Ducati rider and title hopeful, Andrea Dovizioso was the fastest man around the Sepang International Circuit on Friday as the first day of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend got underway.
It wasn't the best of ways to start the penultimate round with the day dominated and affected by adverse weather conditions. Rain poured early in the morning which left the track slippery, with riders uncertain about the best setup while later in the afternoon the situation became more consistent with steady rain.
Second fastest overall at the end of the day was Alvaro Bautista followed by third placed rider, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 man, Johann Zarco.
However, despite the team's pleasure at Zarco's performance, there was also sadness in the air as they lost a good friendโฆ
"I would like to say that today, it doesn't matter what happened on the track and how good the performances of our riders were because it is a sad and dark day,โ explained Hervรฉ Poncharal. โStefan Kiefer passed away last night, and we have lost a true friend, one of us and a very competitive team manager who won the Moto2 World Championship in 2011 with Stefan Bradl. He was full of passion and energy, and his death is a huge loss for all of us. I would like the whole paddock to remember him for the man he was."
Maverick Vinales was fourth fastest for Yamaha with teammate Valentino Rossi in 12th.
"The start of the Friday was a bit tricky because this morning the track was half dry and half wet,โ explained Massimo Meregalli. โ In these circumstances it's never easy for the riders. Luckily, we were still able to put the last 20 minutes of FP1 to good use, working on the dry bike set-up. In the afternoon we switched to working on the wet base setting.โ
โMaverick and Vale are progressing on the wet, which verifies the step we made in Australia and confirms that we are working in the right direction, even if there's still a margin for improvement. Maverick got clipped by Hรฉctor Barberรก but, fortunately, he didn't crash. He had a good pace and was feeling confident.โ
โThough the wet conditions in FP2 didn't help Valentino better his morning time and he suffered from a lack of rear grip, he showed consistent speed and will be competitive, should it rain in the remainder of the weekend. So far, we're feeling positive that we will be able to make another step tomorrow in FP3, regardless of the conditions."
Championship leader marc Marquez finished 5th overall.
GP of Malaysia โ Combined classification of Day 1:
1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team - 2'00.671
2. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - 2'00.742 +0.071
3. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 2'00.807 +0.136
4. Maverick VIรALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - 2'00.903 +0.232
5. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team - 2'00.950 +0.279
6. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda - 2'01.060 +0.389
7. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - 2'01.077 +0.406
8. Hector BARBERA, Reale Avintia Racing - 2'01.147 +0.476
9. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team - 2'01.162 +0.491
10. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team - 2'01.189 +0.518
11. Danilo PETRUCCI, OCTO Pramac Racing - 2'01.560 +0.889
12. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - 2'01.662 +0.991
13. Andrea IANNONE Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 2'01.740 +1.069
14. Jack MILLER, EG 0,0 Marc VDS - 2'01.803 +1.132
15. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 2'01.831 +1.160
16. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing - 2'02.416 +1.745
17. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - 2'02.469 +1.798
18. Scott REDDING, OCTO Pramac Racing - 2'03.056 +2.385
19. Michael VAN DER MARK, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 2'03.473 +2.802
20. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS - 2'03.531 +2.860
21. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - 2'03.534 +2.863
22. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - 2'04.381 +3.710
