The Italian Francesco Bagnaia will start at the head of the sprint race and the Malaysian Grand Prix20th round (out of 22) of the MotoGP season, after setting the best time in qualifying on Saturday. On the Sepang circuit, a track he particularly likes, the Ducati rider took his third pole position of the year.
At the start of the sprint race scheduled for 3 p.m. local Saturday (9 a.m. in Switzerland), and the Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday (8 a.m. in Switzerland), the double world champion in 2022 and 2023 will start in front of the Spaniard Alex Marquez (Ducati-Gresini), who has a chance of winning the honorary title of vice-world champion this weekend, and his Italian compatriot Franco Morbidelli (Ducati-VR46), 3rd.
The Spaniard Marc Marquez (Ducati) – already assured of the title in the premier category – and his compatriot 2024 world champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia), both injured, did not make the trip to Malaysia.