The Official 2020 Sepang Test is up and running and leading the way at midday is Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Fabio Quartararo with a 1:58.945, with teammate Franco Morbidelli the only other rider to venture below the 1:59 bracket. Alex Rins is P3 on his Team Suzuki Ecstar machine, with less than a second splitting the top 14 riders at midday on Day 1.
Under sunning Sepang International Circuit skies, it was the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini of Aleix Espargaro who sat top in the first hour. A 1:59.427 on his fourth flying lap paid more testament to the 2020 RS-GP, while also proving the Spaniard was in the groove after the shakedown test. Brother Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) also hit the ground running, slotting into P2 as Aprilia and KTM continue to look impressive in the early stages of 2020. MotoGP™ Legend Dani Pedrosa is also on track for KTM, the three-time World Champion just over a second off P1.
Pacesetter Quartararo has been running on a 2019 YZR-M1 on Day 1, while Morbidelli is out riding a 2020 ‘A-spec’ model. Factory Yamaha man Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) had a small tumble during the morning at Turn 11 – rider ok – as he and teammate Valentino Rossi put some more mileage on the 2020 M1s. New Yamaha test rider Jorge Lorenzo is rumoured to be riding again on Sunday, the third and final day of the test.
On his return from injury, reigning World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) got his time down to a 1:59.676 on Lap 7 and hasn’t beaten it since. The number 93 has completed 33 laps so far on Friday and he eases his way into preseason testing. Teammate Alex Marquez sits just a couple of tenths behind and just under a second from fastest man Quartararo, the reigning Moto2™ World Champion impressing early on at the Sepang Test. Crutchlow has three bikes in his garage, the British rider busy testing plenty of parts for HRC.
Testing, testing, testing...
— Repsol Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP) February 7, 2020
9️⃣3️⃣ @marcmarquez93 1'59.676 7th
7️⃣3️⃣ @alexmarquez73 1'59.918 10th#SepangTest pic.twitter.com/jB7FGW6vNM
Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) had a small crash that briefly brought out the red flags during the morning, the Spaniard uninjured. Teammate Johann Zarco has done a best time of 2:01.333 so far on his first outing on the Ducati GP19.
More information will be coming to you throughout the day across our social media platforms and right here on motogp.com. A comprehensive roundup report will be posted later, while in-depth analysis will be at your service with a LIVE After the Flag episode with Matt Birt, Steve Day and Simon Crafar at 10:30 CET. Highlights and interviews will also be available to VideoPass subscribers at the end of the day’s action at Sepang. And don't forget to keep up with the latest lap times via Live Timing!
Top 10 (times as of 14:00 LT):
1. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) – 1:58.945
2. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.051
3. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.250
4. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) + 0.289
5. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) + 0.383
6. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.422
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 0.482
8. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.591
9. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.624
10. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.660