Dovizioso on pole for Malaysian Grand Prix

Andrea Dovizioso has secured pole for the penultimate race of the MotoGP season at a gloomy Sepang circuit.

The Ducati rider will be joined on the front row by the Yamaha pair of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo as qualifying was held on a wet track following an earlier downpour.

Dovizioso led virtually the entire Q2 session, topping the field after the first fliers before marginally improving after the chequered flag.

“I’m really happy to make pole position because the condition was difficult,” said the Italian, who made a mid-session switch from a soft compound rear tyre to the medium option.

“After one lap, I decided to come in the (pit) box. It wasn’t our plan to put on a harder rear but the soft was too soft and I couldn’t improve that lap time.”

Rossi pipped his team-mate Lorenzo after the flag as the factory Yamaha team put in a far better qualifying performance than last time out at Phillip Island.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Cal Crutchlow, and Andrea Iannone (Ducati) make up the second row.

Crutchlow came through Q1 with a time which would have put the LCR Honda rider on the front row, before recovering from a late fall to jump from 12th at the chequered flag.

Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki), Maverick Viñales (Suzuki), Alvaro Bautista (Gresini Aprilia), and Loris Baz (Avinitia Ducati) completed the top 10.

Baz managed to progress from Q1 despite an early fall which left him vulnerable to the pace of Tech 3 Yamaha’s Bradley Smith.

Jack Miller (Marc VDS Honda) will start 14th for tomorrow’s 20-lap race at 1800 AEDT.

Result: MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying