Submitted by David Emmett on
The 2020 MotoGP preseason has gotten underway at Sepang, with bright sun and good track conditions. The track is already very busy as the factories get to work.
At noon, Fabio Quartararo leads on the 2020 factory-spec Yamaha, with Alex Rins a third of a second behind on the Suzuki. Franco Morbidelli on the A-spec Yamaha is a tenth behind Rins, and ahead of Aleix Espargaro on the 2020-spec Aprilia RS-GP. The fact that both Espargaro brothers - Aleix on the Aprilia, and Pol on the KTM - are so far up the standings is an advantage of having a day or two of riding at the shakedown test under their belts.
Valentino Rossi shows no signs of slowing down, currently sitting in fifth ahead of Joan Mir on the Suzuki, while Marc Marquez is eighth quickest at the moment. The reigning champion will be limited in the number of laps he does to day, HRC restricting to some 30 or so laps to give his shoulder time to recover.
Times shortly after 12 noon:
| Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha M1 | 1:58.945 | ||
| 2 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:59.295 | 0.350 | 0.350 |
| 3 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.399 | 0.454 | 0.104 |
| 4 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:59.427 | 0.482 | 0.028 |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.569 | 0.624 | 0.142 |
| 6 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM RC16 | 1:59.591 | 0.646 | 0.022 |
| 7 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:59.612 | 0.667 | 0.021 |
| 8 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda RC213V | 1:59.676 | 0.731 | 0.064 |
| 9 | 12 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.757 | 0.812 | 0.081 |
| 10 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP20 | 1:59.771 | 0.826 | 0.014 |
| 11 | 73 | Alex Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:59.918 | 0.973 | 0.147 |
| 12 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 1:59.959 | 1.014 | 0.041 |
| 13 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | KTM RC16 | 2:00.017 | 1.072 | 0.058 |
| 14 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati GP20 | 2:00.033 | 1.088 | 0.016 |
| 15 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP20 | 2:00.259 | 1.314 | 0.226 |
| 16 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM RC16 | 2:00.314 | 1.369 | 0.055 |
| 17 | 50 | Sylvain Guintoli | Suzuki GSX-RR | 2:00.371 | 1.426 | 0.057 |
| 18 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Ducati GP19 | 2:00.750 | 1.805 | 0.379 |
| 19 | 27 | Iker Lecuona | KTM RC16 | 2:00.913 | 1.968 | 0.163 |
| 20 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM RC16 | 2:00.956 | 2.011 | 0.043 |
| 21 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda RC213V | 2:01.262 | 2.317 | 0.306 |
| 22 | 90 | Yamaha Test 1 | Yamaha M1 | 2:01.393 | 2.448 | 0.131 |
| 23 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Ducati GP19 | 2:01.421 | 2.476 | 0.028 |
| 24 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati GP20 | 2:01.518 | 2.573 | 0.097 |
| 25 | 91 | Yamaha Test 2 | Yamaha M1 | 2:02.011 | 3.066 | 0.493 |
| 26 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia RS-GP | 2:03.150 | 4.205 | 1.139 |
Comments
Savadori
Not that it matters too much at this point, but according to the live timing that I'm looking at, that time of 2.03,150 in 26th place is by number 32 Savadori, not Smith. It seems Bradley is not riding yet. Or is there a mix-up of some kind?
Too bad there's no video! Was hoping to see the new bikes and riders circulating live. I am curious to see Aleix ride that new Aprilia, and Pedrosa on the KTM, but also Zarco. I wonder if the Ducati is different enough from the KTM for him.
Ho ho ho
Merrrry Christmas! GP bikes are on the track.
Life has meaning again.
Pvalve, the 2019 sorted Duc will work JUST FINE for Zarco. He will be on a 2021 in Pramac next year. Aleix is ripping on the new bike!
They will want a soft tire w base Sepang setup run to poke at the top of their pace, won't they? (Nothing is "just practice" anymore). "On the pace" is something subjective within several tenths, but right now I draw it right behind Binder.
Vroom!