Máximo Quiles and Joel Esteban will have to go through Q1 this Saturday after finishing fifteenth and eighteenth respectively, just a few thousandths off Q2 positions

The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team riders missed out on a direct pass to Q2 by just a few thousandths of a second. Máximo Quiles and Joel Esteban had to give it their all in a very tight session despite the tricky track conditions. The Spaniards finished in fifteenth and eighteenth positions, missing out on a direct pass to Q2 by just +0.031 for Quiles and +0.051 for Esteban. The top three was also decided by the narrowest of margins, with José Antonio Rueda in first place, his teammate Álvaro Carpe in second, and Brian Uriarte in third.

The Malaysian Grand Prix put the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team riders to the test. Máximo Quiles completed his first laps at the Sepang International Circuit and worked with the team to adapt to the track as best as possible. Joel Esteban, who once again replaces Dennis Foggia, was able to focus on improving his setup as this was his second time at the circuit. In the afternoon, the session started more than thirty minutes late due to the presence of oil on the track. The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team duo faced tricky conditions, with wet patches in some parts of the track, which required more caution. The final minutes of the session were crucial in determining which riders could secure a direct pass to Q2. Quiles held third place with six minutes remaining, although he once again fell outside the top fourteen as most of his rivals began to improve their times. Despite improving again and returning to the Q2 positions, in the end, the Spaniard missed out by 0.31 seconds, even after having set his best time of the day, 2:11.916. This will be the fourth time Quiles has had to compete in Q1 (the last time was at the Dutch Grand Prix), although on all previous occasions he has come out from that session as the fastest rider. His teammate Joel Esteban found himself in a similar situation. The Spaniard, who didn't have the same feeling as in the morning, was in Q2 positions in the final minutes. The final part of the session was crucial to meeting the day's objective, with up to 20 riders within the same second and with everything to be decided at the chequered flag. Esteban also slightly improved his times from the morning, but his 2:12.034 placed him in eighteenth position, also just a few thousandths off the cutoff.

15th Máximo Quiles 2:11.916 (+0.764): “The feeling was good and I'm happy because I felt good on my own. I have a lot of room to improve; I think I still need a few more laps to be more "myself" with the bike. We're stuck in Q1, but it'll be good for us because it will give us more laps to continue working and learning.”

18th Joel Esteban 2:12.034 (+0.882): “It wasn't an easy day. In the morning I felt quite comfortable. We did a race simulation to see how the tyres behaved and we got a good set-up. In the afternoon, with mixed conditions, I didn't feel the same. I couldn't stop the bike under braking in the same way and I didn't have the same feeling with the worn tyre as I did in the morning. Tomorrow we'll have to go through Q1, so this afternoon we'll work to see where we can improve and be able to fight for a good position on the starting grid.”