2022 Sepang MotoGP Test

Enea Bastianini – P1

“It was very exciting to get back on the bike. We were very quick both yesterday and today: if yesterday we had to shake some rust off, today we worked on speed. Due to the rain we only managed to do one time attack, but it went quite well. We also had a look at our race pace these two days as we made a few set-up changes, and we improved a lot despite starting already from an excellent base. Now we need to test a new track – we will all start from zero and we will work for the race: we want to be quick there, too.”

Aleix Espargaró – P2

“I must thank the staff in Noale. Albesiano and all the engineers did a good job. From the first time I swung a leg over, during a photo shoot, I noticed how sleek and compact the new RS-GP is, and I know how hard it is to achieve this result. The ergonomics, the frame and all the new features make it extremely agile, letting me improve on corners speed, especially in fast turns. However, we still need to consider that this is just the first test and that we are all extremely close. The current level of MotoGP is absolutely incredible. We’ll keep working and I can’t wait to turn laps on the new Mandalika circuit too.”

Jorge Martín – P3

“It was a positive second day, we brought home a lot of information that we will need in a few days in Indonesia. Unfortunately it rained in the afternoon and we didn’t get the most out of the day, but I am very satisfied with this first test.”

Alex Rins – P4

“We’ve concluded the Sepang test, and a bit earlier than expected, but it’s been great to be back on the bike. The first part of today felt like qualifying, we were all out there trying to get laps in before the rain came! We learned a lot during these two days about what works well for us, and what still needs some improvement, but overall we’re going to Mandalika with a very good bike. I’m going to watch some Superbike races to try and understand how the Mandalika circuit is, and I’m really excited to arrive there because my supporters there are amazing.”

Maverick Viñales – P5

“I’m pleased with this first test. I felt extremely comfortable on the bike. I was especially surprised by our race pace, with used tyres, whereas on the flying lap, I am still unable to fully exploit the bike’s potential. When you try to find the limit, and you have to do that often in MotoGP today, the feeling has to be more than perfect, but I am still making a few mistakes. I need to get used to the way this bike behaves when I’m looking for maximum performance and that’s a process we’re working on.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P6

“I am happy with how this second day of testing went. We are definitely not at the level I aim for yet, but I know we will get there soon. In just two days of working with the new bike, we have taken a big step forward, and with each session, we continued to improve. Now we have to keep working in this direction to be ready for the start of the Championship. These days, I did not concentrate on finding the best time. My priority now is to work on developing the bike, which has shown to have really great potential. I am satisfied and can’t wait to get on track for another three days of testing next week in Indonesia”.

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“I‘m really happy about my pace. Unfortunately, I kept two tyres to do a time attack, and then it was raining. But this morning I did a great lap! I‘m quite happy because I came from a really old rear tyre, and let‘s say that the gap between them was too big. I couldn‘t really take the benefit from the new rear tyre, but I‘m super happy. I think that we have some margin on one lap, and I think it was a good test. We can be satisfied. In Mandalika we will test again what we have tried at this test, and we‘ll see if there are any positive outcomes.”

Marc Marquez – P8

“I am happy about these two days in Sepang, but also tired! It’s true that it is very positive for us to be here even if I suffered a little bit physically, but we suffer now to enjoy in the season. When I push with the bike, the speed is there, and we are learning a lot about this bike after trying some big things. The bike certainly has potential and today we understood the front feeling better after some changes we made. Pol and Alex were fast in the long ran which is encouraging. I did a few laps in the damp and felt good too.”

Johann Zarco – P9

“Another positive day for us, I am happy with how we have worked and how I feel on the bike, we also did a wet run to see the feeling and I felt really good. There are still some areas where we can improve but we will make the most of next week’s test to be ready for Qatar.”

Pol Espargaro – P10

“In general I’m pretty happy with how the test has gone, of course it would have been good to do a few more laps but the weather is what it is. We are close to the front with a new bike and this is positive. There’s still some time to find over one fast lap and I made a small mistake on my fastest lap, but on the longer runs we are working well. It will be important to improve the one lap speed because we have seen how tight Saturdays are in MotoGP. We were able to gather good data here and now we have a bit of homework to do before the next test.”

Luca Marini – P11

“I am happy with this second day of testing: I am satisfied with the base I found, we are not at 100%, considering that I was forced into the garage yesterday, but it is okay. Today both bikes were perfect, I was fast right away from the pit lane exit and I had a good feeling. To be only the second day in Sepang, we made a nice step on the lap time and we tried something on the setting. In the afternoon the plan included a qualifying simulation, but the storm was unexpected.  A pity, but it’s not the priority at the moment and I’m happy to have been able to ride in the wet at the end of the day.”

Joan Mir – P12

“Overall I’m really happy about the last two days here. The bike is working well and my feeling is good. Today felt better than yesterday but we couldn’t put it all together to push for a lap time, anyway, our pace is strong. I understood the potential of the new bike and the new engine and I have no complaints. Both Alex and I feel that we’ve made a step forward, and that’s an important thing. I’m really excited and interested to go to Mandalika next week – the fans there are so supportive and kind, and I’m waiting to discover the track!”

Takaaki Nakagami – P13

“We had a really good two-day test here in Sepang and I’m very happy with the step forward we’ve made. From yesterday we were able to improve our confidence on the bike and find a solution. This new bike has really great potential so I’m really happy about that. I want to say a big thanks to my team because these two days for the mechanics are really hard, but they did a great job. I’m looking forward to the next test at Mandalika as it’s a new country and new circuit for us, so I’m really excited”.

Jack Miller – P14

“I think the potential is there big style. Already yesterday shaking it down, you know, overcoming some of the issues we were having, we were able to improve a considerable amount today. I only got to do one time attack today. I had an issue with the bike so in saying that, to go and push on one tyre and do the time we did, I’m pretty happy with that.

“The pace was there…a bit more today but again, working on the engine character, the way the electronics are working, we’re quite busy and in between that trying new parts and stuff like that. It’s been a busy test. It’s a shame it rained in the afternoon, we kind of needed a little more track time but we can’t change that. Anyway, I think got some really good data. Again, like yesterday, everything we tried or the ideas that we had and worked towards, they seem to get better and better.

“I’m quietly confident with the bike. It’s growing on me more and more and yeah, I think we don’t need to have the best bike at the first test, you know we need to have the best bike when Qatar rolls around to run and I think we’re well on the way to having that.

“We’re working first and foremost on the way the bikes behaving. The way the tyres are working undeath and also how the bike is turning. We were working on that yesterday but also another big part of it is the throttle connection, from engine brake to positive gas, and that’s been the big recurring thing. We’ve improved it from where it was in Jerez, and we keep improving but we still have some work to do in terms of that. Trying to get it as smooth as possible and we’ve made steps forward on that. The main thing yesterday and today was just working with the complete new package and just trying to get comfortable. Have the bike so where I point, it goes there, because yesterday it was not behaving like a bike I know.

“I feel good going to Mandalika. I think a new track is what it is. I mean you go and do 10 or 15 laps around it and you know it pretty much and especially just watching the superbike race there last year, it didn’t look like a Texas or something like that, crazy long with a thousand corners. It doesn’t seem all that technical to learn….But for sure, I think, once we get our base setting underway there I’m sure we’ll be able to work on our issues and Mandalika has a few places it looks like with a few slower corners, which is the biggest issue for our bike,s so I think it’s good that we’re going there and I’d prefer to not test at the place we’re doing the first race. I think it’s a bit shitty when you go and do 3,4,5 days testing then you go and race there. Everyone is on pace….and it’s just boring then. You lose the meaning of the whole weekend.

