Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) set himself up for a final push towards the Championship crown on Saturday at Sepang, taking pole by just 0.026 ahead of Phillip Island winner Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) - despite a lowside crash for the points leader. Also within a tenth of pole, rookie Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP 40) pulled out a stunner for P3 and his first ever front row in the intermediate class.
The big headline from the session, however, was a huge highside crash for Championship contender Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten), with the Swiss rider getting to his feet but headed to the Medical Center for a check up. Lüthi was fifth fastest, with EG 0,0 Marc VDS rider Alex Marquez just beating him to fourth. Rookie of the Year Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) took sixth to complete Row 2.
Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) was top Suter in seventh, just ahead of the second KTM of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) locks out the third row, with Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) completing the top ten despite a crash early in the session.
Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) lines up for his home race in eleventh, ahead of Axel Pons (RW Racing GP), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP), Xavi Vierge (Tech 3 Racing) and Isaac Viñales (BE-A-VIP SAG Team).
For full results, click here!