MotoGP Malaysian GP: Francesco Bagnaia strikes back to claim...

Francesco Bagnaia came through Q1 to score a surprise pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Saturday, as Aprilia endured a difficult day at Sepang.

Opting for a single run midway through the session to preserve a set of soft tyres, the factory Ducati rider made the most of a clear track to post a 1m57.001s lap.

Although several riders posted fastest individual sectors, including Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, Bagnaia held on to clinch his third pole of the season by 0.016s.

The Italian’s closest challenger was Gresini’s Alex Marquez in second, while Franco Morbidelli completed an all-Ducati front -row in third for VR46.

Pedro Acosta initially led the way in the 15-minute shootout, climbing to the top spot on the timesheets with a 1m57.363s.

Quartararo snatched the top spot soon after with a 1m57.195s, before Bagnaia moved the goalposts in his single run in the middle of the session.

The Frenchman appeared set to secure a last-gap pole in qualifying, having been significantly quicker than Bagnaia through the opening three sectors. But a poor final sector left him fourth on the grid, 0.194s off pole position.

Acosta couldn’t improve his early benchmark after crashing at Turn 1 and remounting on his bike, but he was still the top KTM in fifth place.

Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer had an eventual qualifying as he set the fastest time in Q1, only to crash twice later on - first at Turn 4 and then in the paddock as he tried to bring the bike back into the garage.