“Yesterday the new bike felt a bit foreign to me…It wasn’t doing….I’d put similar inputs to what I’d normally put in and what I’d expect to happen wasn’t happening so I just had to work on that and work on my set-up, base set-up, basic geometry of the bike as well as adapting yourself around that. Yeah, for sure, the way that the electronics are and the way that bike is delivering the power is the thing we’re working on the most. We have a complete new package this year so, you know, last year, that bike had been worked on throughout 2020 and 2021 so it was pretty well fine tuned by the end of it. Starting from a different base again you need to build up.

“Starting from where we are now, to where the bike should be by the time we get to Qatar, I feel like this package definitely will have more potential once we’ve ironed out all the bugs so that gives me promise.

“There is so much more workload to do being in the factory team that you don’t get to throw tyres at it and have all that fun that you do at a satellite team, where you can go and break records and what not. At the end of the day Enea is on a fantastic package. I know very well how good his package is, and also he’s riding fantastic. To do a 1m58.1 around here, I honestly thought they were going to go into the 1m57s today and it was making me even more nervous, but they didn’t quite crack it. They’re riding really well. All those boys are riding really good. We’re half a second off and as I said, as a base setting for a new bike I think we can be pretty happy with that. Me and Pecco, and Zarco was a little faster, but we are all very similar on the new package.”

Miguel Oliveira – P15

“Progress was there. For sure our pace could have been a bit better but we were still trying things out to maximise what we have. We still feel there is room to improve and that’s important for us. It was good to have the half day today and we made the lap we had here two years ago, without any risk. Positive feelings, and now we move onto a new track. The package is there. We have to take advantage of what we have. This is the focus and what pushes us.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P16

“I honestly didn’t expect a lap time like this, I’m happy, we did a great job with the Team, the technicians and Ducati. A shame about this morning: just before my fastest lap, I was long on the last corner, I entered the gravel and I crashed. I went back to the garage and with different tyres I did my best lap time. An impressive time, built step by step from the shakedown. Compared to the first days, I feel better on the bike, at the beginning I was missing something on the front in terms of riding style, then we checked all the data and we managed to make a nice step forward. I can’t wait to get back at work in Mandalika.”

Álex Márquez – P17

“Second day here in Malaysia and I think we did a really good job overall. The most important thing for us at this test was to get to know the bike, do many laps and gather information for the future. We are getting to know the bike more and more and we’re not doing badly. There is still room for improvement, but the base is really good, in terms of set-up and performance.  Today we were able to do nearly race distance with a simulation of 15 laps and the pace wasn’t bad, it was really constant. Unfortunately, the only thing we missed today was a time attack as, when I tried to make one, I had a really small crash, but the most important thing this weekend was the feeling. I want to thank my team for all their work on these two days, now we go to Mandalika with a clear plan of what we need to improve.”

Brad Binder – P18

“These last two days have been a challenge. We needed some more time to make the most out of the package. We have some small changes to the bike and we have the same performance as last year so now we need to explore, try different set-ups and balances to see what works further. Yesterday was about getting up the speed after the break and then we didn’t have that much time this morning before the weather cut things short. I did a few laps in the wet and everything felt good. Overall, I feel we have a lot of potential. We need to work more to extract it.”

Raul Fernandez – P19

“We end the test only one second from first position: it is incredible how close the MotoGP category is. All the riders were here on track and it is going to be an amazing championship. KTM did an excellent job this week and I am really happy with all the work done here in Sepang. Step by step, I learn and I get closer to the others so this is what matters for me at the moment. During the tests, everybody is fast, but it will be different during the races, and I am well aware of that. For now, I think that we did a very good job here in Malaysia.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P20

“These two days have been very important, and we managed to do some significant steps forward towards being competitive. Yesterday things went smooth, while today we experienced some issues, which we were still able to fix with the team. Lap after lap I’m getting to know the bike a little bit better, and at every stop at the garage I’m getting to know the team better. Now we’ll have another three days at the Mandalika circuit, where we’ll work almost exclusively on myself and my riding style. We will also try to understand the tyres better.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P22

“We made some progress for sure but I can’t be happy about where we’re at because there are still too many things I don’t have under control. The way I ride the bike is not good enough. I can be faster for sure because this morning I wasn’t able to use the potential of the soft tyre. Apart from that, I’m still not feeling that good. These two days have been very difficult but like always in Malaysia, I think it’s the best track to test some high turns but the condition is over the limit, the grip changes and you don’t have enough tyres to compare. Anyway, I’m very happy to go on a different new track, and I will continue my work with the team to do better.”

Remy Gardner – P23

“It has been a very busy week of testing. Malaysia was fun but I did roughly two hundred laps here, so I have to admit that I look forward to changing the track and going to Mandalika. We tried a lot of different things this week, especially during the Official Test, and we managed to find some interesting points with the bike. Halfway through the day today, we decided to stop because I was struggling with my physical condition and especially with my wrist after four full days on track. it is important for me to focus on my recovery. I still managed to go faster this morning and I improved my lap-time, which I am happy with. We are still a bit far away from the top positions but considering the circumstances, it is not bad at all.”

Franco Morbidelli – P24

“We made good steps also today. We wanted to improve on new tyres, and we did that. We wanted to improve our pace, and we did that too. Unfortunately, we were not able to do the time attack, because in our programme it was scheduled in the late afternoon, but with the rain it wasn‘t possible to do it. The feeling is getting better and better. Every time it‘s getting better with the bike. We‘re setting it up well to be fast and consistent. There is this time attack doubt that I wanted to take away. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until Indonesia for that, but so far, so good. I‘m quite happy.”

Darryn Binder – P25

“Yesterday we worked really hard but didn’t get the results we wanted. Today, we came back fresh and used everything we worked on yesterday and put it straight into play immediately. After that I was looking forward to just working throughout the day, trying to perfect everything, learn and keep trying but unfortunately it started to rain. But being a rookie that was great as it gave me a chance to go out on the wet with the bike. In my eyes, it’s been a positive two days.”

Sylvain Guintoli – P26

“Over the past five days – including the shakedown – I’ve done about 250 laps, and it was really good to be back on the bike again, and back in Sepang because I really like this place. The testing programme was quite intense because the team brought many items, but everything seems to be working well so far, especially the engine spec. I also worked on the chassis, the suspension, the aerodynamics, and the ride height device. I managed to set a new personal best lap around here and overall the bike feels really well balanced, it also looks great!”

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Team Managers

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“First of all, it was great to be back on track. Especially here, after two years. But I have to say that two days of testing, after the riders not having touched the bike for two months, was probably not enough. Luckily, we are now moving on to Indonesia, where for sure the test will be more productive. We spent the first day getting the riders back up to the speed they were on before the winter stop and having them get back their confidence on the bike. This second day was the most important one. It‘s impossible to make a solid decision already, because we need to test all the items at another track. Luckily, we have the Mandalika Test next week. We tried two chassis specs and different aerodynamic items. We are now going to analyse and study all the information we gathered and compare it with the feedback of the riders. In Mandalika we will try to confirm everything, and there is where we will make our final decision on how we will start the season.”

Shinichi Sahara – Suzuki Project Leader and Team Director

“We came here with 2022 spec. bikes, which we’d already seen promising signs from last year, and we brought some new items to try. Our test riders and race riders found some of the new items were working in good way, but we couldn’t finish checking a few things due to rain this afternoon – we will try them in Mandalika next week. But the overall feeling is that we are more competitive. Our riders and all the team are feeling very positive and motivated to start another test in Indonesia, and to be ready for the first round in Qatar. I would like to say thank you to everyone for giving their all in these tests, and for their help launching our new bike.”

