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MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 17 / NOVEMBER 2-4, 2018 SEPANG INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA P54 with Dovizioso now past Miller, and Pedrosa pressing him. Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati) alone chose the medium over the soft rear, and would continue to pay the price. Next time around, Zarco made a slip that let Marquez into second, but the champion didn't get away. He explained that he'd overheated his tires somewhat, and was forced "…to be cool. The third row start was extra motivation, but now Valentino was really pushing, and we were really on the limit. I was just rid- ing by instinct." An instinct that, on lap 13, threatening in the dry sessions, but ended up 11th. Then pole qualifier Marquez was hit with a seven-place grid penalty for baulking Iannone in qualify- ing, so he moved back to row three. This promoted Monster Yamaha's Johann Zarco to pole, and put Andrea Iannone's Ecstar Suzuki up to the front row along- side Rossi. The Italian made a superb start, heading Zarco and Jack Miller through the first twists, with Marquez forcing his way to fourth by the end of the lap. This trio would have a little gap by the end of the fourth, into prime position to secure the team's title, yet another triple- crown, should they not falter in Valencia, thanks to a 39-point advantage over Movistar Ya- maha. Race-day proceedings were put forward by two hours, after flooding rain interrupted qualify- ing, with more forecast for Sun- day. Clouds were gathering as the MotoGP grid assembled for the 1 p.m. start, but a fervent ca- pacity crowd of almost 104,000 stayed dry. That wet qualifying hindered Australian GP winner Maver- ick Vinales, who had been dropped back to sixth, signed up at Qatar at the start of this season, extending his stay until the end of 2020, when he will be 41 years old. He has made no comment, but talk is that if there is not a radical im- provement in 2019, he might call it a day. (The same rumor mill suggests that Yamaha YZR-M1 project leader Kouji Tsuya, who led the chorus of public apology at the Austrian GP, is unlikely to return in 2019.) VINALES' CLOSE SHAVE Australian GP winner Maverick Vinales showed the evidence of his gambler's honor at Sepang, in the shape of a freshly shaved scalp. But the slap-head look didn't sit well with him. "I feel so ugly like this," he said. He had pledged to do it if he won the Phillip Island race, and carried out the promise, if reluctantly. "After I was fastest in the first free practice, I said I thought I could win the race. And I bet that if I did win, I would have this haircut," he explained. ZARCO PINGED Johann Zarco, who walked away from a spectacular 174 mph crash at Turn One at Phillip Island, was hit with a $1100 fine in Malaysia, after being caught using a scooter for an exploratory lap of the Sepang circuit on Thursday. A scooter crash here last year that left two riders injured triggered a new rule, that such laps can only be completed on foot or on a cycle. MAX IS BACK It's official. As previously reported, former 250 and World Superbike Champion and 500cc/MotoGP winner Max Biaggi is returning to the paddock as team chief next year, taking over the Schedl Moto3 squad currently running Philipp Oettl. The announcement in the week before the Malaysian race confirmed that current EG-Honda rider Aron Canet has signed for the team, which will mean switching to a KTM. Max will join the current rider's father Peter Oettl, also a former GP winner, in running the renamed Max Racing Team. SMOKING SUZI Fire broke out in the Sepang pit lane on Thursday, after Alex Rins's Ecstar Suzuki went up in flames as it was being warmed up for a pre-event check-up. The blaze was caused by a fuel leak, team boss Davide Brivio confirmed, adding, "Luckily the damage was not too serious," The bike was rebuilt overnight. Briefly...

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