Sepang MotoGP qualifying
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Green flag
Green flag.
Information
Q1 line-up: Bautista; Morbidelli; Bradl; P. Espargaro; A. Espargaro; Syahrin; Nakagami; Pirro; Smith; Abraham; Luthi; Redding; Simeon. Torres unfit.
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Pitlane set to open in eight minutes.
Marshals are on track to help the drying process. Meanwhile, engines can be heard in the pitlane. Exciting times.
t.co/r8Dw1SZFYO"/>🐬🐳 Flipper has been with us since 2007 and today he's enjoying the #MalaysianGP weather 😁😁 #MotoGP #AngelNietoTeam t.co/r8Dw1SZFYO
It's getting brighter, fingers crossed we'll have some track action soon.
Crash
At the same time, Torres has been declared unfit due to a hand injury he suffered in his FP4 crash.
Information
The complete Sunday schedule in local time: Moto3 warm-up 7:40
Moto2 warm-up 8:10
MotoGP warm-up 8:40
Moto3 race 10:00
Moto2 race 11:20
MotoGP race 13:00
Moto2 warm-up 8:10
MotoGP warm-up 8:40
Moto3 race 10:00
Moto2 race 11:20
MotoGP race 13:00
Reacting to the weather and the request of riders, race direction updated the schedule for Sunday. The Malaysian Grand Prix will start two hours earlier, at 13:00 local time.
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Rossi: "In the last years in this period in Malaysia always rains very hard. The problem is that we wait until three o'clock and then there is a lot more chance that it will rain. Maybe a clever thing is trying to anticipate the MotoGP race for tomorrow because we will have a lot more chance that can be dry. The problem is also that with this amount of water is impossible to do the practice and the race. We wait and we hope that it gets better."
"Sepang is a great track, very difficult, very technical, but with MotoGP it is great fun."
"Sepang is a great track, very difficult, very technical, but with MotoGP it is great fun."
Rain is back in full force, hopes of a restart happening soon are gone. Instead, we get to wait more.
t.co/mkJMIw2bCQ"/>The rain won't dampen @Hafizh_pescao55's spirits 😆👋 #MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 t.co/mkJMIw2bCQ
Good news, the rain has reportedly easy up a bit.
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Local hero Syahrin is understandably eager to start his first MotoGP qualifying on home soil: "I just want to say sorry to all the fans out there, we're gonna want to go out very soon and I hope you guys are patient and I need you guys to support us to be strong in qualifying."
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While everyone is waiting, here is some exclusive news: MotoGP is set to race on a street circuit in Indonesia in 2021.
Local time is currently 40 minutes past three o'clock, so the field can afford to spend some time waiting. But it's still pouring down.
t.co/qwpBbwb5Tl"/>Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream... 🛶 #MovistarYamaha | #MotoGP | #MalaysianGP t.co/qwpBbwb5Tl
While everyone is waiting in the pits, Jack Miller shows the rear tyre of his bike to the camera. It's a slick tyre. Miller pole position confirmed?
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Vinales on his FP4 crash: "I didn't see the rain flag in corner nine so I entered corner 10 like on completely dry [conditions], so I was pushing to go in 1m59s. Unluckily I may have a highside but we are really lucky that my bike didn't hit anyone. I was pretty scared because I saw then raining and was some people behind me." No injuries? "No, nothing. Honestly I just highside, I hit a little bit my head but no problems. I am hard like the ground."
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"Probably tomorrow" was Sepang CEO Razlan Razali's response to the question about when the rain will end. "It is difficult isn't it, it is monsoon season. Sometimes we get lucky, sometimes not."
The safety car goes out to inspect track conditions. That's what I'm guessing anyway as I can barely see it from the rain.
Only two minutes into the session, nobody has a time set.
It's just raining way too hard out there, the conditions look impossible.
Red flag
Red flag.
Crash
Torres will not take part in this one, his FP4 crash was rather nasty. Abraham also hurt his hand and said he will go to the medical centre after the session.
Green flag
Green flag.
Still raining, conditions are definitely wet out there. Should mix things up as FP1, FP2 and FP3 were all fully dry.
Information
Q1 line-up: Bautista; Morbidelli; Bradl; P. Espargaro; A. Espargaro; Syahrin; Nakagami; Pirro; Smith; Abraham; Luthi; Redding; Simeon; Torres.
Checkered flag
FP4 is over, it is Marc Marquez setting the pace ahead of Vinales and Andrea Dovizioso.
Both Honda and Ducati test riders Stefan Bradl and Michele Pirro are present, replacing the injured Cal Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo.
Lorenzo tried to compete on Friday but was last in both FP1 and FP2. His withdrawal means his brilliant victory in Austria in August is still the last time he finished a race.
Lorenzo tried to compete on Friday but was last in both FP1 and FP2. His withdrawal means his brilliant victory in Austria in August is still the last time he finished a race.
The rain is not consistent, it is falling hard in some parts of the circuit but the track looks dry in other areas. Some riders are on slicks, others on wet tyres.
Crash
There is drama already before the start of the session - in FP4, rain started falling out of nowhere and Maverick Vinales, Jordi Torres and Karel Abraham all crashed before marshals could wave the rain flag.
Welcome to the live coverage of the MotoGP qualifying session at Sepang, the penultimate round of the season.
By: Matt Beer
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