Rins tops in Malaysian practice despite bike blaze

Suzuki’s Alex Rins clocked the fastest time in practice yesterday ahead of the Malaysian MotoGP -- riding on a bike that had gone up in flames just a day earlier. Already seen as having only an outside chance of winning Sunday’s Grand Prix, the Spaniard’s result was more surprising as it came after a fuel leak set his motorbike ablaze Thursday in a pit lane. The fire caused only minor damage to the vehicle’s electronic components, and it was quickly repaired.

“I’m on fire,” joked Rins, after powering to a quickest lap of 1min 59.608 sec in the afternoon session, 0.089 ahead of second-placed Andrea Dovizioso, who topped the morning’s timesheets. “I was surprised because it’s not usual,” he conceded when asked about racking up the fastest time on a fire-hit bike, but he added: “For sure I am happy.”

Honda’s Marc Marquez, who was crowned world champion in Japan last month, had the third quickest time, 0.093 off the pace, while Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi was fourth. Italy’s Dovizioso is chasing his third victory in a row at the Sepang International Circuit as he seeks to clinch the runner-up spot this season, but faces a tough challenge from compatriot Rossi. But it was Rins, currently in 10th place in the world championship standings, who was fastest yesterday.

He had used a different bike in the morning session and got the sixth fastest lap. It was only when he switched back to his main bike -- the one hit by the fire -- that he topped the timesheets in the afternoon. There was disappointment for Marquez, as the Spaniard looked to be heading for the fastest time in the afternoon before a late surge from Rins put him in the lead.