With Pirelli, new all-time lap records and pole for Navarro and Fernández in Moto2™ and Moto3™

Moto2™ and Moto3™ qualifying of the Malaysian Grand Prix ended with pole positions for Jorge Navarro (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex) and Adrián Fernández (Leopard Racing/Honda) respectively. The two Spanish riders also set new all-time lap records using Pirelli soft compound tyres on both axles.

Broken the all-time lap record in both classes also at Sepang

"Friday sessions, on the Malaysian GP's opening day, were not very representative, as it rained heavily the previous night, so much so that the first Moto3™ session was held in the wet and, even in the afternoon, the track's conditions were far from optimal: it was slippery and the grip was poor also due to the rather high asphalt temperatures. Today, the situation has improved and, with the track more rubbery and lower temperatures, the records came flying in. In Moto3™, the all-time lap record was already achieved in P2 in the morning by Fernández,who then further refined it in qualifying with an improvement of 1.3 seconds on the previous 2023 record. In Moto2™, Arenas missed it by only 6 thousandths in P2, but then hit it in qualifying, even if the new record was set by Navarro, who improved by a good three tenths the one set in 2019 by Binder. So far, the Moto2™ riders have opted almost exclusively for soft solutions, SC1 on the front and SC0 on the rear, and we can assume with a good level of certainty that the combo will be the same for the race. As for Moto3™, there is more indecision, because all solutions can be a valid choice, with the soft SC1 rear being a better option in case of hot temperature, while the medium SC2 prevailing if the weather is colder."

Moto2™

· Jorge Navarro (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex) took pole for tomorrow's race while also setting a new all-time lap record in 2'04.412, a time that improves by 3.5 tenths that set by Brad Binder in 2019 (2'04.769). In addition to Navarro, in Q2 6, other riders managed to ride under the previous track lap record.

· Starting from P1 on Friday afternoon, all riders used only soft compound tyres on both axles in all sessions (including qualifying).

· The hottest session was P1 on Friday afternoon with 52°C of asphalt, while FP and P2 both took place with 34°C on the track. During qualifying, temperatures reached 43°C.

Moto3™

· Using soft SC1 tyres for both axles, Adrián Fernández (Leopard Racing/Honda) took pole by setting a new all-time lap record in 2'05.542 on the last of 5 laps, a 1.3 second improvement over the previous record set in 2023 by Jaume Masià (2'10.846). In addition to him, 11 other riders lapped under the previous record in Q2.

· Using the same compounds, Fernández was also the fastest rider in P2 in the morning and, with a time of 2'10.102, he was already under the previous track record lap in this session, along with 10 other riders.

· On Friday, FP took place in the wet, while P1 was the first dry session with 49°C of asphalt temperature. P2 on Saturday morning was held with 31°C on the track, which increased to 42°C during qualifying.