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“We are pretty satisfied, we brought many items here and we were able to try almost all of them. The weather did disturb our plans a bit and it meant we couldn’t finish everything we wanted to, so we’ll continue the work in Mandalika. The important thing is that the 2022 engine spec. seems to be working well for us, and the riders are feeling quite happy.”

Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“We had a productive one-and-a-half days here. We collected a lot of information between the four MotoGP riders – as well as our test riders Dani and Mika – and we tested different aero packs and the new engine spec was delivered. There were a few other important items. We have three more days of work in Mandalika next week and those will be important to evolve our ideas in different circumstances to be ready for the first race. A lot of comments from the riders here matched and that’s important in terms of finding the right direction. Hopefully that will be enough to make the ideal combo for the start of the season.”

Sebastian Risse – Red Bull KTM Technical Manager MotoGP

“Some intensive and productive days for us. First, we blew away the cobwebs from the winter and then focussed on the elements we have to homologate for the season. These are obviously important decisions and we have only two tracks at which to make them. We know Sepang and it’s a place where if something works then it can be transferred quite well to other tracks. It was important to understand the packages we had at our disposal here. We had several different aerodynamic options and we also worked on the engine and then the bike setting. It all had to fit together, and we had a few directions. Finally, we have a bike that is different for the riders, it does not have the same character as before and it is already a step faster and still with some areas to explore.”

Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager

“The Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team concludes five days of very intensive testing here in Sepang. Our two rookies enjoyed this opportunity to get additional track time and took full advantage of it. I would like to thank them for their hard work, their dedication and their never give-up attitude all week long. All this time spent on track and in the box with their respective teams has provided important feedback to KTM’s engineers, and it will be crucial to get ready for the first race of the season in Qatar in just a month.

“We saw improvement every day for both of them: the lap-times improved as well as the feeling on their KTM RC16 and it was the main target of this test. Although the final positions in the table are not the most exciting, Raul finished just 1.049 seconds from the top, and Remy 1.217, which is an amazing achievement for two rookies as the time-sheet has never been so close! We have to bear in mind that nowadays, we compare the riders with thousandths instead of hundredths as the category has become so much more competitive over the last few years.

“We aimed to gather laps, data, experience, understand the electronics, the engine, the chassis, the Michelin tyres, the carbon brakes, and this is what we did. It is now time to get some rest for the riders and the entire crew, and I believe that after more than two hundred laps each, both riders are looking forward to going to Mandalika and riding on a different circuit.

“I would like to thank both Raul and Remy, as well as the entire crew, who all worked tirelessly all week around to get the job done in a very efficient way, and I believe that KTM’s development team will take advantage of all the information we passed on. I can already say that this is going to be a very exciting season for our team.”

Razlan Razali – Team Principal WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team 

“In general the last two days has been a positive test for both our riders, both have improved in terms of time. It is still early days and we wait and see for the final test in Mandalika and finally in Qatar. But overall, we are very happy with the first test. We must congratulate Sepang International Circuit (SIC) for being able to allow the MotoGP paddock to come and test here this weekend.“

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team 

“It has been a very good test, we learned a lot. Of course we are not in the spot and place we want to be, but we have to respect the level of the group. Darryn for sure improved today and again did a step, which was our aim every day to be better and we have been doing that. Today he learned a lot in the rain with the soft and medium rain tyres, going out on half intermediate track conditions that will help in the season when he’s on the grid and it starts to rain. For Andrea, we have been trying to improve the bike, especially on rear grip and traction and we reached a limit, where we need to make more steps in that area. Over the two days, we made a lot of laps and gained a lot of information and now we’re ready to go to Mandalika.”

Pablo Nieto – Mooney VR46 Team Manager

“I am satisfied with what has been done in this long week here in Malaysia. Well done Luca who found the feeling after a complicated day y. He worked on the set up and things went better. Marco worked hard in the shakedown and collected a lot of data that was then really useful for this second test where he was able to try the new bike even in the wet. We are a young Team, but I am very happy with the whole group, we can’t wait to get back on track in Indonesia.”

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Sepang MotoGP Test Combined Times

The previous benchmarks

Fabio Quartararo holds the qualifying lap record at Sepang with a 1m58.303. The top speed record is held by Andrea Iannone at 339.6 km/h. Valentino Rossi holds the race lap record at 1m59.661. Outside of a race weekend, Danilo Petrucci set the previous outright benchmark at 1m58.239 during testing here in 2019 when it was a Ducati 1-2-3-4 atop the time-sheets.

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Sepang Test Top Speeds

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2022 MotoGP Entry List

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2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au

Jack Miller

“I think the potential is there big style. Already yesterday shaking it down, you know, overcoming some of the issues we were having, we were able to improve a considerable amount today. I only got to do one time attack today. I had an issue with the bike so in saying that, to go and push on one tyre and do the time we did, I’m pretty happy with that.

“The pace was there…a bit more today but again, working on the engine character, the way the electronics are working, we’re quite busy and in between that trying new parts and stuff like that. It’s been a busy test. It’s a shame it rained in the afternoon, we kind of needed a little more track time but we can’t change that. Anyway, I think got some really good data. Again, like yesterday, everything we tried or the ideas that we had and worked towards, they seem to get better and better.

“I’m quietly confident with the bike. It’s growing on me more and more and yeah, I think we don’t need to have the best bike at the first test, you know we need to have the best bike when Qatar rolls around to run and I think we’re well on the way to having that.

“We’re working first and foremost on the way the bikes behaving. The way the tyres are working undeath and also how the bike is turning. We were working on that yesterday but also another big part of it is the throttle connection, from engine brake to positive gas, and that’s been the big recurring thing. We’ve improved it from where it was in Jerez, and we keep improving but we still have some work to do in terms of that. Trying to get it as smooth as possible and we’ve made steps forward on that. The main thing yesterday and today was just working with the complete new package and just trying to get comfortable. Have the bike so where I point, it goes there, because yesterday it was not behaving like a bike I know.

“I feel good going to Mandalika. I think a new track is what it is. I mean you go and do 10 or 15 laps around it and you know it pretty much and especially just watching the superbike race there last year, it didn’t look like a Texas or something like that, crazy long with a thousand corners. It doesn’t seem all that technical to learn….But for sure, I think, once we get our base setting underway there I’m sure we’ll be able to work on our issues and Mandalika has a few places it looks like with a few slower corners, which is the biggest issue for our bike,s so I think it’s good that we’re going there and I’d prefer to not test at the place we’re doing the first race. I think it’s a bit shitty when you go and do 3,4,5 days testing then you go and race there. Everyone is on pace….and it’s just boring then. You lose the meaning of the whole weekend.

“Yesterday the new bike felt a bit foreign to me…It wasn’t doing….I’d put similar inputs to what I’d normally put in and what I’d expect to happen wasn’t happening so I just had to work on that and work on my set-up, base set-up, basic geometry of the bike as well as adapting yourself around that. Yeah, for sure, the way that the electronics are and the way that bike is delivering the power is the thing we’re working on the most. We have a complete new package this year so, you know, last year, that bike had been worked on throughout 2020 and 2021 so it was pretty well fine tuned by the end of it. Starting from a different base again you need to build up.

“Starting from where we are now, to where the bike should be by the time we get to Qatar, I feel like this package definitely will have more potential once we’ve ironed out all the bugs so that gives me promise.

