Álex Márquez led the practice for the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix. The Spanish rider was one of the fastest from the beginning and confirmed the top position, being one of the two to lap in the 1m57s, along with Jorge Martín.
After the initial flying laps, the lead was with Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda), ahead of his brother Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) by just 44 thousandths. The positions reversed in the second attempts, while Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati) became third but was later surpassed by compatriot Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha). In the first ten minutes, Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) crashed without major consequences.
Around 20 minutes into the session, a new leader emerged: Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) was 0.182s faster than Álex Márquez. Moments before, Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia) had reached the top five positions, where Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) would also later join.
About 15 minutes before the checkered flag, Zarco improved to be just seven thousandths behind Martín, and Quartararo rose to third. But Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) was the fastest at this stage… for a short time, before Quartararo was 0.094s faster. Not resigned, the South African regained the lead shortly after. Meanwhile, Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) suffered his fourth fall of the day.
The situation on the timing sheet did not last long, as Álex Márquez regained the lead. However, there was still much time left, and only in the last two minutes did the best laps appear. Martín was the first to enter the 1m57s, but it was ultimately Álex Márquez who set the pace by beating his compatriot by 0.174s.
Red Bull KTM performed well, with Jack Miller in third and Brad Binder in fourth, while Viñales finished fifth. Bagnaia, the championship leader, could only manage eighth, but still secured a direct spot in the second qualifying phase. The last one to achieve this was Zarco, who finished tenth just 84 thousandths ahead of Morbidelli. Among the riders relegated to Q1 are both Repsol Honda riders, Marc Márquez and Joan Mir, as well as Enea Bastianini (Ducati) and Aleix Espargaró.