Ducati enjoy history-making qualifying to kick off title duel

11 Nov 2023

Saturday in Malaysia saw the Italian manufacturer lockout the top six for the first time in the modern MotoGP™ era

Saturday's action at the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia threw up plenty of talking points with the Championship battle getting closer and closer. Find out more in 10 things you need to know ahead of race day at the Sepang International Circuit!

1) Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has qualified on pole for the 18th time in MotoGP™, setting a new all-time lap record at Sepang, and the seventh time so far this season. On his 17 previous poles, he went on to finish on the podium on 11 occasions (including seven wins). He finished P3 in the Sprint for his 13th Sprint podium and will now be aiming to take his seven GP win of the season, which would equal his personal record in MotoGP™ set last year. He now leads the MotoGP™ World Championship by 11 points.

2) This is Ducati’s 14th successive pole in MotoGP™ (since Le Mans), extending their personal record run. This is the 58th successive GP where there is at least one Ducati rider within the top three in qualifying and Ducati’s 16th pole position this season, equalling their record of the most poles in a single MotoGP™ season from last year and shared by Honda in 2011.

3) Despite a crash in Q2, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) has qualified second for his eighth top three in qualifying so far this season. On his seven previous top threes this year, he went on to finish on the podium four times (including three wins in San Marino, Japan and Thailand). He finished P2 in the Sprint, bringing his run of five Sprint wins in a row to an end, but will be aiming to take his fifth Grand Prix win of the season on Sunday. He gained two points on Bagnaia in the Sprint and is now 11 behind the Championship leader.

"Today I was on a mission!" - Tissot Sprint reactions

Alex Marquez, Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia react to a nailbiting Sprint which see the Championship gap narrow in Malaysia

4) After passing through Q1, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) has qualified third for his first front row of the season and best qualifying result since he qualified second here last year on his way to finishing second, which is also his most recent podium. He finished P4 in the Sprint but will now be aiming to win for the first time since Aragon last year.

5) Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) has qualified fourth for his best qualifying result since he qualified third at Silverstone earlier this year, when also he won the Sprint. Which he did at Sepang! He will now be aiming to take his maiden premier class win on Sunday.

6) This is Ducati’s first 1-2-3-4-5-6 in qualifying in the MotoGP™ era and the first for a manufacturer in the premier class since Mugello in 1998.

"I want the long one!" - A. Marquez dreaming big after Sprint success

The Gresini rider was a class apart on Saturday, taking his second Tissot Sprint win of the year in fine fashion in Malaysia

7) Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) has qualified fifth for his 11th top six in qualifying so far this season. He finished P9 in the Sprint and will be aiming to take his second MotoGP™ podium or even his maiden MotoGP™ win.

8) Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) has qualified sixth for his 10th top six in qualifying so far this season. He finished P7 in the Sprint and will be aiming to take his fourth MotoGP™ win on Sunday (along with Argentina, France and India this year).

9) Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has qualified seventh which is the first time he failed to qualify within the top six since India when he qualified 14th (although there he finished both the Sprint and the GP race in fourth). He finished fifth in the Sprint and on Sunday, will be aiming to win for the first time since Austria 2021.

10) On pole here in 2019 and P3 in the race last year, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) has qualified eighth which is the sixth time so far this season he qualified within the top nine. He finished P16 in the Sprint after a difficult first lap, but will now be aiming to recover on Sunday and stand on the podium for the fourth time this year along with Americas, India and Indonesia when he finished P3.