He left it late but Alex Marquez’ (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) 2:07.768 was enough to top Moto2™ FP3 at the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix to make it a hattrick of P1s so far this weekend. The Spaniard managed to oust Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) from top spot on his final lap by 0.067, with Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) 0.209 back in P3.
#Moto2 FP3 ????@alexmarquez73 blasts to the top of the times on his final lap ???? #MalaysianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/jXsfvTXZL7
— MotoGP™???????????? (@MotoGP) November 3, 2018
Track conditions were almost identical to FP1 with the overnight rain making the opening minutes of the morning session a little bit sketchy, but it was soon time to put in the slick tyres and putting in the laps. It was Bagnaia who led for most of the session, before Pasini put in a quick lap in the latter stages, but it was FP1 and FP2 leader Marquez who would have the last say.
The latter remains the man to beat in Sepang, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) P4 on the timesheets in FP3 – the Portuguese rider is the only man who can stop Bagnaia from taking the 2018 intermediate class title. Fellow KTM rider Iker Lecuona (Swiss Innovative Investors) completes the top five in FP3, 0.428 off Marquez.
Slicks are the order of the session despite a number of damp patches scattered around the Sepang circuit ????#MalaysianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/Ted1AXtmm1
— MotoGP™???????????? (@MotoGP) November 3, 2018
Jules Danilo (Nashi Argan SAG Team) crashed late on – rider ok.
Can anyone stop Marquez in qualifying? Find out when the intermediate class battle for pole at 13:30 local time (GMT +8).
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