Saturday and qualifying at the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix threw up plenty of talking points ahead of race day at Sepang. Check out 10 things to know ahead of Sunday including a new schedule and a grid penalty for the pole sitter:
1. The time schedule has been modified due to rain forecast. Check the new schedule HERE.
2. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) have been given a six-place grid penalty due to an incident with Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar). He will start from seventh despite getting pole.
3. Marquez, who crashed for the 21st time in 2018 during Q2, has qualified on pole for the seventh time this year. This is Marquez’ 52nd pole position in the premier class, three less than Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), and the 80th on what is the 185th Grand Prix race of his career.
4. This is the tenth pole position at Sepang from a Honda rider in the MotoGP™ class since 2002, the second successive following Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) last year.
5. Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) thus starts from pole position for the third time this year along with Qatar and France. This is his third successive front row start (since Japan) and the second successive in Sepang in the MotoGP™ class.
6. Rossi is second on the grid as the second-placed Yamaha rider, which is his best starting position since he was also second in Thailand. This is Rossi’s fifth front-row start of the season.
7. With Zarco and Rossi, this is the fourth time this year there are two Yamaha riders on the front row on the grid along with Americas, Italy and Australia.
8. Iannone completes the front row on the grid, equalling the best starting position from a Suzuki rider at Sepang in the MotoGP™ class of John Hopkins back in 2005.
9. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), who won the last two MotoGP™ races at Sepang, starts his 195th race in the premier class from fourth on the grid. This is the 13th time this year Dovizioso starts from the first two rows on the grid.
10. After joining Q2 from Q1 for the fourth time in 2018, Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) qualified in ninth on the grid, his best qualifying result since he was eighth in Aragon.