2017 Moto3 world champion Joan Mir topped a weather–affected Friday at Sepang for the Malaysian Grand Prix after setting his fastest lap in the dry first session.
Leopard Racing’s Mir clinched his maiden grand prix world title a week ago at Phillip Island after winning a red–flagged Australian Grand Prix.
Conditions were dry for the opening session of the Sepang weekend, and despite becoming world champion at Phillip Island Mir showed no signs of relenting his domination of the lightweight class this morning.
The Spaniard was three tenths of a second clear of home favourite Adam Norrodin with a 2m13.129s, while Mir’s team–mate Livio Loi – who joined him on the podium at Phillip Island in second – completed the top three.
Romano Fenati ended the morning session fourth ahead of Enea Bastianini and Bo Bendsneyder, with Andrea Migno, Niccolo Antonelli, Jorge Martin and Gabriel Rodrigo.
Conditions took a wet turn just before the second 40-minute session was due to get underway, and though the rain eased as second practice wore on no slick–tyre laps were able to be had.
Fenati as the early pacesetter in the afternoon with a 2m34.586s, though this stood for only a moment as a flurry of improvements came in over the next 10 minutes, with Mir returning to the top of the timesheets with a 2m30.086s.
With 13 minutes to go, Bastianini took over from Ir with a 2m29.616s, though was deposed by Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda team–mate Aron Canet with a 2m29.265s followed by a 2m28.807s.
No–one was able to overhaul Canet‘s time as the chequered flag fell, with Red Bull KTM’s Bendsneyder his closest challenger – 0.514 seconds adrift.
Nicolo Bulega jumped up to third ahead of Antonelli and Bastianini, while Norrodin was sixth. John McPhee was seventh despite a late fall at Turn 9, with Mir finding himself down in eighth at session’s end.
Malaysian wildcard Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin was an early faller in the second session, but recovered well to set the ninth fastest time of the wet afternoon practice before suffering a nasty highside at Turn 7. Manuel Pagliani, who also crashed at Turn 9, completed the top 10.
