Marc VDS rider Alex Marquez absolutely smashed the Moto2 field for his third pole position of 2018, breaking the previous fastest laps by seven tenths of a second at the Sepang International Circuit.
Marquez wasted little time in going fast, with the session barely ten minutes old, the younger brother of MotoGP World Champion Marc, produced a lap that wouldn’t have looked out of place had his brother produced it. A 2:05.629, putting him top by nearly a second at the time.
Despite a late spill of his own, and the rest of the field chipping away at his time, nobody really came close with second placed Luca Marini 0.488 seconds behind the Spaniard.
Topping every session this weekend, Marquez will be hoping to convert his pace to his first victory of 2018.
Behind Marquez it was Marini who was second place, with Frenchman Fabio Quartararo rounding out the front row.
Remy Gardner will start from fourth position on his Tech3 after originally being the first man to lap under the previous lap record pace. Gardner will be joined by Mattia Pasini and World Championship leader Pecco Bagnaia in fifth and sixth respectively.
Miguel Oliveira will start one spot behind his title rival in seventh place after some mind games on track between the two. Xavi Vierge will be the meat in a Red Bull Ajo KTM sandwich with Brad Binder rounding out the third row.
