Marquez fastest on day one in Sepang with Pedrosa fifth
2014 World Champion Marc Marquez has begun 2015 as he ended 2014, on the top of the time sheets. Teammate Dani Pedrosa finished less than half a second behind Marc after suffering a small crash when he lost the front in turn nine on his last exit but fortunately remained uninjured and the bike had very little damage.
It was a frantic start to the day as the riders were evidently eager to get out on track after the long winter break. The Repsol Honda riders were fast from the beginning of the session as they set to work comparing the various bikes HRC have brought for this test. Both spent the day evaluating the different versions of the RC213V and it was Marc who finished this first day on top with his time of 2’00.262 on lap 62 of 63. Dani was just 0.483 behind Marc with his fastest time of 2’00.745 (lap 25 of 45).
The test resumes tomorrow at 10am local time.
Marc Marquez
"I'm glad to finally get back on the bike. It's been a hard day and at the same time very positive, because on the first day after the winter break you have to regain confidence with the bike and adapt to the feeling of the MotoGP machine again. We tried three different bikes today, and this has been very important. I focused on testing them thoroughly and deciding which bike was the ideal one to continue working with at this test, and then this afternoon we focused more on one of the machines. I was able to start riding better and feel more comfortable on the bike. There are still many things to try at this test, so we have to remain calm like we did today and keep working."
Dani Pedrosa
"I'm happy with the work we have done today on the first day of testing, because we were able to get back on the bike and we had a good pace. It went pretty well and I think we have improved the bike compared to the one we tested it at Valencia. We had a lot of work to do and it has been positive to have a good first day: it was important and we are happy with what we have achieved. There is still more to do, but we have taken a good first step. Tomorrow we'll see if we can continue moving things forward."
Results Session
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|
Location Information
Specifically built for speed and exciting racing, the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia is one of the world’s best. The 2,300 acre complex cost around £50m to construct and was built in just 14 months, holding its first Grand Prix in April 1999 and setting the standard for race circuits… read more.
| Length | 5.543 kilometres / 3.444 miles |
| Width | 25 metres |
| Left corners | 5 |
| Right corners | 10 |
| Longest straight | 0.920 kilometres / 0.572 miles |
| Constructed | 1998 |
Sepang International Circuit Klia Pahang Malaysia - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 57.491s (169.8km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2023) |
| Race Lap | 1m 58.979s (167.7km/h) Alex Marquez (Ducati, 2023) |
| 2023 Race Winner | Enea Bastianini (Ducati) |
| 2023 Sprint Winner | Alex Marquez (Ducati) |
