At 3pm local time (that’s 8am in Central Europe) today’s MotoGP test in Sepang saw Spanish Pramac-Ducati factory rider Jorge Martin in first place once more. Shortly following 2 p.m., another short downpour had washed the slope, but soon the sun came out once more.
On the second day, the balance of power shifted somewhat. But for the time being it is not possible to estimate which times have been achieved with new tires and an almost empty tank and which riders are primarily concerned with sorting out new parts and setting up the new bikes.
At Yamaha, the advancement of Fabio Quartararo was noted with satisfaction. “We’re in the zone,” said Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing. By that he meant: Yamaha has moved up within striking distance to the best.
There is no longer any sign of the mysteriously weak engine performance from the Valencia test at Yamaha. A bug in the Japanese system was to blame for this, the team heard. “I’d rather that happened in November than now,” said Quartararo manager Eric Mahé in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com.
For comparison: At the 2022 Malaysian GP, Jorge Martin stormed to pole position in 1:57.790 min, the Spaniard’s lap record is 1:59.634 min.
Result Sepang test, February 11, 3 p.m
1. Martin, Ducati, 1:58.736
2. Oliveira, Aprilia, + 0.103
3. Pol Espargaro, GASGAS, +0.145
4. Quartararo, Yamaha, + 0,161
5. Bagnaia, Ducati, +0.331
6. R. Fernandez, Aprilia, +0.376
7. Marini, Ducati, + 0.382
8. Kidneys, Honda, + 0.427
9. Bastianini, Ducati, +0.458
10. B. Binder, KTM, + 0,494
11. Morbidelli, Yamaha, +0.553
12. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +0.625
13. M. Marquez, Honda, + 0.714
14. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, +0.766
15. Zarco, Ducati, +0.767
16. Mir, Honda, +0.896
17. A. Marquez, Ducati, + 1,011
18. Vinales, Aprilia, +1.034
19. Miller, KTM, + 1,123
20. A. Espargaró, Aprilia, + 1,281
21. Nakagami, Honda, +1,487
22. Crutchlow, Yamaha, +1,618
23. A. Fernández, GASGAS, + 1,996
