KTM MotoGP rider Pedro Acosta set the pace in the second premier-class practice session at the Malaysian Grand Prix, as several big names missed out on automatic progression into Q2.
Both Friday practice pace-setter Fermin Aldeguer and beleaguered works Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia, as well as arguable MotoGP form man Marco Bezzecchi, will contest Q1 tomorrow, having missed out in a frantic late-session shuffle for the top 10.
The order looked like it might be frozen with just over 10 minutes to go as rain came down on the circuit, but it was brief and, once it subsided, temperatures were high enough to completely negate its impact.
Acosta had crashed in opening practice and crashed again early in this session, but rebounded to lead the way on a 1m57.559s - 19 thousandths ahead of Johann Zarco, the LCR Honda man having his best day of performance in a while given his recent form slump.
Jack Miller dug out a third place for Pramac Yamaha, with Joan Mir fourth for Honda and Fabio Quartararo fifth for Yamaha - meaning there were four Japanese bikes in the top five, and no Ducatis.
Fabio Di Giannantonio was the best of the Ducati riders, though had been on the outside looking in when the rain came. Di Giannantonio ended up 0.480s off the pace, heading VR46 team-mate Franco Morbidelli by 0.002s.
Alex Marquez in ninth was the only other Ducati representative in the top 10. A Sepang specialist by reputation, Marquez had made his life difficult with a slow tip-off at Turn 2 but was able to recover his session.
💥😱 @alexmarquez73 hits the deck for the 2nd time today #MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/icAsl0Axgt
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 24, 2025
The two remaining Q2 spots went to KTM tester Pol Espargaro - who benefited from a couple of well-judged tows - and Yamaha's Alex Rins, who crashed on his final attempt.
Advancing to Q2: Acosta, Zarco, Miller, Mir, Quartararo, Di Giannantonio, Morbidelli, Espargaro, Marquez, Rins
Will contest Q1: Marini, Bagnaia, Aldeguer, Ogura, Bezzecchi, R Fernandez, Binder, Oliveira, Bastianini, Chantra, Savadori, Pirro, A Fernandez
The chaotic final minutes of the session promise a real dogfight in the first qualifying segment tomorrow.
Honda rider Luca Marini, the fastest of those to miss out, should be a prime contender to advance - and the same is true for Aldeguer, who never improved on the early lap that had left him first for much of this session.
Bagnaia too should be in the mix despite his struggles, and Bezzecchi can't be ruled out - though Aprilia looks limited this weekend, with all four RS-GPs missing out on the top 10 here.
Yamaha's V4 prototype was 2.4s off the pace here, not helped by Augusto Fernandez crashing it during the time attacks late on.
