Sepang, Malaysia- The second official test in Malaysia has concluded with World Champion Marc Marquez fastest after three days, and teammate Dani Pedrosa in seventh.
The riders wasted no time in taking to the Sepang track this morning at 10am and the customary time attack ensued whilst track conditions and ambient temperatures are more bearable. With several riders posting times under 2’00, Marc laid down the fastest lap with his time of 1’59.115 on lap 13 of 73 (the most laps by any rider today) and this time remained unbeaten for the remainder of this final day. He evaluated two chassis options and worked on engine mapping before completing a very positive race simulation this afternoon with only three laps above 2’00.
Teammate Dani Pedrosa spent this final day concentrating on electronics settings and completed 51 laps. He was one of only two riders (himself and Hernandez) to improve their time from this morning in the late afternoon. His fastest time of 1’59.912 on lap 49 placed him 7th overall.
It’s been a very productive test for the Repsol Honda riders, who have collected important data for the HRC engineers to take back to Japan. Tomorrow the Factory riders will remain in Sepang for their first outing on Michelin tyres in preparation for the 2016 season, before returning to Europe for some recovery time ahead of the final test in Qatar, scheduled from the 14-16 March.
Marc Marquez 93: 1st 1’59.115 (73 laps)
“I’m happy because this morning we set a good lap, which is something important, but mostly I am pleased that we have completed all the work we had left pending from the first day. We’re finished today with our homework done and I even had time to do a race simulation this afternoon, with a track temperature of 49°C. We have accomplished all the objectives we had set for this test, and now at the Qatar test our work will be more focused on the Grand Prix and fine tuning the setup of the bike. I do not think there are many more new things to try.”
Dani Pedrosa 26: 7th 1’59.912 (51 laps)
“Overall this second test went well. Today we were trying many different combinations for the electronics setup and we have managed to take a few positive steps forward. Obviously we still need to improve some things, but the good thing is that we are clearer about the setup we have to use and the areas in which we need to make further progress at the next test. It’s been a pretty intense few days and now we have to try to adapt our findings in the best way we can, in order to continue progressing at the next test and the races.”
Results Session
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1’59.115
2 LORENZO Jorge 99 SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1’59.437
3 CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR CWM LCR Honda Honda 1’59.658
4 IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 1’59.722
5 ROSSI Valentino 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1’59.833
6 SMITH Bradley 38 GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1’59.883
7 PEDROSA Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1’59.912
8 BARBERA Hector 8 SPA Avintia Racing Ducati 2’00.244
9 ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 2’00.275
10 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 2’00.468
11 ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 2’00.490
12 PETRUCCI Danilo 9 ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 2’00.556
13 HERNANDEZ Y. 68 COL Pramac Racing Ducati 2’00.603
14 VINALES Maverick 25 SPA Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 2’00.604
15 BRADL Stefan GER NGM Forward Racing Forward Yamaha 2’00.685
16 REDDING Scott 45 GBR Marc VDS Racing Team Honda 2’00.695
17 HAYDEN Nicky 69 USA Drive M7 Aspar Honda 2’00.813
18 PIRRO Michele 51 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 2’00.875
19 BAUTISTA Alvaro 19 SPA Factory Aprilia Gresini Aprilia 2’01.310
20 DI MEGLIO Mike 63 FRA Avintia Racing Ducati 2’01.487
21 ABRAHAM Karel 17 CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Honda 2’01.536
22 MILLER Jack 43 AUS CWM LCR Honda Honda 2’01.593
23 LAVERTY Eugene 50 IRE Drive M7 Aspar Honda 2’01.815
24 BAZ Loris 76 FRA NGM Forward Racing Forward Yamaha2’02.587
25 DE ANGELIS Alex 15 RSM NGM Forward RacingForward Yamaha 2’03.300
26 NAKASUGA K. T1 JPN Yamaha Test Team Yamaha 2’03.448
27 MELANDRI Marco 33 ITA Factory Aprilia Gresini Aprilia 2’03.569
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