Valentino Rossi returned Yamaha to the top of the testing timesheets after going fastest on day one of the second Sepang pre-season test. The Italian edged ahead of Dani Pedrosa shortly before lunchtime and with rain arriving in the last couple of hours, his time remained the quickest of the day.
Yamaha were one of teams under increased scrutiny with the Japanese manufacturer running a new seamless shift gearbox on their factory YZR-M1s. The early impressions seemed to be positive with Rossi clocking a 2:00.414, a second and a half shy of Marc Marquez’s Sepang 1 benchmark but still 0.129s under Pedrosa’s best effort on Monday.
The Espargaro brothers came next with Pol in third but Aleix was among the stars of day one with fourth on the Suzuki, suggesting that updates to the GSX-RR since the previous test are making a difference. He even outpaced compatriots Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez with the title favourites seven tenths off the pace in fifth and sixth. Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith were a tenth further back in seventh and eighth, the British duo showing signs of progress from the first test.
Even with the upgrades at Yamaha, Ducati were the centre of attention with the much-anticipated GP15 making its debut. With outright fast times low on their list of priorities, Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone made a quiet start, finishing 10th and 15th respectively.
Scott Redding made a bright start in 11th, lapping within three tenths of his best time earlier in the month while Aprilia also received a morale boost with Alvaro Bautista up in 12th.
2015 MotoGP Testing: Sepang – February 23
| 1 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 2:00.414 |
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Repsol Honda Team | 2:00.543 |
| 3 | Pol Espargaro | Yamaha | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 2:00.876 |
| 4 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | Team Suzuki MotoGP | 2:01.055 |
| 5 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 2:01.162 |
| 6 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Repsol Honda Team | 2:01.190 |
| 7 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | CWM LCR Honda | 2:01.222 |
| 8 | Bradley Smith | Yamaha | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 2:01.241 |
| 9 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | Team Suzuki MotoGP | 2:01.317 |
| 10 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati Team | 2:01.355 |
| 11 | Scott Redding | Honda | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | 2:01.592 |
| 12 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 2:01.740 |
| 13 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | Avintia Racing | 2:01.926 |
| 14 | Nicky Hayden | Honda | Drive M7 Aspar | 2:02.062 |
| 15 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | Ducati Team | 2:02.142 |
| 16 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | Pramac Racing | 2:02.225 |
| 17 | Karel Abraham | Honda | AB Motoracing | 2:02.394 |
| 18 | Stefan Bradl | Forward Yamaha | Forward Racing | 2:02.410 |
| 19 | Yonny Hernandez | Ducati | Pramac Racing | 2:02.606 |
| 20 | Eugene Laverty | Honda | Drive M7 Aspar | 2:02.730 |
| 21 | Mike di Meglio | Ducati | Avintia Racing | 2:02.941 |
| 22 | Jack Miller | Honda | CWM LCR Honda | 2:03.006 |
| 23 | Michele Pirro | Ducati | Ducati Test Team | 2:03.105 |
| 24 | Loris Baz | Forward Yamaha | Forward Racing | 2:03.316 |
| 25 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha | Yamaha Factory Test Team | 2:03.337 |
| 26 | Alex de Angelis | ART | Octo IodaRacing Team | 2:03.966 |
| 27 | Marco Melandri | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 2:04.000 |
