The asphalt of the Sepang International Circuit was dry with damp patches for Moto3 FP3. This prevented lap times from improving until the very end of the session. As happened yesterday morning, Binder waited until the last lap to set the top time of the entire weekend in the class -2:14.690. Bendsneyder also dropped his time from yesterday, going eleventh with a 2:15.517. In the afternoon, heavy rain forced Race Direction to show the red flag with 19 minutes remaining, when the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders occupied two of the places on the second row. When conditions improved, the qualifying session resumed and the riders went on to roll the dice in the final stages. Binder pushed for one final lap, with which he took pole position -2:26.268-, whilst Bendsneyder’s 2:27.604 time gave him a praiseworthy seventh place.
64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“Today we had a very good qualifying session. Also FP3, in the dry, was very good, something important when we are facing a possible race in those conditions. I think we’re prepared for all conditions, wet or dry, and to fight for a Top 10 finish. At first the track was between dry and wet in qualifying, so I seized that moment to push as hard as I could. When it started to rain harder we maintained good grip. On the last lap I gave it everything and could improve on the first sector, but then I braked a little late and lost any chance of improving. In short, we are competitive in both conditions and I look forward to the race.”
Results qualifying practice:
source: motogp.com, ajo.fi
