Francesco Bagnaia will start the Malaysian Grand Prix from pole position after winning a remarkable qualifying duel with championship leader Jorge Martin.
The Italian factory Ducati rider beat his own lap record by over a second with a scorching lap of 1m56.336s. This was a response to Martin earlier taking Sepang MotoGP qualifying times into uncharted territory with what looked like an unbeatable 1m56.553s.
Martin had time for one further lap to counter Bagnaia’s time, but simply had no response aboard his Pramac Ducati.
The pole sets up Bagnaia perfectly for the sprint and the grand prix, in which he must try to make a serious dent in Martin’s 17-point advantage going before the final round.
More to follow
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Source: Autosport