Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) finished this Friday in 19th place in the time trial for the Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix, the 18th of the 20 races of the season.
The Almada rider set his fastest lap of 1.59.150 minutes, finishing 1.327 seconds behind the fastest, Spaniard Alex Marquez (Ducati), ahead of his compatriot Jorge Martin (Ducati) in second (0.174 seconds) and Australian Jack Miller (KTM) in third place with 0.409.
Alex Marquez of the private Gresini team dominated the session despite three crashes without any physical consequences for the riders.
To address overheating issues experienced during the previous race, in Thailand Aprilia installed larger air ducts aimed at the riders to keep them cool in the heat and humidity found in Malaysia.
Spaniard Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) of the official team also saw his bike catch fire during the first free practice after falling without any physical consequences.
In the first session of the day, Jorge Martin was fastest, with Miguel Oliveira in 12th place.
Italy’s Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), championship leader at the start of this race with 13 points ahead of Jorge Martin, was 15th in the first session and eighth in the time trial, giving him direct passage into the second round of qualifying. (Q2), on Saturday.
Miguel Oliveira, who missed the top 10 in the time trial, will have to make it through the first quarter.
In addition to qualifying, there will also be a sprint race on Saturday.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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