Official Sepang MotoGP Test results – Day 1 (2pm)

Pramac’s Jorge Martin continues to lead the timesheets as of 2pm – when rain flags began being waved due to light drizzle – courtesy of his earlier 1m 58.737s.

World champion Francesco Bagnaia is in second with factory team-mate Enea Bastianini completing an all-Ducati top three.

The Aprilias of Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro follow, with Marc Marquez in sixth for Repsol Honda. Luca Marini (VR46 Ducati) and Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) are the other riders under the 2m barrier.

Almost all riders are now in the pits as they wait to see if the rain gets worse, or clears.

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.

Fabio Quartararo has three different Yamahas, including the prototype used by Cal Crutchlow at the Shakedown, in the Monster pits. Marc Marquez has four different RCVs in the Repsol Honda garage (one with a new ‘ground effect’ style fairing).

While the other KTMs looked to start on 2022 spec, Jack Miller appeared to go straight to the new parts, including the carbon-black fairing tested by Dani Pedrosa at the Shakedown.

Quartararo looks to have done his first run on the prototype fairing/bike. This is where he sits for top speed, similar to the figures for Crutchlow at the Shakedown. SV0wqRPfQ1

— (@McLarenMotoGP) February 10, 2023

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)

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* Rookie