Here's the thing about Marc Marquez and the Ducati Lenovo Team: when they want to lay down a marker right out of the gate, they simply do it. The World Championship leader opened the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia by putting down the only 1:58 lap of the entire session, stopping the clock at a brilliant 1:58.912 to command the timesheets at Sepang.
Behind the #93 machine, a bizarre mathematical coincidence played out. Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia Racing and Pedro Acosta representing Red Bull KTM Factory Racing managed to set the exact same time, ending the morning session 0.474s adrift of the pacesetter. That kind of shared speed is wild, but it was completely overshadowed by the sheer grit happening further down the pitlane.
That brings us to the main event of the morning: Jorge Martin and his remarkable return to the bike. Just six days after suffering a non-displaced fracture of the distal radius, the Aprilia Racing rider rolled out and completed 12 laps. Team Manager Paolo Bonora noted that the 2024 World Champion "expected to feel worse" and sensibly kept a lid on his push to save energy for the afternoon session. Sitting 1.8s off the summit heading into the one-hour Practice stint, this is incredible news for a competitor who trails Marc Marquez by only 10 points in the title chase.
Further down the order, the factory KTM squad enjoyed a strong opening punch. Enea Bastianini of Red Bull KTM Tech3 and Brad Binder from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing locked down P4 and P5 respectively, giving their RC16 machines a lovely foundation for the weekend. Franco Morbidelli of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team and last year's Malaysian GP winner Alex Marquez, riding for BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, rounded out the exclusive club of riders who managed to get within a second of the pacesetter.
Unfortunately, not everyone's weekend got off to a working start. Raul Fernandez of the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team has already seen his event brought to a premature end after being declared unfit during a medical review in FP1. The Spaniard will now head back to home soil for thorough treatment in a bid to recover in time for the upcoming Qatar GP.
