Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez topped the Malaysian MotoGP warm-up session at Sepang, leading team-mate Fermin Aldeguer as the pair celebrated their newly secured runner-up and rookie of the year titles with a one-two finish.
Sporting a special dark blue livery, Marquez edged Aldeguer by just 0.097 seconds, with Sprint winner Francesco Bagnaia close behind in third for Ducati Lenovo.
The short ten-minute session focused heavily on tyre strategy, with riders and teams debating whether to switch to the medium rear for the 20-lap race or stick with the softer option used in the Sprint.
Michelin’s Piero Taramasso described the dilemma as “the most difficult tyre choice of the season,” explaining that while the medium rear offers consistency, it’s a few tenths slower per lap compared to the soft.
Marquez ran soft tyres front and rear during the session, while both Aldeguer and Bagnaia opted for soft rears and medium fronts. Bagnaia noted that rising track temperatures could make tyre selection even more critical for the race.
VR46’s Franco Morbidelli was fourth and the fastest rider using medium tyres on both ends, followed by KTMs Enea Bastianini and Pol Espargaro. Pedro Acosta, who inherited third in the Sprint after Aldeguer’s penalty, could manage only 14th in warm-up.
Luca Marini, second among those on the medium/medium setup, suffered his first crash of the season but remained positive about his pace, while team-mate Joan Mir was 16th after experimenting with a soft front and medium rear.
For Yamaha, the decision appeared clear after failing to make the medium rear work — Fabio Quartararo was 13th, ahead of Miguel Oliveira in 15th, with Jack Miller and Alex Rins further down the order.
“We tried the medium this morning, and it’s not the way to go,” admitted Miller. “The soft’s going to be the one — we just have to manage it.”
LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco, tenth in the session, completed multiple laps on used softs to prepare for tyre degradation over race distance, while Trackhouse rookie Ai Ogura impressed in 11th with strong late-session pace on worn tyres.
