Fabio Quartararo ends the Sepang test on top
Fabio Quartararo continued his domination of the Sepang test by ending the final day at the top of the timing sheets.
Despite the Frenchman leading all three days, the test has been tight. In fact, only 0.345 covered the six manufacturers in the class. The top 18 riders were covered by 0.820 in Malaysia, an indicator that we’re in for another competitive season in MotoGP.
Quartararo topped the timing sheets with a 1:58.349 on the 2020 Yamaha M1. The 20-year-old completed another 57 laps, bringing his total to 181 across the three days. The Petronas Yamaha rider also took some time to perform some practice starts.
Cal Crutchlow finished the final day in second spot, only +0.082 behind Quartararo. The Brit has been working on chassis variations, completing 69 laps today.
The story so far
Alex Rins completed the top three for Suzuki and decided to end his day a little earlier. Rins has been testing a new chassis on the GSX-RR, and the overall feeling within the team is that it’s been a positive three days.
The top Ducati rider on the final day was Francesco Bagnaia, with Valentino Rossi in fifth spot. Rossi and the factory Yamaha team are believed to have been working on their own holeshot device, based on the one introduced to the paddock by Ducati a few years ago.
Danilo Petrucci found some improvements on the final day to finish sixth. The Ducati rider has been working on a new front fairing, whilst also trying to get to grips with the new Michelin rear tyre.
Pol Espargaro continued to impress for KTM in seventh spot with a quickest lap-time of 1:58.610. Jack Miller was eighth and also suffered a fall earlier in the day.
Aleix Espargaro finished inside the top 10 once again, ending the day in ninth spot. The Aprilia rider produced some impressive long-run pace, indicating that the team have made a huge step forward with the new RS-GP. Joan Mir completed the top 10 on the second Suzuki.
Further down the order, Marc Marquez equalled his 47 laps from yesterday as he continues his return from shoulder surgery. The reigning champion had another crash today, following his fall at turn three on day two. Alex Marquez was the top rookie once again in 16th spot and was just +0.693 off the pace set by Quartararo.
Maverick Vinales turned his attention to race pace and completed several long runs on his Yamaha. Down in 18th spot, Vinales completed more laps than anybody else on the final day (83).
Upon his return to official test duties with Yamaha Jorge Lorenzo produced a quickest lap-time of 1:59.697. Lorenzo was only +1.348 off the pace in 20th spot.