- Ducati's Bagnaia beats rival Martin to snatch pole at Malaysian Grand Prix

Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati secured pole position at the Malaysian Grand Prix with a lap record of 1:57.491, putting pressure on championship contender Jorge Martin. Bagnaia’s impressive final lap at the Sepang International Circuit earned him his first pole since the Catalan Grand Prix. Martin, last year’s Malaysia poleman, crashed in the final minutes of the qualifying session. Bagnaia, aiming for his second world crown, will be joined on the front row by Martin and Enea Bastianini of Ducati. This pole position holds great significance for Bagnaia, who praised the incredible lap times. He expressed his happiness and optimism for the sprint race. Martin, on the other hand, expressed his determination to understand the cause of his crash and avoid repeating it in the race. Alex Marquez of Gresini will start fourth, while Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi of VR46 Racing took the fifth and sixth slots. Brad Binder, Fabio Quartararo, and Maverick Vinales also secured top-nine positions. However, Marc Marquez and Aleix Espargaro faced setbacks in qualifying and will start 20th and outside of Q2, respectively. The article was reported by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru and edited by Simon Cameron-Moore and Robert Birsel. The article adheres to the Thomson RushHourDaily Trust Principles.