Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini Moto2™) heads into Saturday’s Sepang Moto2™ running as the benchmark after the Spaniard slotted home a 2:05.576 to finish a healthy 0.333s clear of second place Filip Salač (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team).
0.035s further back in third was rookie Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who set an impressive pace on his first outing in the class in Malaysia.
Free Practice pacesetter, Jake Dixon (CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team), ended Friday in P4 but the Briton’s day was hampered by a huge final corner highside in the afternoon session. Dixon didn’t sustain any serious injuries and will be back on track on Saturday, and having looked strong until the crash, the #96 will be hoping to bounce back ahead of qualifying.
Newly crowned World Champion, Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI), rounded out Friday’s top five in Malaysia. The Japanese rider was just over half a second away from Gonzalez, with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) searching for Saturday improvements after the Spaniard finished P11 on the weekend he could clinch P2 overall. 
How will the grid take shape in Malaysia? The all-important Practice 2 begins at 09:25, before qualifying gets going at 13:45 at the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit.
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