“There is so much more workload to do being in the factory team that you don’t get to throw tyres at it and have all that fun that you do at a satellite team, where you can go and break records and what not. At the end of the day Enea is on a fantastic package. I know very well how good his package is, and also he’s riding fantastic. To do a 1m58.1 around here, I honestly thought they were going to go into the 1m57s today and it was making me even more nervous, but they didn’t quite crack it. They’re riding really well. All those boys are riding really good. We’re half a second off and as I said, as a base setting for a new bike I think we can be pretty happy with that. Me and Pecco, and Zarco was a little faster, but we are all very similar on the new package.”

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Sepang MotoGP Test Combined Times

The previous benchmarks

Fabio Quartararo holds the qualifying lap record at Sepang with a 1m58.303. The top speed record is held by Andrea Iannone at 339.6 km/h. Valentino Rossi holds the race lap record at 1m59.661. Outside of a race weekend, Danilo Petrucci set the previous outright benchmark at 1m58.239 during testing here in 2019 when it was a Ducati 1-2-3-4 atop the time-sheets.

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Sepang Test Top Speeds

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2022 MotoGP Entry List

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2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au

Sepang MotoGP Test 2022

The fast times came thick and fast right from the off at Sepang this morning. Aleix Espargaro set the fastest ever lap of the 5543 metre, 15-turn complex that is the Sepang GP Circuit on his eighth lap of the morning session but the Spaniard’s glory did not last long.  Enea Bastianini then undercut the 1m58.157 set by Aleix with a 1m58.131 of his own to take early bragging rights. 

With only 90-minutes gone in the session, the top 17 riders, covering all brands, were in the 1m58s. Bastianini leading the way on that 1m58.131 followed by Aleix Espargaro (1m58.157), Jorge Martin (1m58.243), Maverick Vinales (1m58.261) and Francesco Bagnaia (1m58.265). That top five all under Fabio Quartararo’s 1m58.303 qualifying lap record from 2019. Speaking of the World Champ, he was seventh at this juncture, just ahead of Marc Marquez.  However, Quartararo was the only Yamaha inside the top 20…

Just after the two-hour mark Alex Rins also dipped under that previous qualifying lap record. There was not much movement at the top of the table in the hours after that as the heat of the day really started to build and few riders were on track. The riders that were braving the heat in the low grip conditions were those who really wanted to work on their rear grip, primarily that was the Honda and Yamaha riders. 

Both Joan Mir and Marco Bezzechi slid off at turn 15 during the morning session. 

Rain came down at the halfway point of the eight-hour session which kept riders in their pit garages for some time. The sun started peering through the clouds again 30-minutes later as riders and team personnel waited to see if the track would dry out enough for a last time attack run. Alas, the rain came down again before the track had even dried thus that was largely it for the day.

Some of the rookies took to the track to get a feel for a MotoGP bike on wets. Pecco Bagnaia, Johann Zarco, Luca Marini, Brad Binder and Andrea Dovizioso also braved the rain. 

But at the end of the day Enea Bastianini has first bragging rights for season 2022 and leaves Malaysia after setting a new outright benchmark at Sepang. 

Enea Bastianini – P1

“It was very exciting to get back on the bike. We were very quick both yesterday and today: if yesterday we had to shake some rust off, today we worked on speed. Due to the rain we only managed to do one time attack, but it went quite well. We also had a look at our race pace these two days as we made a few set-up changes, and we improved a lot despite starting already from an excellent base. Now we need to test a new track – we will all start from zero and we will work for the race: we want to be quick there, too.”

But how close can it get… 

I can’t think of any other motorsport discipline that has such close competition.

The top 13 within half-a-second… And this is not a short track with 1m20s lap times, we are talking lap-times of nearly two-minutes, and yet still the the top 18 within a second. 

So who looks to have made the most progress…?

Ducati have always been fast here during testing, half a dozen riders have lapped in the low 1m58s on the Desmosedici as far back as three years ago. Thus no real progress to show…?  Well it is not quite that simple. This is a new bike, a lot of the Ducati riders did not get a chance to put a soft tyre in the bike late today due to the rain, and the sheer number of riders they had on track will give them an astronomical amount of data for their engineers to trawl through between here and Indonesia. I attended a post race web conference with Luigi Dall’Igna and to say he look relaxed would be a significant understatement. Unfortunately, due to embargo, you will have to wait until tomorrow night to find out what the 55-year-old Italian conjuror said… 

Yamaha have generally had good pace here, Fabio Quartararo holds the qualifying lap record at 1m58.303, and Valentino Rossi has the race lap record at 1m59.661.  Fabio Quartararo was on his qualifying lap record pace today but didn’t better it.  Incidentally the last time MotoGP raced here, 2019, it was an all Yamaha front row. Quartararo on pole with a 1m58.303, Maverick Vinales 1m58.406 and Franco Morbidelli third on 1m58.432.  During this test only Quartararo got into the 1m58s..  The defending champion said that while there was some improvement to the engine of the YZR-M1 it was very marginal and they were still lacking top speed. The quickest Yamaha through the traps today was Quartararo at 327.2 km/h. That is two km/h quicker than he set on his record pole lap here in 2019.  Still, the Frenchman was less than two-tenths off Bastianini’s new outright benchmark. Without Quartararo Yamaha wouldn’t have had a rider in the top 20 at Sepang this weekend. The next quickest Yamaha was test rider Cal Crutchlow in P21… 

Overall, the lack of pace from the other Yamaha riders has to be terrifying for Yamaha management, despite what they say to the contrary.  Quartararo though claimed his fast lap came on a ‘really old rear tyre’. How much they paying him…? Probably not enough, as it stands right now they would be back-markers if not for Fabio. 

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“First of all, it was great to be back on track. Especially here, after two years. But I have to say that two days of testing, after the riders not having touched the bike for two months, was probably not enough. Luckily, we are now moving on to Indonesia, where for sure the test will be more productive. We spent the first day getting the riders back up to the speed they were on before the winter stop and having them get back their confidence on the bike. This second day was the most important one. It‘s impossible to make a solid decision already, because we need to test all the items at another track. Luckily, we have the Mandalika Test next week. We tried two chassis specs and different aerodynamic items. We are now going to analyse and study all the information we gathered and compare it with the feedback of the riders. In Mandalika we will try to confirm everything, and there is where we will make our final decision on how we will start the season.”

With Marc Marquez eighth and Pol Espargaro tenth it might look as though Honda are in trouble. But, this is a completely new bike that they are only just starting to scratch the surface of development with, and it is already significantly quicker than the previous incarnation of the RC213V.  From what I can ascertain, Marc Marquez never managed a 1m58 on the old bike at any point, either testing or during a race weekend, yet after a long time off, still not 100 per cent fit, and with a completely new bike, he went almost a second quicker around Sepang than he ever has before. Repsol Honda team-mate Pol Espargaro was only a tenth behind him, Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez were also in the 58s. 

Likewise I don’t believe a Suzuki rider has ever lapped Sepang in the 1m58s before.  Both Alex Rins and Joan Mir finished in the top ten here during the race in 2019, but during the race neither of them recorded a sub two-minute lap.  But this weekend both riders have been right on the pace both days. 

Shinichi Sahara – Suzuki MotoGP Project Leader

“We came here with 2022 spec. bikes, which we’d already seen promising signs from last year, and we brought some new items to try. Our test riders and race riders found some of the new items were working in good way, but we couldn’t finish checking a few things due to rain this afternoon – we will try them in Mandalika next week. But the overall feeling is that we are more competitive. Our riders and all the team are feeling very positive and motivated to start another test in Indonesia, and to be ready for the first round in Qatar. I would like to say thank you to everyone for giving their all in these tests, and for their help launching our new bike.”

