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Results and summary of qualifying for the MotoGP class at Buriram:

The final practice session for the premier class offered a familiar picture, with an all-Ducati top 5 on the timesheets, although the order was slightly different to one day ago. Keen to make up for the three-place grid penalty for getting in Pecco Bagnaia’s way yesterday, Franco Morbidelli sampled some fresh rubber in the final few minutes of FP2 and promoted himself to the top of the timing screens by seven hundredths of a second.

Alex Marquez has topped the timesheets at the end of the first day of practice for the MotoGP class. The BK8 Gresini Ducati rider put in a very fast lap as the clock ran out to jump a few hundredths ahead of his brother and ex-teammate Marc Marquez. The two Marquez brothers were the only riders to clock 1'29.0s, three tenths off Pecco Bagnaia's lap record from Q2 last year.

Marc Marquez kicks off the 2025 MotoGP season at the top of the timesheets. The Ducati Lenovo rider was up to speed immediately, seven tenths off teammate Pecco Bagnaia's outright lap record from last year.

Franco Morbidelli ended the session as second fastest, the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Ducati rider just under two tenths off the time of Marquez, and two tenths ahead of Fabio Quartararo. The Frenchman is carrying his pace from testing into the race weekend, the Monster Energy Yamaha rider just ahead of Pramac Yamaha's Jack Miller. 

It is easy to get carried away by the times set during a MotoGP test, so it is worth putting them into perspective. And what better perspective than the times set during qualifying for the Thai GP at Buriram last year?

Setting out a list of who has improved and who hasn't is instructive, in part because it once again highlights that this is a test, and so very few riders have actually improve their times from last year. But also because it shows clearly that some riders haven't pushed hard for a quick time yet. 

Not much change in the times, as teams and riders knuckle down to the real work of testing. Fabio Quartararo is still fastest with a time set earlier this morning. Pedro Acosta has jumped up into second spot, though the Red Bull KTM rider is still nearly two thirds of a second slower than Quartararo. Alex Rins has also move up a few places.

Times at 4pm:

Fabio Quartararo has ended the three-day shakedown test at Sepang as the fastest rider, and the only one to get into the 1'57s. The Monster Energy Yamaha rider was three tenths quicker than the rest of the field, and two tenths off his own qualifying time at the Malaysian GP last year in November.

Alex Marquez has ended the final test of the 2024 season on top of the timesheets, the Gresini Ducati rider setting a time of 1'38.803, his best lap time of the weekend. The Spaniard was nearly four tenths faster than Fabio Quartararo, the Frenchman breaking the Ducati hegemony at the top of the timesheets. 

Results:

Results: