KUALA LUMPUR – South African Brad Binder has topped the timing sheets after the first free practice session of MotoGP’s Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) today.
The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider set the fastest time of the session at 1min 59.479sec, with Spanish rider Alex Rins from Suzuki Ecstar coming in second, just 0.097sec behind Binder.
This weekend’s penultimate race of the MotoGP calendar could see championship leader Francesco Bagnaia win his maiden world title, but the Italian only managed to come in 11th with a time of 2min 0.770sec.
Bagnaia’s less than favourable time was due to not opting for a fresh set of tyres towards the end of the session.
Similarly, title-contender Fabio Quartararo chose to eschew new tyres, which saw the 2021 world champion drop to seventh after spending the majority of the session in the lead.
Fan favourite and six-time world champion Marc Marquez finished third with a time of 1min 59.623sec.
It was a poor session for Aleix Espargaro, as the Aprilia Racing rider crashed at Turn 8 early on during the session.
The Spaniard only managed to complete five laps as his spare bike had an apparent mechanical problem.
Enea Bastianini, who topped the time sheets during the MotoGP official test at SIC earlier this year, came in fourth behind Marquez with his time of 1min 59.875sec. – The Vibes, October 21, 2022
