Andrea Dovizioso will start the Malaysian Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship which gets underway at 15.00 local time (08.00 CET) this afternoon, from the front row of the grid at the Sepang International Circuit.

The Italian rider set third-quickest time in Q2, after finishing FP3, which determined which riders would go through to the all-important second qualifying session, in fourth place.

โ€œThe front row was our target and we achieved it today, but I'm even happier about our speed, which is fundamental this weekend,โ€ he said. โ€œIf you don't have a good pace, it's no good thinking about race strategies and we were fast in all the conditions, especially in the dry and with used tyres like this afternoon in FP4.โ€

โ€œIn qualifying I did an almost perfect lap, and this gave me an immense satisfaction! We are ready for tomorrow, in any weather conditions: the bike is going really well, we are quick and this is the most important thing, because our aim is to fight for the win.โ€