Last time MotoGP visited Malaysia for a race weekend no KTM made it into Q2, and the fastest race lap achieved by a KTM rider was 2m00.648. However, during the 2019 pre-season test here three KTM riders were in the 1m59s, a 1m59.640s the fastest lap by a KTM and it came at the hands of Johann Zarco.  This time around Miguel Oliveira was the pacesetter for the Austrian brand, a 1m58.701 ahead of Brad Binder on 1m59.016. Rookies Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner also impressed. 

Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“We had a productive one-and-a-half days here. We collected a lot of information between the four MotoGP riders – as well as our test riders Dani and Mika – and we tested different aero packs and the new engine spec was delivered. There were a few other important items. We have three more days of work in Mandalika next week and those will be important to evolve our ideas in different circumstances to be ready for the first race. A lot of comments from the riders here matched and that’s important in terms of finding the right direction. Hopefully that will be enough to make the ideal combo for the start of the season.”

And now we come to Aprilia. Yes it’s testing… And yes they have had more days on track than the others. But, this is an all new bike and both riders were at the pointy end of the time-sheets, a 1m58.157 for Aleix to go P2, and a 1m58.261 for Maverick Vinales in P5. All the various ‘testing only’ disclaimers aside, that is pretty significant. Aleix Espargaro goes well here, he was seventh during the 2019 Sepang Test with Aprilia on a 1m59.022, and this is also a track where Maverick Vinales has often showed awesome pace during testing. But, still, for MotoGP’s smallest manufacturer this will be a huge shot in the arm for the technicians working hard back at Noale and will spur them on for the season ahead. 

Aleix Espargaró – P2

“I must thank the staff in Noale. Albesiano and all the engineers did a good job. From the first time I swung a leg over, during a photo shoot, I noticed how sleek and compact the new RS-GP is, and I know how hard it is to achieve this result. The ergonomics, the frame and all the new features make it extremely agile, letting me improve on corners speed, especially in fast turns. However, we still need to consider that this is just the first test and that we are all extremely close. The current level of MotoGP is absolutely incredible. We’ll keep working and I can’t wait to turn laps on the new Mandalika circuit too.”

Somewhat curiously, nobody got near the top speed record that was set by Andrea Iannone at 339.6 km/h back in 2015…. The quickest through the traps today was Enea Bastianini and Johann Zarco, both at 335.4 km/h. 

Of course this is only testing and with such limited time on track to chase lap times, due to a massive list of things to work through for their respective factories in order for them to firm up or shelve various developments, but one thing this weekend really underlined is that Yamaha would be nowhere if not for Fabio Quartararo. 

The MotoGP travelling roadshow now gets packed up into containers for the 3000 kilometre journey south-east to the Indonesian island of Lombok and the Mandalika Circuit for a three-day test at the new 17-corner, 4.3 kilometre facility.  The riders get to hit the new circuit for the first time this Friday, February 11.  Then just three weeks later the lights will go out at Qatar for the season opener….  

Sepang MotoGP Test Times Day Two

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Sepang MotoGP Test Combined Times

The previous benchmarks

Fabio Quartararo holds the qualifying lap record at Sepang with a 1m58.303. The top speed record is held by Andrea Iannone at 339.6 km/h. Valentino Rossi holds the race lap record at 1m59.661. Outside of a race weekend, Danilo Petrucci set the previous outright benchmark at 1m58.239 during testing here in 2019 when it was a Ducati 1-2-3-4 atop the time-sheets.

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Sepang Test Top Speeds

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2022 MotoGP Entry List

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2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au

2022 Sepang MotoGP Test Day One

Alex Rins – P3

“I’ve been waiting for this test for a long time, so I think this could be why I was fast early on – I was so keen to be back on track! Overall, I’m happy because my pace was strong, and I was able to test many different things. It’s always interesting and important to find what the strongest parts are, and what still needs improvement. I can already feel that the engine is more powerful, and the data reflects that, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Enea Bastianini – P4

“After two tests, one at Jerez and another at Sepang, I have a clearer idea about my bike. After only one day in Malaysia, I’m more aware of the Desmosedici’s potential. It’s more stable and you can hit the brakes a lot later. With the new rear tyre on, I can open the throttle much more aggressively compared to the 2019 bike. With the new engine, Sepang becomes a fantastic circuit, one where I can push really hard.”

Johann Zarco – P5

“I had a good feeling from the beginning and I was able to be fast all day. In the afternoon we improved, I became more aware of the bike and I finished in the top five. Tomorrow will be another important day to try new solutions.”

Fabio Quartararo – P6

“Tomorrow I want to work a bit more on the bike. So far, I’m happy with the pace, but not with the time attack. Just before the time attack, I was doing laps on a medium tyre that had 26 laps on it. To make the step from that tyre to a new soft, I didn’t take the full benefit of the soft. But tomorrow we will have another chance to do a time attack, and in general I need to improve my riding, because after three months I was not carrying enough corner speed and that’s our bike‘s strong point.”

Joan Mir – P7

“It’s the first day back at school! The feelings are positive so far, even though the heat here is unbelievable. We tried many items, especially the chassis parts, and it’s a bit early to take solid conclusions but my feelings were good today. I’m pleased with how everything is going so far and tomorrow we’ll continue to learn how to get the maximum out of the bike. We need to work a bit more on the electronics, because we didn’t have enough time to get everything ‘on point’ yet. My lap time was OK today, pretty solid, but I know I can do more.”

Marc Marquez – P8

“To return to the track after the period we have lived through was very rewarding, but it was a long and hard day. I feel good with the bike and most of all, it was a normal day after a long time. Good, fast, some small mistakes – today had everything! The new bike is better but we still have a lot to understand because this is a very big change to the bike. Now the character is different and I need to understand the limits, this is what the pre-season is for. Tomorrow will be important to do a longer run to keep learning and understanding.”

Pol Espargaro – P9

“It feels great to be back riding and especially on this bike. It’s amazing to see the effort of Honda, not just bringing two new bikes for the factory riders but four bikes for all the Honda riders. Honda has made a huge effort to do this and it’s going to help us a lot. But we have a lot of work to do, with just five days of testing we have to use all the time we can. We’ve had a good first day on a new bike but the best is yet to come and hopefully we can continue to improve and show the potential tomorrow. I spent the day working on mediums, not chasing a fast time as today we were trying many things. Tomorrow we’ll look for a lap time.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P10

“I am very happy, we have continued the work started during the shakedown and I certainly cannot complain about today. At the end, with the new soft tire, I also set a very good lap time. We are doing a good job with the whole Team and I feel better every day on the bike, it is more and more mine. Compared to Moto2, there is more power to manage, a different style and even the tires are completely different. However, a day to remember: riding on track with the riders that until now I had only seen on TV was exciting.”

Raul Fernandez – P13

“Today has been a positive day again with a lot of hardwork. I think that we took a step further in the right direction and this is the most important to me. Without repeating myself too much, I am very happy and I want to continue to learn, continue my progression, and enjoy myself on the bike.”

Jorge Martín – P17

“I am satisfied with this first day of testing, the first day after the winter break is not always easy but we are working hard. I had a very good start this morning and then struggled a little bit more in the afternoon because of the high temperatures. I am sure we will improve tomorrow.”

Luca Marini – P18

“A difficult day today, a more uphill start than we could expected. It was not easy, mentally above all, to sit for such a long time in the garage to understand exactly what was happening on the bikes. These are things that can happen with a new bike on the first day of testing of the new season. We will continue to work to be ready and make the most of tomorrow sessions. I have only been able ride in the last two hours, I don’t know what kind of sensations I have on the new Ducati, it is too early and we need to consider that for me it is the first time in Sepang with the MotoGP. My 2022 will start tomorrow.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P20

“The good news is that we’re back in shape. We needed it, because these past days have been tough. I’m quite happy with how today went: we lapped a lot and Sepang has always been a circuit that I like. It’s really crazy to lap here with the MotoGP: we had a good impression and we made quite a good step forward compared to few days ago. We’re working on the direction to follow together with Manuel (Poggiali) and my super team, as well as on some set-up changes to make.”

