Submitted by David Emmett on
The ideal weather conditions at the start of the last day of testing at Sepang triggered a veritable qualifying war in the first hour, from which Marc Marquez emerged the victor. The Repsol Honda rider was already fast on his first run, but then went on an all-out attack, smashing the existing lap record and becoming the first rider to crack the 1'59 barrier, posting a time of 1'58.867, a whole second faster than the rest of the field.
The others closed the gap, but could not match his blistering pace. Teammate Dani Pedrosa got closest, coming up just shy of a 1'58 lap, posting a 1'59.006. Andrea Iannone was impressive on the Ducati, using the soft tire to his advantage to post a 1'59.388, ending ahead of a trio of Yamahas led by Valentino Rossi, with Jorge Lorenzo and Pol Espargaro behind. Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso was the last man to lap under 2'00.
Once the madness of the first hour had passed, testing resumed a more thoughtful pace. In the second hour, the riders continued the work of testing development parts and working on set up. If the times set this morning are to be bettered, it will come at the end of the day, but the marker laid down by Marquez will be tough to beat.
Times shortly after noon:
| Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:58.867 | ||
| 2 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda RC213V | 1:59.006 | 0.139 | 0.139 |
| 3 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati GP14.3 | 1:59.388 | 0.521 | 0.382 |
| 4 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.401 | 0.534 | 0.013 |
| 5 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.624 | 0.757 | 0.223 |
| 6 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.851 | 0.984 | 0.227 |
| 7 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP14.3 | 1:59.874 | 1.007 | 0.023 |
| 8 | 6 | Stefan Bradl | Forward Yamaha | 2:00.294 | 1.427 | 0.420 |
| 9 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki GSX-RR | 2:00.486 | 1.619 | 0.192 |
| 10 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 2:00.536 | 1.669 | 0.050 |
| 11 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | Suzuki GSX-RR | 2:00.964 | 2.097 | 0.428 |
| 12 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP14 | 2:00.970 | 2.103 | 0.006 |
| 13 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Yamaha M1 | 2:01.015 | 2.148 | 0.045 |
| 14 | 7 | Hiroshi Aoyama | Honda RC213V Test | 2:01.029 | 2.162 | 0.014 |
| 15 | 51 | Michele Pirro | Ducati GP14.2 | 2:01.232 | 2.365 | 0.203 |
| 16 | 45 | Scott Redding | Honda RC213V | 2:01.302 | 2.435 | 0.070 |
| 17 | 8 | Hector Barbera | Ducati GP14 Open | 2:01.363 | 2.496 | 0.061 |
| 18 | 69 | Nicky Hayden | Honda RC213V-RS | 2:01.508 | 2.641 | 0.145 |
| 19 | 76 | Loris Baz | Forward Yamaha | 2:01.624 | 2.757 | 0.116 |
| 20 | 43 | Jack Miller | Honda RC213V-RS | 2:01.895 | 3.028 | 0.271 |
| 21 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia | 2:01.954 | 3.087 | 0.059 |
| 22 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Honda RC213V-RS | 2:02.297 | 3.430 | 0.343 |
| 23 | T1 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha M1 Test | 2:02.363 | 3.496 | 0.066 |
| 24 | 50 | Eugene Laverty | Honda RC213V-RS | 2:02.507 | 3.640 | 0.144 |
| 25 | 63 | Mike Di Meglio | Ducati GP14 Open | 2:02.765 | 3.898 | 0.258 |
| 26 | 72 | Takumi Takahashi | Honda RC213V Test | 2:03.113 | 4.246 | 0.348 |
| 27 | 15 | Alex De Angelis | Aprilia ART | 2:03.536 | 4.669 | 0.423 |
| 28 | 33 | Marco Melandri | Aprilia | 2:03.748 | 4.881 | 0.212 |
Comments
iannone
Soft rubber but Iannone continues to impress nevertheless. Kid's got moxie. The Andrea's could be real spoilers this year.
And to that with '14 bike is
And to that with '14 bike is a serious testimony of a brutal force. Marquez's result is not a surprise by all means, but I can't wait for first Ducati bike made under authority of Dall'igna...
I'd like to see Ducati under
I'd like to see Ducati under the same rules as the other factories before I pass judgement. Right now they are a show pony in a group of one(how Ducati hates competition..)
If anything the Yam looks further behind the Honda than last year. MM fastest, yes, although I think Rossi was, this time last year, but Dani being nearly half a sec up on Rossi is massively worrying for Yamaha. Dani has gained nigh on a second on Rossi over this time last year with Rossi arguably riding better now at one of his best tracks. With Jorge nearly 3/4 of a sec back it's looks like the Honda has been running 3 cylinders up to today.
A group of three, actually
Ducati, Suzuki and Aprilia are all using the same set of rules.
Also note Stefan Bradl who's
Also note Stefan Bradl who's doing good things on that Forward Yamaha.
Not surprised to see Redding where he is, I think he's one of the most overrated riders on the grid.
Nice to see Bradl ahead of
Nice to see Bradl ahead of Aleix and Crutchlow. Plus, I have to agree on Redding, however isn't he still recovering from superprestigio injury?
Avintia seamless?
Does anyone know if Barbera's and DiMeglio's Ducatis have the seamless transmission? I know the factory GP14 had one....that's what they're riding and I don't recall hearing any news stating they don't have it.
Tests
Marquez is no surprise. I think Yamaha would have had a looonnggg meeting with both Rossi and Lorenzo about what is needed. There will probably be some more meetings after these tests all the way to the next tests come up. They still do not look that bad. Lorenzo's race pace was not bad. Impressed with Dani though. He seemed to have found something on the last day in his race pace and consistency.