Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez has taken another MotoGP pole position, bagging top spot at Sepang with a circuit best lap which was enough to edge out nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi who took a season-best qualifying spot.
Marquez only got in one flying lap in his second run of the session after running wide on his first but it was enough to set a 2'00.011 lap which came just seconds after Rossi had gone fastest with a 2'00.336 with Cal Crutchlow securing the final front-row spot
Just before the session began, a light rain shower put the dampeners on turns six, seven and eight but Jorge Lorenzo employed his usual tactics and left pitlane first. It nearly ended in disaster as he hit wet white lines through turn seven and lost the front, just recovering it to return safely to the garage. Rossi also had a massive moment and said that the bike saved him, not the other way round.
As the track dried in the searing heat, Lorenzo waited for his competition to pit in, made a second exit and immediately went fastest with the best lap of the weekend at that point, a 2'00.792 which he then reduced to a 2'00.578 to retain top spot with Crutchlow and Rossi behind him.
But it was not to be for the Spaniard as Crutchlow's final circuit saw him post the fastest time of a 2'00.359 before Rossi then toppled him. Marquez, though, had the measure of them all and went three-tenths under Lorenzo's circuit best of 2'00.334 set last year.
Dani Pedrosa, who had been fastest in the first three free practice sessions, could only muster fifth place with a 2'00.692 which was enough to depose Alvaro Bautista, who had Bradley Smith right behind him.
Andrea Dovizioso leads the Ducati charge in eighth with Aleix Espargaro, who only did one run due to a lack of soft tyres, in ninth, Andrea Iannone in tenth and Nicky Hayden 11th. Stefan Bradl did not take part in the session due to sustaining a fractured ankle in free practice four. He will not race and is due to have surgery in Barcelona on Monday.
Colin Edwards and Claudio Corti were runners-up in CRT while Michael Laverty put in his best time of the weekend so far to take 19th place.
