Malaysia – Qualifications: Pedrosa sets the record straight

In the end, Dani Pedrosa took pole position at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix, a new absolute record for the Sepang track. Timed in 1’59.053, the Spaniard improved by half a second the record posted this morning by Lorenzo, "only" 4th in qualifying despite his dominance during dominated practice …

Dani Pedrosa finally won pole position at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix, a new absolute record for the Sepang track. Timed in 1’59.053, the Spaniard improves by half a second the record posted this morning by Lorenzo, "only" 4th in qualifying despite his dominance during dominated .

Dani Pedrosa takes pole position for the first time since the GP of Catalonia 2014. He will start in front of his teammate Marc Marquez, whose tensions with Valentino Rossi still seem as high as suggested by the behavior of the Italian when the official Honda tried to take his wheel …

Valentino Rossi, in fact, completed the first row 0.673 sec from pole. The leader of the championship precedes by a breath – 0.011 sec! – his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, slower in qualifying than in FP3: 1’59.737 against 1’59.544 this morning. The Mallorcan was he cooled by his minor fall in FP4, just before qualifying ?

Cal Crutchlow will start from fifth position ahead of Iannone, Dovizioso, Vinales and Smith. Loris Baz is 20th on the grid, Mike di Meglio 23rd.

Moto3 Qualifying: Antonelli on pole, Kent 6th

Niccolo Antonelli will start from pole position in the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of Jorge Navarro, Fabio Quartararo’s teammate who is forfeited due to his ankle injury. Portuguese Miguel Oliveira completes the front row. 

Dany Kent qualified sixth. Falling to Australia while the title was within reach, the championship leader can be crowned at Sepang "simply" by finishing in the top 5, regardless of Oliveira’s result, who follows him 40 points behind. . Kent would then become the first world champion then Barry Sheene in 1977.

Moto2 Qualifying: Luthi on pole for the first time since early 2012 !

Often very quick against the clock but in difficulty as soon as the tire grip drops, Tom Luthi has the potential to dominate in Moto2. The Swiss proved it by winning pole position in the Malaise GP ahead of the world champion with 0.127 sec ahead of Johann Zarco and almost half a second over Alex Rins.

For the first time this season, the No.12 will start at the top of the first row, his best qualifying having only taken him to third place in Argentina and second in Japan this year. Luthi will try to take the opportunity to return to the victory that has eluded him since the 2015 French GP… 

This is the Interwetten driver’s first pole since the Qatar GP… 2012, almost four years ago. Still dissatisfied with his Mistral, Louis Rossi will start from 22nd position. 

MotoGP starting grid for the Grand Prix of Sepang 2015

Dani PEDROSA Honda 1’59.053 

Marc MARQUEZ Honda 1’59.462 0.409 / 0.409

Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 1’59.726 0.673 / 0.264

Jorge LORENZO Yamaha 1’59.737 0.684 / 0.011

Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 2’00.199 1.146 / 0.462

Andrea IANNONE Ducati 2’00.224 1.171 / 0.025

Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 2’00.423 1.370 / 0.199

Maverick VIÑALES Suzuki 2’00.478 1.425 / 0.055

Bradley SMITH Yamaha 2’00.652 1.599 / 0.174

Hector BARBERA Ducati 2’00.724 1.671 / 0.072

Aleix ESPARGARO Suzuki 2’00.724 1.671

Pol ESPARGARO   

Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 2’01.223 0.470 / 0.458

Stefan BRADL Aprilia 2’01.346 0.593 / 0.123

Scott REDDING Honda 2’01.367 0.614 / 0.021

Jack MILLER Honda 2’01.725 0.972 / 0.358

Alvaro BAUTISTA Aprilia 2’01.727 0.974 / 0.002

Yonny HERNANDEZ Ducati 2’01.748 0.995 / 0.021

Nicky HAYDEN Honda 2’01.829 1.076 / 0.081

Loris BAZ Yamaha Forward 2’01.862 1.109 / 0.033

Toni ELIAS Yamaha Forward 2’02.415 1.662 / 0.553

Eugene LAVERTY Honda 2’02.460 1.707 / 0.045

Mike DI MEGLIO Ducati 2’02.964 2.211 / 0.504

Anthony WEST Honda 2’03.855 3.102 / 0.891

Damian CUDLIN ART 2’06.051 5.298 / 2.19

1. Dani PEDROSA Honda 1’59.053 
2. Marc MARQUEZ Honda 1’59.462 0.409 / 0.409
3. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 1’59.726 0.673 / 0.264
4. Jorge LORENZO Yamaha 1’59.737 0.684 / 0.011
5. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 2’00.199 1.146 / 0.462
6. Andrea IANNONE Ducati 2’00.224 1.171 / 0.025
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 2’00.423 1.370 / 0.199
8. Maverick VIÑALES Suzuki 2’00.478 1.425 / 0.055
9. Bradley SMITH Yamaha 2’00.652 1.599 / 0.174
10. Hector BARBERA Ducati 2’00.724 1.671 / 0.072
11. Aleix ESPARGARO Suzuki 2’00.724 1.671
12. Pol ESPARGARO   
13. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 2’01.223 0.470 / 0.458
14. Stefan BRADL Aprilia 2’01.346 0.593 / 0.123
15. Scott REDDING Honda 2’01.367 0.614 / 0.021
16. Jack MILLER Honda 2’01.725 0.972 / 0.358
17. Alvaro BAUTISTA Aprilia 2’01.727 0.974 / 0.002
18. Yonny HERNANDEZ Ducati 2’01.748 0.995 / 0.021
19. Nicky HAYDEN Honda 2’01.829 1.076 / 0.081
20. Loris BAZ Yamaha Forward 2’01.862 1.109 / 0.033
21. Toni ELIAS Yamaha Forward 2’02.415 1.662 / 0.553
22. Eugene LAVERTY Honda 2’02.460 1.707 / 0.045
23. Mike DI MEGLIO Ducati 2’02.964 2.211 / 0.504
24. Anthony WEST Honda 2’03.855 3.102 / 0.891
25. Damian CUDLIN ART 2’06.051 5.298 / 2.19

MotoGP records in Sepang

• Best lap record in the race: Marc MARQUEZ in 2014 in 2’01.150 
• Absolute circuit record: Dani Pedrosa in 2015 in 1’59.053

2015 Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix Timetable (Paris time)

MotoGP warm-up: from 3h40 to 4h00

Moto3 race start: 5h00

Moto2 Race start: 6:20 am

MotoGP race start: 8h00

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