Reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo dominated the time sheets on day one of the official test at the Sepang International Circuit.
Lorenzo’s lap time of 2.00.684 was a second faster than his rivals and just .078 off of the circuit record, which he set on his way to clinching second in the race last October.
Valentino Rossi finished the day second overall with a time of 2.01.717, 1.033 seconds behind his Movistar Yamaha team mate. Putting in an impressive 55 laps and uncharacteristically setting the early pace, Rossi underlined his determination to gain his 10th world title.
Finishing the session in third was Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa with a time of 2.01.780. The team’s main focus, however, is to tame the overly aggressive engine that plagued them throughout 2015. Team mate Marc Marquez finished the day in 7th, a second and a half off of Lorenzo’s pace.
Ducati put in a strong performance throughout the day, with Pramac rider Danilo Petrucci finishing 4th (2.01.811), factory rider Andrea Iannone in 5th (2.01.912) and Hector Barbera in 6th (2.02.002) for the Avintia squad.
Britain’s Scott Redding finished the day in 8th and was a strong presence in the top 10 through the session. Speaking to MotoGP.com, he said that his aim was to get comfortable on the bike and to find the right base setting.
Aleix Espargaro on the Suzuki was 9th at the close of the session on 2.02.539. He suffered an engine failure, however, this was on his 2015 machine so it won’t affect his 2016 allocation. Cal Crutchlow on the LCR Honda rounded out the top 10 with a time of 2.02.586.
Class rookie Tito Rabat finished the day in 18th, less than three seconds off of Lorenzo’s time. Aussie Jack Miller was absent due to a broken leg from a training crash
The 2016 season sees the introduction of a spec ECU and a switch to Michelin tyres. In today’s session, most riders performed short runs before heading back into the pits to make adjustments. There was also a mish mash of which bikes teams opted to run.
Lorenzo headed straight out on a hybrid of his 2015 and 2016 machine while Rossi decided to get comfortable on his 2015 bike before touching the hybrid or 2016 bike. Repsol Honda ran the same spec machines as they did in Valencia, which was an evolution of the 2015 engine with the 2016 chassis.
The Ducati factory team had the option of running the 2015 or 2016 bikes while Pramac had the 2015 machine and Avintia the 2014.2 bike. The satellite Monster Yamaha Tech 3 have the bikes that Lorenzo and Rossi ran in 2015 but with a downgraded seamless gearbox.
Though feedback on Michelin’s rear tyre has been good, concerns were raised about front tyre grip after multiple front end crashes during the Valencia test in November. Performance seems to have improved, with no such problems today in Sepang.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith was the first crash of the day, but the Brit walked away with no injuries. Ireland’s Eugene Laverty had a run-on early in the session, but then spectacularly crashed his Aspar Ducati, snapping it in half and bringing out the red flag. Though it was thought he’d fractured his right hand, the team reported that there were no broken bones. Both incidents are thought to be caused by a stuck throttle.
During a private test session at Sepang this weekend, all talk was of the much-mooted return of former MotoGP champion Casey Stoner to Ducati. Though the team’s test rider Michele Pirro made an appearance, it’s thought that Stoner will put in some laps on Tuesday.