Franco Morbidelli – P21

“It‘s great to be back on the MotoGP bike. Malaysia is tough. The first day in Malaysia is always tricky: hot conditions. But we went through it quite well. The performance was good, really good in some parts of the day and less in some other parts. But it feels right to only bring the good things to the track tomorrow.”

Jack Miller – P22

“I Feel good on the bike, feel fit on the bike, well as you can be for not being on a MotoGP bikes for a couple of months. The package is good, has big potential, we are just working through getting comfortable on the bike and making my own. Was a busy day for me, and all my guys, changing parts, changing this and that, so a busy day for all.

“On last years bike we would have been faster, that is one way to look at it, but the potential of the new bike is greater, working with the developments we have as the Factory Team to get this bike working to our satisfaction. We are testing the GP22, and what we test and work on will get passed on.

“All very easy to get on the bike you know and have ridden in 19 Grand Prixs, like a new shoe, it feels strange at first, but eventually it will be my shoe.

“Next evolution of the bike, big thing to get your head around when you first get on it.

“Limited with the tyres, last year we topped pretty every much test there was, and we know how that all worked out.

“The GP21 we never rode here, the track is in pretty good condition, some of the bumps maybe have got a little bit bigger, but it should get faster the more rubber goes down, so it feels a bit fresh, been a while since it had a lot Michelin rubber put down on it.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P23

“Today has been a very strange day. Everybody is stressed, because we have only two days here in Malaysia, so everyone is doing a lot of laps. We did the same and started with a good feeling this morning. We tried a lot of things, but unfortunately, it wasn’t really clear which direction to take and I couldn’t improve my feeling. I don’t think today is the day to understand the real situation of everybody. I don’t know how much the soft tyre can improve things, because I didn’t try and we don’t have enough tyres here to do all the comparisons of material we want, so it’s pretty tricky to program the two days. But anyway, tomorrow we have to confirm something and try to be a bit faster.”

Remy Gardner – P24

“Today has been a good day and we did a lot of laps. We struggled a little bit more compared to the three previous days of Shakedown because we tested some different parts and things compared to the settings used earlier this week. However, we have a clear direction of what we need to do so I am happy with that. Tomorrow, we will continue the work and push a bit more.”

Darryn Binder – P25

“Today we finished the first day of the official test here in Sepang. We worked hard today, I was working in a lot of different areas and tried some different things compared to the shakedown test. The end result was very similar to the final day of the shakedown test, which I wish I could have improved a lot more. I felt like we worked quite a lot during the day and I thought this is really going to reflect at the end of the day, but anyway, this is testing. I felt a little bit faster step by step, especially with the used tyres. We will try again tomorrow and see what happens. We’ll just keep on working, keep on trying to learn and slowly but surely understand how everything works and see in which direction to go.”

Sylvain Guintoli – P26

“I’ve been here in Sepang for a few days longer than Alex and Joan because we had the three-day shakedown test. This allowed me to test a lot of the items already; the new engine, the aero packages, the new rear ride height adjuster. So there was a lot going on during the shakedown. Today I turned my attention to the electronics side, and I tried some new evolution items there; I also tried some new front suspension options. I’m happy because we completed the programme for today, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

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Sepang Test Times Day One

Sepang Test Day One Top Speed

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The previous benchmarks

For comparison, Fabio Quartararo holds the qualifying lap record at Sepang with a 1m58.303. The top speed record is held by Andrea Iannone at 339.6 km/h. Valentino Rossi holds the race lap record at 1m59.661. Outside of a race weekend, Danilo Petrucci set the outright benchmark at 1m58.239 during testing here in 2019 when it was a Ducati 1-2-3-4, will we see that time bettered here this coming weekend, and will Ducati dominate once again…?

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2022 MotoGP Entry List

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2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au

2022 Sepang MotoGP Test Day One

Aleix Espargaro was the early pacesetter with a 1m58.371 knocking on the of Fabio Quartararo’s qualifying lap record of 1m58.303.  But of course the Aprilia riders had the advantage over the rest of the riders on track as they had the benefit of already riding here earlier in the week, thanks to their relative lack of results allowing them testing concessions not available to riders of any other brand of machinery on the grid.

For the rookies it was the continuation of their learning process on how to adapt themselves to the demands of these 157 kilogram, 300 horsepower animals.

Enea Bastianini was the first of the other MotoGP regulars to dip into the 1m58s, a 1m58.638 for the 24-year-old Italian who this year rides for Gresini.  

Two riders in the 58s less than two hours into the test indicates that we might see some records broken here this weekend if the weather holds,  perhaps even the first ever 1m57?  It should be noted though the cooler morning temperatures can be more conducive to fast times than the sweltering afternoon heat. It was already over 30-degrees Celsius by midday, but of course the heat in the tarmac compounds via heatsink as the day goes on to make things more challenging later in the day. Aleix Espargaro’s 1m58.371 came in the first half hour of the morning. 

Marc Marquez had a small crash early on in proceedings and did not dip under the two-minute mark until a third of the way through the day when he leapt up the time-sheets from 18th to sixth with a 1m59.422.  Today marked the first time since October that Marquez has been on a MotoGP bike, incidentally that last time he rode one was his race to victory at Misano. 

Jack Miller was outside the top 20 at the halfway mark of today’s proceedings, while the order at the top had remained static for quite some time. Aleix Espargaro was still leading the way with that early 1m58.371 ahead of Enea Bastianini, who at that four-hour mark was still the only other rider in the 1m58s. Alex Rins was third on 1m59.430, a fraction ahead of Pol Espargaro, Joan Mir, Marc Marquez, Maverick Vinales, Johann Zarco and Cal Crutchlow while reigning champion Fabio Quartararo rounded out the top ten at that halfway juncture. 

There was then a significant lull in proceedings with no riders on track for long periods of time.

Then with around 90 minutes left on the clock riders started to circulate a bit more often once again. Maverick Vinales moved up to third, but had still not gone quicker than he had earlier in the week. Jack Miller then moved inside the top 20 for the first time, but was still to get under the two-minute barrier.  

With an hour remaining it was still Aleix Espargaro and Enea Bastianini topping the timesheets on the back of their early markers, that pair were still the only riders to have lapped in the 1m58s at this point of proceedings. 

In the last hour though a few more riders started twisting the throttle harder, pulling the brake firmer, and getting down to business..

Marc Marquez moved up to fifth to go quicker than team-mate Pol Espargaro for the first time today with a 1m59.287.  Maverick Vinales then joined Aleix Espargaro and Enea Bastianini in the 58s club, a 1m59.927 to go third quickest. 

Then with 50-minutes remaining Fabio Quartararo moved up to eighth quickest on the back of a 1m59.489, then immediately backed it up with a 1m59.002 on his next lap to go fourth quickest, pushing Alex Rins back to fifth, Marquez sixth and Pol Espargaro seventh. 

Then as the day entered its final 45-minutes Johann Zarco dropped into the 58s, a 1m58.946 to go fourth quickest and push Quartararo back to P5. 

With half hour remaining Marc Marquez went down again, this time at turn 15, rider okay. 

Joan Mir upped his pace with 20-minutes left on the shot clock, a 1m59.067 pushing Suzuki team-mate Alex Rins back to seventh, and Marquez back to eighth. 

