Reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo has stamped his authority on the pack during the first day of testing at Sepang, finishing a second ahead of team-mate Valentino Rossi with Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa in third place as Marc Marquez struggled down in seventh place.
Lorenzo went round in 2’00.684 on the new Michelin tyres which are currently serving up times around 1.5s slower than last year’s Bridgestones. However, he was only four-tenths slower than Marquez’ best at same time last year. Rossi ended 1.033 slower than his Spanish rival but set his laptime on the 2016 YZR-M1 on which he did his final run. The Doctor put in a whopping 55 laps in 35°C temperatures.
Pedrosa was only 0.063s behind the Italian, setting a 2’01.780 on his 23rd lap of 34 in a session that remained rain-free until 18 minutes left when the heavens opened and everyone pitted in.
Octo Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci showed some great pace to finish in fourth place on a 2’01.811 and was only knocked out of the top three by Rossi’s time. Andrea Iannone bagged fifth place with a 2’01.192 on the works Ducati GP15 but did put in some laps late on using the 2016 bike.
Avintia Ducati’s Hector Barbera sprang into sixth place with his 54th lap of 59, setting a 2’02.002 and demoting the struggling Marquez to seventh place. The former champion is 1.594s off the pace with his 2’02.278 and some 2.5s slower than he was at the end of day one last year, when he set a 2’00.262 on the Repsol Honda. It is not yet known which spec of engine the Spaniard was using.
Scott Redding was the best of the Brits in eighth with a 2’02.388, 1.654 off the pace and one ahead of Aleix Espargaro, who below an engine early on. His Ecstar Suzuki team have brought three bikes to the test - a 2015, a 2016 and a spec somewhere in between. Cal Crutchlow completed the top ten on his 2015 RC213V with a 2’02.586.
Maverick Vinales took 11th place, Pol Espargaro 12th, Andrea Dovizioso 13th and Yonny Hernandez 14th place. Bradley Smith had an off early in the day but did return to the track. The Monster Yamaha rider put in as many laps as factory team-mate Rossi but ended the day 2.342 off the pace, just ahead of Michele Pirro and Loris Baz.
It was a bad day for Eugene Laverty, who broke his hand in a crash at turn four on lap 28 (click here for story) while Tito Rabat ended just ahead of the Irishman and behind birthday boy Loris Baz. Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautisa were at the foot of the table as they are still riding last year’s Aprilias…
