SEPANG :Twice MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia secured his third pole position of the MotoGP season on Saturday, after edging Alex Marquez by a fraction of a second in the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang.

The Ducati rider clocked a blistering lap of one minute 57.001 seconds, finishing just 0.016 seconds ahead of Marquez (Gresini Racing), while Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) took third place, 0.158 seconds off the pace.

Bagnaia of Italy, who already holds Sepang's all-time lap record of 1'56.837 set last year, delivered a composed final run to seal his third pole of the season, continuing Ducati's strong form despite world champion Marc Marquez's absence due to injury.

"Difficult to explain and, it's a rollercoaster. I'm happy, but I don't want to be too calm. I k

See Full Page