Pedro Acosta of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing set the pace with a 1:57.559, beating Johann Zarco by 0.019s, while Jack Miller rounded out the top three.
Notable riders facing Q1 include Francesco Bagnaia, Fermin Aldeguer, Raul Fernandez, and Marco Bezzecchi.
Acosta was an early faller in the session at Turn 10, but still managed to deliver the goods.
Author's summary: Acosta leads MotoGP practice in Sepang.