MotoGP

Marquez Off To A Flyer At Sepang Test

2 Mins read

Marc Marquez made the ideal start to preparations for his MotoGP title defence by topping the timesheets on day one of testing in Malaysia. The world champion dominated proceedings at Sepang, finishing half a second clear of Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa.

For his rivals, the consistency of Marquez will have been cause for concern with the 20 year old lapping in the 2:00s bracket with relative ease, something Rossi and Pedrosa could only do once each all day. Marc’s quickest lap of 2:00.286 came towards the end of the day as temperatures dropped, Dani and Valentino doing likewise.

Jorge Lorenzo clocked a 2:01.082 to initially put him second before the late improvements from his teammate and Pedrosa, demoting him to fourth ahead of satellite Honda riders Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl. Aleix Espargaro was next up in seventh on Forward Racing’s FTR-Yamaha, the leading open class rider in the field, with Andrea Iannone eighth ahead of the Tech 3 Yamahas of Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith and Colin Edwards on the second Forward FTR machine.

Despite rumours of a switch to open class themselves, Ducati’s factory squad didn’t go that route today, although they may experiment with an open-spec motorcycle at the second Sepang test. Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow ended the day twelfth and fourteenth respectively, sandwiching test rider Michele Pirro.

Elsewhere, Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama were seventeenth and eighteenth on the production Hondas with Suzuki’s Randy de Puniet just behind while Scott Redding was 21st, four seconds off the ultimate pace.

 

MOTOGP OFFICIAL TEST – SEPANG (TUESDAY 4TH FEBRUARY)
POS RIDER MOTORCYCLE TEAM TIME
1  MARC MARQUEZ HONDA REPSOL HONDA TEAM 2:00.286 REPORT
2  VALENTINO ROSSI YAMAHA YAMAHA FACTORY RACING 2:00.804
3  DANI PEDROSA HONDA REPSOL HONDA TEAM 2:00.906 REPORT
4  JORGE LORENZO YAMAHA YAMAHA FACTORY RACING 2:01.082
5  ALVARO BAUTISTA HONDA GO&FUN HONDA GRESINI 2:01.240
6  STEFAN BRADL HONDA LCR HONDA MOTOGP 2:01.320
7  ALEIX ESPARGARO FTR YAMAHA NGM MOBILE FORWARD RACING 2:01.419
8  ANDREA IANNONE DUCATI ENERGY T.I. PRAMAC RACING 2:01.538
9  POL ESPARGARO YAMAHA MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3 2:01.634 REPORT
10  BRADLEY SMITH YAMAHA MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3 2:01.876 REPORT
11  COLIN EDWARDS FTR YAHAMA NGM MOBILE FORWARD RACING 2:02.483
12  ANDREA DOVIZIOSO DUCATI DUCATI TEAM 2:02.497 REPORT
13  MICHELE PIRRO DUCATI DUCATI TEST TEAM 2:02.552
14  CAL CRUTCHLOW DUCATI DUCATI TEAM 2:02.860 REPORT
15  YONNY HERNANDEZ DUCATI IGNITE PRAMAC RACING TEAM 2:02.891
16  K. NAKASUGA YAMAHA YAMAHA FACTORY TEST TEAM 2:03.126
17  NICKY HAYDEN HONDA DRIVE M7 ASPAR 2:03.319
18  HIROSHI AOYAMA HONDA DRIVE M7 ASPAR 2:03.328
19  RANDY DE PUNIET SUZUKI SUZUKI TEST TEAM 2:03.893
20  KOSUKE AKIYOSHI HONDA HRC TEST TEAM 2:04.267
21  SCOTT REDDING HONDA GO&FUN HONDA GRESINI 2:04.431
22  HECTOR BARBERA FTR KAWASAKI AVINTIA BLUSENS 2:04.922
23  MIKE DI MEGLIO FTR KAWASAKI AVINTIA BLUSENS 2:05.825
24  BROC PARKES PBM PAUL BIRD MOTORSPORT 2:05.889
25  MICHAEL LAVERTY ART & PBM PAUL BIRD MOTORSPORT 2:06.070
26  KAREL ABRAHAM HONDA CARDION AB MOTORACING 2:06.755
Avatar photo
5101 posts

About author
MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK writer for The Checkered Flag. Contact: [email protected]
Articles
Related posts
MotoGPNASCAR Cup Series

Trackhouse Racing Team entering MotoGP in 2024

1 Mins read
NASCAR Cup Series team Trackhouse Racing will become a MotoGP team in 2024 as they partner with Aprilia to field bikes for Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez.
DakarMotoGP

Marc Marquez shoots down running Dakar Rally on bike

3 Mins read
As much as MotoGP great Marc Márquez likes the Dakar Rally, he has no interest in racing it on a bike. While it has its own challenges, he did not necessarily rule out a run on four wheels.
MotoGPSportscars

MotoGP star Rossi announced as BMW M Motorsports driver for 2023

2 Mins read
BMW M Motorsport has announced the MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi as a works driver for 2023