Jake Dixon enjoyed another strong day in Malaysia as he showed super pace on Saturday morning before taking 3^rd on the grid, while Filip Salac was 15^th.

After rain interruptions on Friday, Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Jake Dixon and Filip Salac were relieved to enjoy two dry sessions on Saturday.

Conditions during the afternoon Q2 session were the hottest of the weekend, with track temperatures hitting 48 degrees. And it was complicated further by 58% humidity.

The Moto2 lap record took another pounding on Saturday in Malaysia with Dani Holgado’s pole time 1.3s quicker than the previous best coming into this weekend.

Jake Dixon, 3^rd – 2’03.449

After finishing 1^st and 2^nd in Friday’s two sessions, Jake was immediately competitive in FP2 as he broke the lap record (2’03.633) to set the fastest time.

More than finishing first, the Briton was incredibly strong on used tyres. Over a 14-lap run, he was able to maintain a fantastic pace with ten of those in the 2’03s and 2’04s.

The 27-year old was keen to lap alone during Q2. And while he was unable to take pole, his best time was still under his previous lap record from the morning. This is Jake’s 6^th front row start of the year.

“I’m really proud of myself because I didn’t look for any slipstream in that Q2 session. I did it completely alone in both runs. It’s a big achievement for me to go out there and do that and it just gives me more confidence for tomorrow that I’m going to be even stronger in the race. This morning I felt amazing when I was doing a longer race simulation. More than anything, I want to get a good result for my Grandad. I’m wearing this special crash helmet this weekend for him. I have full motivation for that and I can’t wait to get going tomorrow. I’m not looking at what other riders are doing and am just focussed on getting the best out of myself on Sunday. Let’s see what we can do!”

Filip Salac, 15^th – 2’04.079

Filip and his crew made a change to his setting ahead of FP2. Even if he didn’t feel entirely comfortable, his rhythm on used tyres was strong and he could manage a 2’05.3 after ten laps on the tyre.

After placing 17^th in FP2, Filip had hopes of improving in Q2. But the Czech rider didn’t feel confident with the front end of his bike throughout the 15-minute session.

While his fastest time was 0.7s faster than FP2, the 23-year old was 15^th fastest in an extremely competitive qualifying session. Filip is adamant he will give it his all to make a strong comeback on Sunday.

“It was a difficult Saturday here at Sepang. This morning we made a change to the setting of the bike but it didn’t really work for me as we had hoped. Still, the pace was not bad and I feel quite strong in terms of race rhythm. But the pace was so fast in Q2. I didn’t feel fully comfortable with the front part of the bike and was having a lot of chatter in the long corners. I was not able to take everything from the bike. It’s a shame to be starting from 15^th. But it’ll be a long race tomorrow so let’s see how it goes.”