Sepang MotoGP Test Final Day
Fabio Quartararo continued to set the pace during the final day of the 2020 MotoGP official test at Sepang. The 20-year-old Frenchman went top and fastest man this week only his seventh lap this morning with a 1m58.541 and then improved further on his 17th lap to lower the marker to 1m58.349.
Cal Crutchlow was the closest to that benchmark after putting in a 1m58.431 on his 14th lap of the day.
With a few hours still remaining Alex Rins was the leading Suzuki on 1m58.450 in third while Pecco Bagnaia was fourth and the fastest Ducati with a 1m58.502 just ahead of fifth placed Valentino Rossi.
Marc Marquez had another crash late in the day but was seemingly unhurt. A front end lose at the final turn.
That top five order and those times were still holding sway with half-an-hour left in the final session as onlookers waited with baited breath to see who, if anyone, would make an all-out late time attack to shake up the order. As the test was about to come to a close though a few spots of precipitation started falling and that curtailed the chances of any shake-up.
The new specification Michelin rear tyre is proving faster than the previous rubber but it seems as though plenty of set-up work is needed on some of the bikes to get the best out of the new compound and construction. Scuttlebutt suggests that Ducati in particular have struggled to arrive at a satisfactory suspension setting that takes advantage of the faster new tyre. Here at the pre-season test last year it was a Ducati 1-2-3-4 and nobody this year bettered the 1m58.239 set by Petrucci at the 2019 Sepang Test.
The quickest lap this year was set by Quartararo, the young Frenchman again underlining his potential with a 1m58.349 to top the time-sheets by less than a tenth-of-a-second over LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow. Alex Rins was closer again in third position by a gnat’s whisker of Pecco Bagnaia and Valentino Rossi.
Danilo Petrucci ended the day sixth quickest ahead of KTM’s Pol Espargaro and Pramac Ducati’s Jack Miller. Pol Espargaro narrowly bested the time set by KTM Test rider Dani Pedrosa on the previous day.
Aleix Espargaro ensured that all manufacturers were in the top ten after recording a 1m58.694 on the new Aprilia while Joan Mir rounded out the top ten on the second Suzuki.
Marc Marquez finished the day only 12th quickest, behind Miguel Oliveira but in front of France Morbidelli and Andrea Dovizioso. Both Miller and Dovizioso set their best time on the previous spec’ Michelin rear rather than the softer new hoop, suggesting that both have much better race pace than their ranking today might suggest.
Johan Zarco was 15th on the Avintia Ducati narrowly ahead of rookies Alex Marquez and Brad Binder.
Maverick Vinales was only 18th on day three but his time from day two would have ranked him 14th. The Spaniard did a fast extended long-run of laps today though and word had it that his long run was the quickest of all riders present today. Alex Rins also demonstrated great long-run race pace.
Jorge Lorenzo did 45 laps today in his new test role for Yamaha and finished the day 20th on the timesheets.
MotoGP Sepang Test Day Three Times
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUARTARARO, Fabio | Petronas Yamaha SRT | 1m58.349 |
| 2 | CRUTCHLOW, Cal | LCR Honda CASTROL | +0.082 |
| 3 | RINS, Alex | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | +0.101 |
| 4 | BAGNAIA, Francesco | Pramac Racing | +0.153 |
| 5 | ROSSI, Valentino | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | +0.192 |
| 6 | PETRUCCI, Danilo | Ducati Team | +0.257 |
| 7 | ESPARGARO, Pol | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | +0.261 |
| 8 | MILLER, Jack | Pramac Racing | +0.267 |
| 9 | ESPARGARO, Aleix | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | +0.345 |
| 10 | MIR, Joan | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | +0.387 |
| 11 | OLIVEIRA, Miguel | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | +0.415 |
| 12 | MARQUEZ, Marc | Repsol Honda Team | +0.423 |
| 13 | MORBIDELLI, Franco | Petronas Yamaha SRT | +0.489 |
| 14 | DOVIZIOSO, Andrea | Ducati Team | +0.510 |
| 15 | ZARCO, Johann | Reale Avintia Racing | +0.602 |
| 16 | MARQUEZ, Alex | Repsol Honda Team | +0.693 |
| 17 | BINDER, Brad | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | +0.755 |
| 18 | VIÑALES, Maverick | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | +0.820 |
| 19 | RABAT, Tito | Reale Avintia Racing | +1.200 |
| 20 | LORENZO, Jorge | Yamaha Test Team | +1.348 |
| 21 | SMITH, Bradley | Aprilia Factory Racing | +1.492 |
| 22 | NAKAGAMI, Takaaki | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | +1.511 |
| 23 | LECUONA, Iker | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | +1.549 |
| 24 | GUINTOLI, Sylvain | SUZUKI Test Team | +1.751 |
| 25 | KALLIO, Mika | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | +1.799 |
| 26 | TEST 1, Yamaha | Yamaha Test Team | +2.774 |
| 27 | TSUDA, Takuya | SUZUKI Test Team | +5.325 |
MotoGP Sepang Test Weekend Combined Times
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Petronas Yamaha SRT | 1m58.349 |
| 2 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | LCR Honda CASTROL | +0.082 |
| 3 | Alex RINS | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | +0.101 |
| 4 | Francesco BAGNAIA | Pramac Racing | +0.153 |
| 5 | Valentino ROSSI | Monster Energy Yamaha Moto | +0.192 |
| 6 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati Team | +0.257 |
| 7 | Pol ESPARGARO | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | +0.261 |
| 8 | Jack MILLER | Pramac Racing | +0.267 |
| 9 | Dani PEDROSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | +0.313 |
| 10 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | +0.345 |
| 11 | Joan MIR | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | +0.382 |
| 12 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | +0.415 |
| 13 | Marc MARQUEZ | Repsol Honda Team | +0.423 |
| 14 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Petronas Yamaha SRT | +0.482 |
| 15 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati Team | +0.510 |
| 16 | Maverick VIÑALES | Monster Energy Yamaha Moto | +0.544 |
| 17 | Johann ZARCO | Reale Avintia Racing | +0.602 |
| 18 | Alex MARQUEZ | Repsol Honda Team | +0.693 |
| 19 | Brad BINDER | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | +0.755 |
| 20 | Tito RABAT | Reale Avintia Racing | +1.200 |
| 21 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha Test Team | +1.348 |
| 22 | Bradley SMITH | Aprilia Factory Racing | +1.492 |
| 23 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | +1.511 |
| 24 | Iker LECUONA | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | +1.549 |
| 25 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | SUZUKI Test Team | +1.751 |
| 26 | Mika KALLIO | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | +1.799 |
| 27 | Yamaha TEST 3 | Yamaha Test Team | +2.442 |
| 28 | Yamaha TEST 1 | Yamaha Test Team | +2.571 |
| 29 | Yamaha TEST 2 | Yamaha Test Team | +3.395 |
| 30 | Lorenzo SAVADORI | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | +4.801 |
| 31 | Takuya TSUDA | SUZUKI Test Team | +5.325 |
Source: MCNews.com.au