Sepang MotoGP Shakedown Test results – Day 2 (5pm)

Day two got off to a slow start due to persistent light rain.

Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori was first on track, with only Ducati’s Michele Pirro and Yamaha’s official day-one leader Cal Crutchlow also recording an early lap time.

Crutchlow was fastest as of 11am, with Honda’s Stefan Bradl then taking over during his opening 6-lap stint, riding an all-black bike also featuring the rear seat fins.

Rookie Augusto Fernandez, the only full-time MotoGP rider eligible for the Shakedown, then put his GASGAS-branded KTM on top just before midday.

As the drizzle cleared and the track slowly began to dry, Fernandez improved his time to remain quickest.

The early afternoon saw most riders remain in the pits, with the last of the wet-tyre Monday laps by Pirro, who went fastest just before 4:30pm on a patchy half-dry/half-damp surface.

Savadori then became the rider to try slicks, just before 5pm, moving to the top by the end of his run. Other teams are now also fitting slicks for the final hour.

Dani Pedrosa has been out for KTM but, like yesterday, does not have a timing transponder fitted. Update: Pedrosa’s transponder was turned on shortly after 5pm.

• KTM: Red Bull aero? ‘What matters is on track’ Coach Kallio

The Shakedown, from February 5-7, is mainly used to make sure the new machines are running correctly before they are handed over to the race riders, as well as some development work on new parts (especially aerodynamics).

Crutchlow was officially fastest on day one (there are reports Pedrosa set a 2min 0.4s) with a time of 2m 1.146s, set before a mid-afternoon rain shower, putting the Englishman 0.185s ahead of reigning Moto2 champion Fernandez.

Crutchlow also took the 2023 M1 engine to a top speed 0.1km/h faster than the best Yamaha speed (330.2km/h) during the Malaysian MotoGP race weekend, by Fabio Quartararo in qualifying. Quartararo’s lap time was almost two seconds quicker than Crutchlow’s day one lap, so the big question will be if the top speed of the new engine increases in proportion to lap time…

The Official Sepang Test, for all race riders, will be held at the Malaysian Grand Prix venue from February 10-12.

Testing takes place from 10am to 6pm…

* Rookie

Fastest Day 1 Time:
Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha 2m 1.146s (330.3km/h top speed)

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)