Vinales then dropped in a 1m58.483 to go P2 with 15-minutes left in the session. Only 13-thousandths off Aleix Espargaro’s early benchmark and making it an Aprilia 1-2. 

KTM Rookie Raul Fernandez then got wound up to drop almost a second off his previous best, a 1m59.682 to go P12, but still a couple of tenths off what he managed earlier this week. That also made him quickest KTM. 

Alex Rins then joined the 58s club with five-minutes left in the session, a 1m58.471 for P3.  

Marco Bezzecchi left it late to join the top ten, a 1m59.550 to the Mooney VR46 rider to push Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow back to P11. 

Jack Miller left pit-lane with only just enough time to get around his out-lap and cross the stripe before the chequered flag came out, but the Australian had to settle for P22, the slowest of the eight Ducatis.  His Factory team-mate Pecco Bagnaia was only a tenth quicker, suggesting the pair had a huge list of things to work through and evaluate for Ducati on what was this their first day back on the bike for a couple of months. 

Countryman Remy Gardner was P24, his 2m00.470 four-tenths slower than he recorded earlier in the week. Gardner sporting a wrist support to help him ride after he broke his wrist in a motocross training accident only a fortnight ago. The 23-year-old reporting that his wrist was okay in the morning but then swelled up during the day under the rigours of riding the RC16. They also struggled to find a way further forward with set-up from what they had arrived at earlier in the week. 

29 days to go until the season starts proper under lights in Qatar….  Another day of testing at Sepang tomorrow, then next week the men of MotoGP test at Indonesia’s new Mandalika circuit….

Sepang Test Times Day One

Sepang Test Day One Top Speed

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The previous benchmarks

For comparison, Fabio Quartararo holds the qualifying lap record at Sepang with a 1m58.303. The top speed record is held by Andrea Iannone at 339.6 km/h. Valentino Rossi holds the race lap record at 1m59.661. Outside of a race weekend, Danilo Petrucci set the outright benchmark at 1m58.239 during testing here in 2019 when it was a Ducati 1-2-3-4, will we see that time bettered here this coming weekend, and will Ducati dominate once again…?

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2022 MotoGP Entry List

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2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au

Sepang MotoGP Test Times
Shakedown Day Three

The MotoGP world has been waiting with nervous bated breath awaiting what surprises Ducati has in store for 2022, but there has been not all that much to talk about yet other than what looks like a much simpler activation of the launch device on the Desmosedici. 

A clip getting around Twitter shows the Ducati sink to the ground at the touch of a single button, both ends lowering gracefully, rather than the somewhat more complicated and tricky to operate two stage activation we saw last year. 

Further tweaks to the exhaust were also evident along with the various aerodynamic changes that we have seen tested this week. There were hints that a new swing-arm was also being trialled by test rider Michele Pirro. 

Ducati technicians have stated that the work on the exhaust valves, seen towards the end-caps of the Akrapovic exhausts, is primarily focussed on the tuning of the engine braking. This is an area that is become more and more significant across all facets of motorcycle racing as everyone seeks the tiniest edge that will make the job of their riders easier on corner entry. 

The device on the end of the swing-arm is, presumably, some sort of laser that could be used to calculate the flex in the swing-arm.  That’s my best guess, you have any better ones?

Marco Bezzecchi was circulating again for the new Mooney VR46 Racing Team. The 23-year-old Italian lapped slightly quicker than the hugely experienced Pirro and was the second fastest rookie.

You can also see in this shot that the Ducati of Marco Bezzecchi got hot enough to start burning through the belly pan. 

Marco Bezzecchi

“I’m happy: a good day today, even better than yesterday and overall a good job over the three days with all the technicians, Ducati and the Team. We have always improved, I am happy with my physical condition and I cannot complain. Saturday we will be back on track, there will be more references with the other riders, even more opportunities to ride together and I will continue to get familiar with the bike. Let’s go forward step by step.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio was still out of action due to a bout of gastro and will be hoping to recover in time to join the weekend on track action. The 23-year-old Italian only completed 38-laps on Monday and did not ride the last two days. 

Fabio Di Giannantonio

“I’m obviously very sorry. I got ready as good as I could to start these three days on the right foot, and the whole off-season in general. Due to a “silly” thing unfortunately I had to stay in bed. Yesterday I was totally knocked out, while today I’m a little better. I want to hope that with a couple more days off I will be ready to get back on track from Saturday already.”

Jack Miller was on the ground at Sepang and looking seemingly no worse for wear after his recent brush with Covid.

Yamaha have been evaluating some further tweaks to their aero package, which the returning riders will also no doubt work with this coming weekend and evaluate further. The primary difference that sticks out is the change to the lower part of the front edge of the wings and what appears to be a larger air intake tract.  The welding on particular areas of the chassis was slightly different across some of the bikes. 

Yamaha rookie Darryn Binder improved throughout the week but not as much as he might have liked. The young South African a second adrift of the two Tech3 KTM alumni but also remarking that three days of wrestling a MotoGP heat in the sweltering and stultifying heat and humidity of Malaysia had taken their toll and that we was looking forward to the next two days off to recuperate before the on-track action recommences on Saturday. 

Cal Crutchlow made his first appearance on Wednesday after recently extending his contract with Yamaha as their official test rider. 

Some aero tweaks were evident at Suzuki also but it will be what improvements have come from the engine department back at Hamamatsu that Alex Rins and Joan Mir will be most eager to test come Saturday.

Japanese test rider Takuya Tsuda joined Guintoli on track on Wednesday but at over 3.5-seconds off the pace it might be somewhat of a worry that he helps develop the MotoGP bike for the factory in Japan. 

Aprilia have used a carbon-fibre swing-arm in recent seasons but were trialling an alloy swing-arm at times this week.  Lorenzo Savadori had been the only Aprilia rider on Monday. Savadori was then joined by Maverick Vinales on Tuesday while on Wednesday Aleix Espargaro also hit the track and it was that pair that topped proceedings.  

Due to Aprilia’s relative lack of results in recent times the MotoGP concession rules allow their full-time riders to join the three-day Shakedown test normally only reserved for rookies and test riders.  

Maverick Vinales set the benchmark at 1m58.942 before crashing the RS-GP. The fastest times came in the cooler morning conditions and thus are perhaps not the best comparative form guide against their peers. 

Aleix Espargaro was second quickest to make for an Aprilia 1-2 up front.

Honda finally got down to business proper after logistical problems saw a lot of their equipment stuck in transit earlier in the week.  The latest RC213V prototype was seen with more exhaust changes and tweaks to the tail unit. 

Over at KTM Remy Gardner’s wrist was really starting to give him some grief after three days of testing and the Australian is looking forward to the break over the next two days before testing steps up a gear on Saturday when Sepang will be a busy hive of action as the full compliment of MotoGP riders and machinery hit the track.  KTM have been trying to adapt the riding position of the RC16 to better suit the height and riding style of the 178 cm Aussie. 

Remy’s Tech3 KTM team-mate Raul Fernandez ended the Shakedown as fastest rookie. An impressive 1m59.468 for the 21-year-old Spaniard hinting at some serious early promise that will have KTM excited for the season ahead. Despite his injuries though, Gardner narrowed the gap down to his in-house rival back to just over half-a-second. 

KTM test riders Dani Pedrosa and Mika Kallio evaluated swing-arm and aero changes for the Austrian manufacturer.  

On the weekend there will be much more detailed data available once the next phase of testing beings. After a two-year freeze on engine development every manufacturer will be running essentially all-new engines as they chase not only horsepower, but also methods to try and smooth those ponies out and allow their riders to get their power to the ground and translate that into traction, and forward progress… 

Ducati certainly looked to have the edge in 2021, will they have made yet a further leap ahead, or will some of the manufacturers have closed the gap…? 

