Official Sepang MotoGP Test results – Day 1 (11am)

The second hour of the official 2023 Sepang MotoGP test has seen the first sub-2min laps of the weekend, led by Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, who has blasted into the 1m 58s for the best lap of the year so far.

Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini are the others under two-minutes.

With rain, which marred two out of three days at the recent Shakedown, an ongoing threat riders wasted no time in heading out when the track opened at 10am.

Following the Shakedown earlier this week, which saw Pirro fastest from Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow, the 2023 MotoGP race riders take over at the Malaysian circuit for the Official test from Friday to Sunday.

Rookie Augusto Fernandez was the only rider from this year’s 22-strong line-up eligible for both the Shakedown and Official test, while the factory test riders such as Crutchlow, Pirro and Dani Pedrosa are also set to ride again this weekend.

With Yamaha eying a significant improvement in top speed this year, much attention will also be on the max km/h of the M1s.

The Shakedown signs were promising, with Crutchlow recording a 335.4km/h. That was 5.2km/h faster than Fabio Quartararo managed during last October’s Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying and race (330.2). The Frenchman had clocked a 332.3 in FP3 with the aid of a slipstream.

But with the speed trap at Sepang located at the start of the turn-one braking zone, figures can fluctuate more than normal.

Testing takes place from 10am to 6pm…

* Rookie

Key:
^X Rider is X positions higher than previous hour.
= Rider is same position as previous hour.
˅X Rider is X positions lower than previous hour.

2023 Sepang MotoGP Shakedown Test:
Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Test Rider 1m 59.803s

Official Sepang MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Jorge Martin SPA Ducati 1m 57.790s (2022)
Fastest race lap:
Jorge Martin SPA Ducati 1m 59.634s (2022)

* Rookie