Overnight rain meant it was another slow start to proceedings on the third and final day of the Official MotoGP™ Sepang Test, as the top three riders all set personal best Test times before lunch. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) remains the man to beat with a 1:58.204, as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) set their Test best lap times to sit just over a tenth off the Spaniard.
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Another rider to improve his overall best time is Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), and after having four bikes in his box for the first two days, there’s only three on his side of the factory HRC garage on Sunday – and one of them has a cover on it. The two bikes he’s been out on this morning have been the 2023 development bikes, they each have a different chassis, but look very similar from the outside. Notably, the experimental bike that’s been a hot topic of conversation hasn’t made an appearance on Day 3.
Both of the Aprilia Racing stars – Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales – have 2023 aero packages on them, and both bikes in each of their boxes are the 2023 machine. It looks like Aprilia have made a promising step with their new package, as RNF MotoGP™ Team’s Raul Fernandez and Miguel Oliveira both occupy top 10 spots. The Aprilia newcomers are seemingly happy with their new toys in Sepang.
A couple of crashes to report: Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) went down the road at Turn 1 and Turn 15 respectively – both riders are ok.
Expect the afternoon session to be very busy. Just under four hours remain for the factories to plough through their testing plans before two days come their way in Portimao in a month’s time. Make sure you tune into After The Flag at 17:30 local time (GMT+8) for all the latest, as well as keep your eyes peeled on motogp.com and social media for highlights, interviews and more.
Top 10 combined (times as of 14:00 local time):
1. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) – 1:58.204
2. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 0.103
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.159
4. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) + 0.396
5. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.438
6. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.462
7. Raul Fernandez (RNF MotoGP™ Team) + 0.506
8. Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.528
9. Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) + 0.593
10. Miguel Oliveira (RNF MotoGP™ Team) + 0.635