2017 Sepang Moto3 QP: A Lap For The Ages

In a historic performance, newly crowned world champion Joan Mir grabbed pole position in the Moto3 qualifying practice Saturday in Sepang with a 2’12.078 that shattered the former record lap by more than three-tenths of a second.

Mir's record, set on his final lap of qualifying , left him three-tenths of a second clear of his closest challenger, Jorge Martin (2nd) who seemed to have pole locked up with a near-record performance of his own. John McPhee made a late fast run to seize the final spot on the front row.

Jack Miller, now in MotoGP, previously held the Moto3 pole record which he set in 2014 with a 2'12.450. Martin, on his second fast lap with 31 minutes left in the session, climbed within seven-thousandth of that time, leaving the rest of the field seemingly fighting for second, at best. And for most of the session, that seemed to be the case with only two riders getting within a second of Martin's lap.

Mir, however, was one of those two, evenutally climbing to within eight-tenths of Martin's push for his ninth pole of the season with less than a minute remaining.  Then with time nearly expired, Mir pushed for a final fast lap, catching slipstreams in two crucial places and breaking the record with no time remaining.

Result:

* New Sepang lap record.