dry sessions. Foggia led both sessions and Sasaki’s best in FP1 is the second best overall, with both faster in the morning.

David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) ended the day in third thanks to his FP2 best, ahead of two more from FP1: Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse).

Joel Kelso ended the first day of proceedings in P21.

2022 Sepang Moto3 Combined Friday Practice Results

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

2022 Sepang MotoGP Time Schedule
(AEDT)

2022 MotoGP Calendar