Fabio Quartararo dominated the second free practice session of the MotoGP Malaysian GP. The rider took the lead early on, with used tyres on his bike, in a session that served mainly as preparation for qualifying and races.
The first leader of the session was Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha), with more than half a second ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati). The Frenchman kept the position with his second flying lap but was now pursued by Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati). Pol Espargaró (GasGas Tech3/KTM) settled in third.
After Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati) reached third place, with Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) in fourth and Bagnaia in fifth, the table stabilized in the top positions. No one could beat Quartararo and Álex Márquez, but the other top five positions were changing – Morbidelli reached third by exchanging places with Zarco, and Enea Bastianini (Ducati) surpassed Bagnaia to finish in fifth.
About four minutes from the checkered flag, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) climbed to second and approached Quartararo – who continued to be the only one to lap in 1m58s. The South African was immediately surpassed by Morbidelli. Until the end, the Italian improved, finishing 25 thousandths behind leader Quartararo. Binder finished third, with Álex Márquez fourth, and Zarco fifth ahead of the official Ducatis of Bastianini and Bagnaia.
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