Andrea Dovizioso again led practice at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia Friday with a dominant showing on the wet, 5.5 km track. Dovizioso's 2'11.640 lap left him a half a second clear of championship rival and points leader Marc Marquez (2nd). Jorge Lorenzo seized the third-fastest time -- a mark that still left him a full second off his Ducati teammate's pace.
Dovizioso, who was fastest in three of the four sectors in FP2, must finish the race a minimum of nine points clear of Marquez to keep the championship fight going for the season's final round in three weeks. Maverick Vinales returned from an early-session collision with Hector Barbera to climb into fourth. Danilo Petrucci, typically fast in the wet, improved his postition to fifth, just two-hundredths of a second in front of Valentinio Rossi (6th).
Alvaro Bautista continued a strong Friday practice with a seventh on his satellite Ducati after a third in FP1. Alex Rins (8th) ended his day as the top factory Suzuki, just in front of teammate Andrea Iannone (9th). Sam Lowes -- on the only Aprilia in the field after teammate Aleix Espargaro's injuries at Philip Island -- completed the top 10.
Results:
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff. / Prev. | |
| 1 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 2'11.640 | ||
| 2 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 2'12.166 | 0.526 / 0.526 | |
| 3 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Ducati | 2'12.695 | 1.055 / 0.529 | |
| 4 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 2'12.878 | 1.238 / 0.183 | |
| 5 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 2'13.048 | 1.408 / 0.170 | |
| 6 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 2'13.071 | 1.431 / 0.023 | |
| 7 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 2'13.291 | 1.651 / 0.220 | |
| 8 | 42 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | 2'13.416 | 1.776 / 0.125 | |
| 9 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | Suzuki | 2'13.483 | 1.843 / 0.067 | |
| 10 | 22 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | 2'13.561 | 1.921 / 0.078 | |
| 11 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | Yamaha | 2'13.648 | 2.008 / 0.087 | |
| 12 | 43 | Jack MILLER | Honda | 2'13.740 | 2.100 / 0.092 | |
| 13 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 2'13.760 | 2.120 / 0.020 | |
| 14 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | 2'13.872 | 2.232 / 0.112 | |
| 15 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | 2'14.281 | 2.641 / 0.409 | |
| 16 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | 2'14.287 | 2.647 / 0.006 | |
| 17 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 2'14.543 | 2.903 / 0.256 | |
| 18 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 2'14.574 | 2.934 / 0.031 | |
| 19 | 60 | Michael VAN DER MARK | Yamaha | 2'14.938 | 3.298 / 0.364 | |
| 20 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | 2'15.163 | 3.523 / 0.225 | |
| 21 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Honda | 2'16.280 | 4.640 / 1.117 | |
| 22 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | 2'17.627 |
5.987 / 1.347 |
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Comments
Looks like
Looks like Ducati is on it this weekend especially Dovi! We got an epic race on our hands I hope! I have a feeling Dovi will win the race and Marc will win the championship. That's my prediction!
Also a bit unrelated but for some reason in Microsoft Edge the space bar is not working. Instead of doing what it is supposed to it just scrolls the page down similar to hitting the page down button on the keyboard!