Day 1 and Day 2 pacesetter Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) currently occupies P1 again at midday on Day 3 thanks to a 1:58.349 in the morning. This sees the Frenchman sit 0.082 clear of Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and just over a tenth quicker than third place Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar).
Down to a 1'59.176, @alexmarquez73 is putting in the work this #SepangTest. Progress, progress, progress ???? pic.twitter.com/dR5JlFKhzB
— Repsol Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP) February 9, 2020
It was a busy final morning at the Sepang International Circuit and in the dry conditions, most of the riders were out on the new Michelin soft tyre compound for some time attack runs. At the end of said runs, bearing in mind some of the riders didn’t fully go for the time attack, the gap between Quartararo and 18th place Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was 0.820. And talking of Yamaha, a certain Jorge Lorenzo has been on track this morning, completing 28 laps so far to sit a very respectable 1.3 off Quartararo. In addition, fellow test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga has been seen testing a holeshot device on the YZR-M1, will the factory riders get to try it before the end of the test?
Over at Suzuki, third fastest Rins will be ending his day at 3pm local time. The Spaniard has been testing a new GSX-RR chassis that teammate Joan Mir tried on Day 2, the latter ending his test early at 1pm. On the chassis front, World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has been testing some variations that Crutchlow has been trying throughout the test. The number 93 currently sits P12 with a 1:58.772.
The leading Ducati rider so far on Day 3 in Francesco Bagnaia in P4, while his Pramac Racing teammate Jack Miller suffered a Turn 15 crash – rider ok. Danilo Petrucci and fellow Ducati Team rider Andrea Dovizioso have been putting a new front fairing through its paces on Day 3. Reale Avintia Racing’s Johann Zarco has gone half a second quicker than he did on Saturday to sit 0.6 off Quartararo’s time.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has been out on the Austrian factory’s shark-bite-esque aero package, the one teammate Pol Espargaro has been riding with throughout the test. Mika Kallio has taken over KTM testing duties from Dani Pedrosa for the final day, the Finn crashed unhurt at Turn 15 in the morning.
#SepangTest Day 3 - Midday ????????
— Ducati Corse (@ducaticorse) February 9, 2020
????️6️⃣ @Petrux9 (1’58.606)
????️1️⃣4️⃣ @AndreaDovizioso (1’58.859)#ForzaDucati pic.twitter.com/dEohYtMN66
Don’t forget to watch After the Flag LIVE at 10:30 CET to find out everything that has gone on over the past three days at Sepang.
Top 10 (as of 14:00 LT):
1. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) – 1:58.349
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 MotoGP) + 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. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 0.345
10. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.387