Who impressed in skewed first MotoGP practice at Sepang

Defending MotoGP champion Pecco Bagnaia led the way in the opening premier-class practice session on Friday at the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

Key moments:

• Bagnaia dominates on fresh tyres
• Yamaha's eyebrow-raising pace
• Martin competitive despite 1.6s gap
• Solid start for Iannone

Bagnaia, who needs to overturn a 17-point deficit to Jorge Martin to become MotoGP champion for a third successive time, recorded a 1m58.795s late in the session to go quickest by nearly three quarters of a second.

This was more than a little bit deceptive though, as not only did track conditions seem to progress massively through the 45-minute session (partially as a result of rain earlier in the day) but Bagnaia was just one of five riders to run a medium rear in the closing minutes.

The medium rear is the softest available compound at Sepang. It was also deployed by Aprilia's Maverick Vinales in second, VR46 Ducati's Marco Bezzecchi in third, his stand-in team-mate Andrea Iannone in ninth and Trackhouse Aprilia stand-in Lorenzo Savadori in 18th.

Iannone's top-10 result on his return, therefore, flattered to deceive, but the MotoGP returnee's first session back in the class was still clearly a positive one, as he gradually lowered his gap to the front.

KTM's Jack Miller and his 2025 replacement Pedro Acosta completed the top five, Acosta doing so after crashing late at Turn 9.

Championship leader Martin was only sixth but while the top three used fresh medium rears and Miller and Acosta had switched to fresh hards, Martin was the only rider in the top 10 sticking with the same front and rear tyre from the start of the session.

Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini had done the same and were 12th and 14th respectively, although Bastianini would've ended the session in the top 10 if he hadn't had his best lap erased for yellow flags brought out by Bagnaia slowing to a crawl on the back straight during one of his runs.

It was a credible showing for Yamaha, equipped with a new engine this weekend, as Fabio Quartararo led most of the session - but then had an apparent mechanical problem that required compatriot Johann Zarco's help in getting him to his pit box.

Practice one classification (top 10)

1. Pecco Bagnaia
2. Maverick Vinales
3. Marco Bezzecchi
4. Jack Miller
5. Pedro Acosta
6. Jorge Martin
7. Alex Marquez
8. Fabio Quartararo
9. Andrea Iannone
10. Augusto Fernandez