Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo made another step forward today, getting more familiar with the resurfaced Sepang International Circuit in various conditions ahead of tomorrow's Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The teammates wrapped up qualifying in second and third place respectively, taking their sixth double front row start of the season.

Rossi enjoyed the 15-minute qualifying heat today, despite the uncertain conditions on a wet track testing the rider skills to the limit. He was quick to exit pit lane and immediately put his head down to set a fast lap under a threatening sky. The Doctor set a first flying lap of 2'13.135s to take provisional pole position before being pushed back to second. On his next laps he improved his time but not his place and found himself lying in fourth.

As the last minutes counted down Rossi dug deep and delivered a scorching 2'11.828s lap to take provisional third, before a final hot lap of 2'11.731s moved him ahead of his teammate into second, 0.246s from pole.

Lorenzo shared a similar positive experience to his teammate. The Mallorcan was the first rider to head out on the damp track to lead the charge for pole position. His first lap, a 2'13.746s briefly put him in first place before other riders clocked their first times and pushed him back to fifth. He improved to second place with a 2'12.098s but was pushed back to third and although he set a new personal best lap on his third attempt, he remained in third place.

As the lap times began to tumble with three minutes remaining Lorenzo immediately took second with a 2'11.787s for second place. He tried to keep the pressure on, but overheated tyres held him back from attempting a perfect lap. His best time, however, was enough to take third on the grid, 0.302s from pole.


Massimo Meregalli - Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

"Today was a very positive day for us. Thanks to the dry session this morning and the wet session in the afternoon we have been able to test our settings for all conditions and the riders are quite satisfied, which showed during qualifying. Valentino and Jorge both did a very good job in an unusual qualifying session and it's great to see them both on the front row of the grid. We still have some work to do for tomorrow's warm-up because we still have some room to improve the bike in both the wet and the dry. The weather is very unpredictable and the weather forecasts predict all possible conditions, but we feel confident we can do a good job in all circumstances."

Valentino Rossi - 2nd / 2'11.731 / 7 laps

"It was a difficult session and completely different from normal. In qualifying you usually have two laps and after that another new tyre and another two laps. Today we had to start, try to not make any mistakes, put temperature into the tyres, but at the same time you have to push. Second place is very good. I feel comfortable, especially because we improved both the setting and the braking compared to the FP4. We have to work, but starting from the front row is very good."

Jorge Lorenzo - 3rd / 2'11.787 / 7 laps

"In Sepang, in the rain, I've always been fast, so it doesn't surprise me that this weekend I would be competitive in the rain, because the grip of the track is very good. Maybe I pushed a bit too much in the beginning. On some laps I could have slowed down to cool down the tyres to attack on the last lap, but I didn't do this, I just kept running and at the end the tyre was too hot to improve the last three or four tenths. Anyway it's a good position, third place in the rain, and I'm quite happy."

1   - Andrea Dovizioso Ducati ITA 02'11.485
2   - Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 02'11.731
3   - Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 02'11.787
4   - Marc Marquez Honda ESP 02'11.874
5   - Cal Crutchlow Honda GBR 02'12.558
6   - Andrea Iannone Ducati ITA 02'12.598
7   - Aleix Espargaro Suzuki ESP 02'12.869
8   - Maverick Viñales Suzuki ESP 02'12.981
9   - Alvaro Bautista Aprilia ESP 02'13.325
10 - Loris Baz Ducati FRA 02'13.452
11 - Pol Espargaro Yamaha ESP 02'13.707
12 - Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 02'13.973
13 - Bradley Smith Yamaha GBR 02'12.898
14 - Jack Miller Honda AUS 02'12.907
15 - Danilo Petrucci Ducati ITA 02'13.776
16 - Stefan Bradl Aprilia DEU 02'13.850
17 - Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 02'14.179
18 - Scott Redding Ducati GBR 02'14.433
19 - Eugene Laverty Ducati GBR 02'14.769
20 - Yonny Hernandez Ducati COL 02'14.786
21 - Tito Rabat Honda ESP 02'15.894