Pedrosa fastest in mixed conditions on first day in Sepang
On a 50/50 day at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, it was Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa who was fastest in the dry with World Champion Marc Marquez in 4th, whilst in the wet FP2, Marc finished second and Dani third.
This morning’s session presented contrasting conditions to Australia, with an ambient temperature of 31ºC, a track temperature of 41ºC and humidity at 65%. Both Dani and Marc had a productive session, and this time it was Dani on top with a time of 2’01.379 on lap 15/16. Marc finished the session in 4th with his time of 2’01.670 recorded early in the session on lap 5/15.
As the afternoon’s FP2 was about to commence, the heaven’s opened and a tropical storm hit the Sepang circuit. The session was postponed due to track conditions and finally began at 14h30 local time. This proved a good opportunity for both riders to test in full wet conditions. Marc completed thirteen laps and his fastest time of 2’14.745 (lap 10) placed him second, and Dani finished third with 2’15.582 (lap 9/11).
Dani Pedrosa
“We were able to ride in the dry this morning and set some good times, but in the afternoon the rain arrived. We shall see what the weather is like tomorrow, and hope to get more dry track time to finish analysing the performance of the front and rear tyres. We only used the soft compound this morning and we would like to try the harder compound. I had a problem with the wet rear, which had hardly any tyre wear after 14 laps, but no grip from the beginning. We hope to continue developing the setup of the bike tomorrow and be able to ride with a tyre that works well.”
Marc Marquez
“I felt pretty good and comfortable in the morning, we had a small problem, but that has now been resolved. This afternoon we rode in wet conditions and the feeling was also good. It was positive, because now we have references for a wet setup if it rains on Sunday. We hope it is dry again tomorrow, so that we can keep developing the setup of our bike and have every possible reference for the race.”
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) |
