Yesterday afternoon, exactly a month before the first round of the MotoGP World Championship kicks off under the floodlights of Qatar (6th March), the official MotoGP test at Sepang drew to a conclusion. In actual fact, it kind of unofficially ended at lunchtime when the Malaysian heavens opened and Sepang’s legendary afternoon rain showers drenched the entire circuit. Nevertheless, the boys still managed to get plenty of laps in. And some of them weren’t hanging about, either; Enea Bastianini only went and beat the circuit lap record by almost two tenths of a second (0.172). It won’t count as a record, as official lap records have to be done during a race, but who cares, it’s more proof (as if we need it) that Bastianini could do something special this year.
But it’s not wise to invest too much expectation in anyone off the back of these testing results. The fact is that not all of the players will have been going out there chasing times. Most (if not all) of the teams will have had a strict testing schedule to follow, trying out new parts, analysing data and working on making the bike better, faster, and/or easier to ride. Sure, you’ve got to ride at a decent pace to test the bike and it’s components, but you don’t necessarily have to be pushing as hard as you would in a qualifying session. When the flag drops, the bullshit stops.
But if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to know exactly how fast all the riders went. And you’ll want to know which bikes were the quickest, how the new lads got on, or where your favourite riders ranked.
So here are the final testing times from day one and day two of the official Sepang MotoGP test.
Sepang Test MotoGP Test – Day One
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap | |||||||
1 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 1’58.371 | |||||||
2 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 0.013 | |||||||
3 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 0.1 | |||||||
4 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 0.267 | |||||||
5 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.575 | |||||||
6 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 0.631 | |||||||
7 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 0.696 | |||||||
8 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0.916 | |||||||
9 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0.982 | |||||||
10 | Bezzecchi Marco | 73 | ITA | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 1.097 | |||||||
11 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1.187 | |||||||
12 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | LCR Honda | Honda | 1.263 | |||||||
13 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1.311 | |||||||
14 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1.413 | |||||||
15 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | LCR Honda | Honda | 1.542 | |||||||
16 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1.574 | |||||||
17 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1.578 | |||||||
18 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 1.595 | |||||||
19 | Bagnaia Francesco | 62 | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 1.656 | |||||||
20 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 1.676 | |||||||
21 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1.736 | |||||||
22 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 1.806 | |||||||
23 | Dovizioso Andrea | 4 | ITA | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 1.971 | |||||||
24 | Gardner Remy | 87 | AUS | Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 2.099 | |||||||
25 | Binder Darryn | 40 | RSA | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 2.447 | |||||||
26 | Guintoli Sylvain | 50 | FRA | Suzuki Test Team | Suzuki | 3.019 | |||||||
27 | Savadori Lorenzo | 32 | ITA | Aprilia Racing Test Team | Aprilia | 6.014 | |||||||
Sepang Test – Day Two | |||||||||||||
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap | |||||||
1 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 1’58.131 | |||||||
2 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 0.026 | |||||||
3 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.112 | |||||||
4 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 0.13 | |||||||
5 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 0.13 | |||||||
6 | Bagnaia Francesco | 62 | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 0.134 | |||||||
7 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 0.182 | |||||||
8 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0.201 | |||||||
9 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.282 | |||||||
10 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0.289 | |||||||
11 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 0.299 | |||||||
12 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 0.398 | |||||||
13 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | LCR Honda | Honda | 0.476 | |||||||
14 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 0.514 | |||||||
15 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 0.57 | |||||||
16 | Bezzecchi Marco | 73 | ITA | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 0.579 | |||||||
17 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | LCR Honda | Honda | 0.669 | |||||||
18 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 0.885 | |||||||
19 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1.049 | |||||||
20 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 1.066 | |||||||
21 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1.131 | |||||||
22 | Dovizioso Andrea | 4 | ITA | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 1.153 | |||||||
23 | Gardner Remy | 87 | AUS | Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1.217 | |||||||
24 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1.234 | |||||||
25 | Binder Darryn | 40 | RSA | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 1.726 | |||||||
26 | Guintoli Sylvain | 50 | FRA | Suzuki Test Team | Suzuki | 1.865 | |||||||
27 | Tsuda Takuya | 85 | JPN | Suzuki Test Team | Suzuki | 7.547 | |||||||
The next official MotoGP Test is scheduled for next weekend (11th – 13th February) at the brand new Mandalika Street Circuit in Lombok, Indonesia. Go on lads, give it some.