Sepang MotoGP Shakedown Test results – Day 2 (FINAL)

A drying track produced a frantic final hour of action on day two in Malaysia, which ended with Cal Crutchlow again officially fastest for Yamaha.

The Englishman again appeared to be the only Yamaha test rider on track and was swapping between the three different bikes (T1, T2 and T3).

Crutchlow’s late time of 2m 2.079s was a fraction under his Sunday best and put him half a second clear of Ducati’s Michele Pirro with GASGAS rookie Augusto Fernandez in third.

With his transponder turned off once again, Pedrosa kept riding under the radar until the very end of day 2 at the Sepang Shakedown. 5kJnOsRrAY

— (@McLarenMotoGP) February 6, 2023

KTM’s Dani Pedrosa spent all of Day 1 and much of Day 2 riding without a transponder turned on, meaning he was not listed on the official timing.

But the Spaniard, rumoured to have been even faster than Crutchlow on Sunday, then suddenly appeared on the timing screens in the final hour.

The 31-time MotoGP race winner, who will make a wild-card appearance at this year’s Spanish GP, quickly moved to the top with a 2m 2.807s on slicks… Then vanished from the screens once again!

Pedrosa returned to do more slick laps in the last half-hour, and could well have gone faster, but the transponder remained off (apparently at his request)…

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

Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori was first on track, with only Pirro and 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.

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 and prompting others to rush out and cram in as much slick tyre work as possible during the last hour.

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)

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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.

 

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