To my mind, it would be much easier to smooth the rough edges off what is the benchmark power unit for ouright speed, rather than to chase power while also trying to keep that power delivery as smooth as possible at the same time…  That said, the Aprilia stars didn’t only stop the clocks quickest at this test, they also topped the speed charts at 334.4 km/h.  A single km/h faster than rookie Bezzechi on the Ducati, but 6 km/h quicker than Bradl on the Honda, and 8 km/h quicker than the fastest Suzuki, and 9 km/h quicker than the fastest Yamaha.  But this is early days and other than being an interesting talking point, means very little in regards to a form guide for speed in 2022. 

For comparison, Fabio Quartararo holds the qualifying lap record at Sepang with a 1m58.303. The top speed record is held by Andrea Iannone at 339.6 km/h. Valentino Rossi holds the race lap record at 1m59.661. Outside of a race weekend, Danilo Petrucci set the outright benchmark at 1m58.239 during testing here in 2019 when it was a Ducati 1-2-3-4, will we see that time bettered here this coming weekend, and will Ducati dominate once again…?

Sepang Test Times
Shakedown Day Three

1. Maverick Vinales – Aprilia – 1m58.942

2. Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia – 1m59.086

3. Raul Fernandez – KTM – 1m59.468

4. Marco Bezzecchi – Ducati – 1m59.711

5. Michele Pirro – Ducati – 1m59.805

6. Remy Gardner – KTM – 2m00.046

7. Stefan Bradl – Honda – 2m00.449

8. Sylvain Guintoli – Suzuki – 2m00.491

9. Darryn Binder – Yamaha – 2m00.928

10. Mika Kallio – KTM – 2m01.074

Sepang Test Top Speeds
Shakedown Day Three

1. Maverick Vinales – Aprilia 334.4 km/h

2. Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia 334.4 km/h

3. Marco Bezzecchi – Ducati 333.3 km/h

4. Michele Pirro – Ducati 331.3 km/h

5. Raul Fernandez – KTM 330.3 km/h

6. Stefan Bradl – Honda 329.3 km/h

7. Remy Gardner – KTM 328.2 km/h

8. Sylvain Guintoli – Suzuki 326.3 km/h

9. Darryn Binder – Yamaha 325.5 km/h

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Sepang MotoGP Test Times
Shakedown Day Two

Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales had watched on from the sidelines during the opening day of the Sepang Shakedown but got down to business on day two to top proceedings.

The Aprilia rider able to join the test riders and rookies due to Aprilia’s recent lack of decent results, which allows them various concessions. Vinales was the only rider in the 1m59s. 

Michele Pirro continued to work through Ducati’s comprehensive test program with Gigi Dall’Igna and was second quickest ahead of Mooney VR46 Ducati rookie Marco Bezzecchi, the fastest rookie of the test thus far.

Raul Fernandez did 55 laps today as he continues to familiarise himself with the vagaries of a MotoGP machine. The 21-year-old only fractionally bettered his Monday time though, a 2m00.819 putting him fourth.

Suzuki test rider Sylvain Guintoli split the two KTM men and somewhat surprisingly is the only Suzuki test rider in attendance. 

Remy Gardner was still suffering some discomfort in his wrist after surgery on the break, sustained in a motocross training crash, only a fortnight ago. Nonetheless Gardner put in 43 laps on Tuesday to be sixth quickest. 

Darryn Binder again joined Yamaha’s two regular Japanese test riders, Kohta Nozane and Katsuyuki Nakasuga. The South African lopping almost a full second off his Monday time and significantly faster than Yamaha’s test riders. 

No Honda rider had been on track for the Monday session due to logistical issues with the bikes not arriving in time. Stefan Bradl got 51 laps in today while wearing the leathers of Pol Espargaro, as his own had still not arrived in Malaysia. 

Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio didn’t take to the track on Tuesday as he felt ill.

Rookies, Concession and Test riders will be again on track today and tomorrow, then there is a break in proceedings before the full complement of MotoGP riders hit the track on February 5.

Sepang Test Times
Shakedown Day Two

1. Maverick Vinales – Aprilia – 1m59.833

2. Michele Pirro – Ducati – 2m00.565

3. Marco Bezzecchi – Ducati – 2m00.734

4. Raul Fernandez – KTM – 2m00.819

5. Sylvain Guintoli – Suzuki – 2m01.102

6. Remy Gardner – KTM – 2m01.177

7. Darryn Binder – Yamaha – 2m01.297

8. Stefan Bradl – Honda – 2m01.361

9. Mika Kallio – KTM – 2m01.923

10. Lorenzo Savadori – Aprilia – 2m02.043

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Sepang MotoGP Test Times
Shakedown Day One

MotoGP Rookies and test riders took to the track yesterday in Malaysia in what for many was only their second time on a MotoGP machine. Their first time on the big bangers was at Jerez last November.  

Raul Fernandez was quickest on track yesterday with a 2m0.898, besting Ducati’s Pirro by 0.144s.  The 21-year-old was also quick at the previous test and is continuing to show impressive early form.

Ducati test rider Michele Pirro was on track with the latest iteration of the Ducati Desmosedici.

The Desmosedici sported a new much longer exhaust at the Jerez Test in November and it appears that development has continued on to the latest prototype.  New fairings and air intakes are also markedly different than seen in 2021.

Marco Bezzecchi was on the Ducati Desmosedici GP of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team.  Among the very first guys on the track, Bezzecchi donned a special pre-season helmet with a big P on the top to indicate he is new to the class. Bezzecchi completed 38 laps with a best of 2m02.012s. 

Fabio Di Giannantonio was also on track for Ducati as he starts his season with Gresini Ducati. The 23-year-old Italian recorded a best lap of 2m02.596s.

Remy Gardner also circulated despite recently fracturing the radius bone in his wrist while riding motocross, and having subsequent surgery on the break only a fortnight ago. 

The Australian rookie was just under a second slower than Tech3 KTM team-mate and outright pacesetter Raul Fernandez.

Three Yamaha machines were on track, two for their Japanese test riders, and the third in the hands of Darryn Binder. The South African making his debut with the new look WithU RNF Yamaha Racing Team.  Binder was 1.248s from the benchmark set by day one pacesetter Raul Fernandez. 

Aprilia riders can also ride these first three shakedown days under the concessions rules for manufacturers that have not achieved any recent podium results.

However, only test rider Lorenzo Savadori took to the track on the opening day as Maverick Vinales looked on. Savadori was fourth quickest behind KTM Test rider Mika Kallio.

Sylvain Guintoli was on track for Suzuki and recorded a best lap of 2m02.181s.

Rookies and Test riders will be again on track today and tomorrow, then there is a break in proceedings before the full complement of MotoGP riders hit the track on February 5.

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Sepang Test Times
Shakedown Day One

1. Raul Fernandez – KTM – 2m0.898
2. Michele Pirro – Ducati – 2m01.042s
3. Mika Kallio – KTM – 2m01.250s
4. Lorenzo Savadori – Aprilia – 2m01.676s
5. Remy Gardner – KTM – 2m01.852s
6. Marco Bezzecchi – Ducati – 2m02.012s
7. Darryn Binder – Yamaha – 2m02.146s
8. Sylvain Guintoli – Suzuki – 2m02.181s
9. Fabio Di Giannantonio – Ducati – 2m02.596s
10. Katsuyuki Nakasuga – Yamaha – 2m03.442s

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2022 MotoGP Entry List

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2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

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Source: MCNews.com.au