Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) shot to the top of the timesheets during Saturday morning's Practice 3 at the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia after his 2:11.139 saw him take the new all-time lap record with qualifying just around the corner. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) put in a solid lap in the closing stages as the Turk heads into Q2 having shown strong pace from the off. Championship leader Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) is also looking in fine form in Malaysia. The Spaniard finished 0.434s away from Holgado to take P3 on combined timings.
🔝 @daniholgado96 heads into qualifying as the big favourite!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 11, 2023
He finishes P3 on top with a new lap record ⚡️#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/AABJNqbE2a
Next up was Masia's closest title rival Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) who comes to Malaysia with fire in his belly ahead of the title fight. The Japanese rider finished just ahead of Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) who rounded out the top five ahead of Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing). Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) took 8th place ahead of Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) with Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team) rounding out the top 10.
With the top 14 now decided, the stage is set ahead of qualifying action later on. It was a good day for Fillip Farioli (Red Bull KTM Tech3) as the rookie bagged a Q2 spot in 11th place with David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports), Ryusei Yamanaka (GASGAS Aspar Team), and Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) taking the final Q2 spots.
Next up for Moto3™ is qualifying at 13:20 local time (GMT +8), in the meantime you can keep up to date with everything from the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia on motogp.com.
| 1 | Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) | 2:11.139 |
| 2 | Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +0.225 |
| 3 | Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) | +0.434 |
| 4 | Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) | +0.614 |
| 5 | Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) | +0.616 |
| 6 | Joel Kelso (CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP) | +0.619 |
| 7 | Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) | +0.680 |
| 8 | Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) | +0.714 |
| 9 | Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) | +0.876 |
| 10 | Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team) | +0.882 |
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