28/2/2013.      MotoGP™ World Champion Jorge Lorenzo led the way in this week˘s test in Sepang by setting the quickest time over the three-day period, despite being overshadowed by Repsol Honda Team˘s Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez on the final day. As with the previous Malaysia gathering of three weeks earlier, the weather played a part as rain rooted riders to their garages at some points, with this morning being no exception as many waited for the track to dry after heavy rain overnight. 

And today it was Pedrosa who topped the timesheets with a personal best of 2˘00.562, meaning he has led five of the six pre-season days in Malaysia this year. The best overall tour was an impressive one from Lorenzo, with the Mallorcan managing to beat the official lap record with his endeavour of 2˘00.282 on Wednesday, which was however not quicker than Pedrosa˘s 2˘00.100 from Sepang test one. On the final day, Lorenzo managed a consistent 20-lap stint in which he appeared to make only one mistake. 

Márquez continued to impress, with the Honda rookie managing third place overall while continuing to adapt to the Bridgestone tyres and suspension settings, and falling just 0.081s short of Pedrosa˘s lap on the final day. Monster Yamaha Tech 3˘s Cal Crutchlow did well to finish the test in fourth, though only placed sixth on the final day, as he was left frustrated with no new components to scrutinise. 

Lorenzo˘s teammate Valentino Rossi ended the three days in fifth overall, opting to test rear-tyre grip over doing long runs for race-pace. GO&FUN Honda Gresini˘s Álvaro Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP˘s Stefan Bradl had productive outings finishing the test in sixth and seventh respectively on their RC213Vs. Today, Bradl was just over four-tenths behind the Repsol bike of Márquez in fourth, whilst Bautista looked ever more comfortable on the Showa suspension. 

The top ten was completed by Crutchlow˘s teammate Bradley Smith, who has impressed across the three days while focussing on his general riding style and braking technique in particular. The Ducati Team continued to make progress, beginning the week with new fuel tanks. On the final day, no long runs took place but instead a continuation of evaluating general settings and bike setups. 

Andrea Dovizioso left the pits on an all-black liveried new chassis and ended the day with much-improved pace – four tenths up on teammate Nicky Hayden and the greatly reduced margin of one second off the leading pace. Michele Pirro was the first to test the new chassis early in the day, handing it to Dovizioso after reporting good progress.




MotoGP Sepang Test 2 2013 MotoGP Session 3

Po. Name                Team           Gap  
1PEDROSA D.Repsol Honda Team2:00.562 
2MARQUEZ M.Repsol Honda Team+0.081 
3LORENZO J.Yamaha Factory Racing Team+0.430 
4ROSSI V.Yamaha Factory Racing Team+0.500 
5BAUTISTA A.GO&FUN Honda Gresini+0.516 
6CRUTCHLOW C.Monster Yamaha Tech 3+0.532 
7BRADL S.LCR Honda MotoGP+0.747 
8DOVIZIOSO A.Ducati Team+1.088 
9HAYDEN N.Ducati Team+1.508 
10SMITH B.Monster Yamaha Tech 3+1.752

2013/2/27.    MotoGP™ World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha Factory Racing returned to the top on the second of this week˘s three days of testing at the Sepang International Circuit. Cal Crutchlow achieved a top three finish for Monster Yamaha Tech 3, splitting the Repsol Honda Team pairing of Dani Pedrosa and rookie Marc Márquez. 

Lorenzo˘s fastest ever lap time at Sepang came in the first half of the day, managing 2˘00.282 which was over three tenths quicker than Tuesday pace-setter Pedrosa. On this occasion the leading Honda rider analysed suspension settings, declaring himself content. 

Crutchlow led the way for both Great Britain and the satellite runners in third, as Márquez finished barely three tenths off more experienced teammate Pedrosa. 

 

After suffering an electrical problem at the start of the session, Valentino Rossi rounded out the top five and his target remains to match Lorenzo˘s race pace. Thankfully for all concerned, the weather was kinder to the field as the rain of 24 hours earlier stayed away; only a few drops fell at 5:30pm local time. This allowed for significantly more on-track activity, not least for Rossi and Honda test rider Takumi Takahashi who were the first to notch up more than 60 laps. 

Ben Spies was a faller in the morning, although the American was able to walk away unhurt from his Ignite Pramac Racing Team bike. He later wrapped up his programme early, suffering pain from his ongoing shoulder injury. GO&FUN Honda Gresini˘s Álvaro Bautista, LCR Honda MotoGP˘s Stefan Bradl and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 newcomer Bradley Smith were all inside the top ten, with the Englishman on lookout for a better braking technique following a fall on Tuesday. At Ducati Team, Nicky Hayden jumped back ahead of Andrea Dovizioso as test rider Michele Pirro sampled a new chassis. 

Thursday will mark the third and final day of this week˘s test, with the green light again illuminating at 10am local time (3am CET).

MotoGP Session 2 

Finished Po.  Name     Team    Gap     
1LORENZO J.Yamaha Factory Racing Team2:00.282 
2PEDROSA D.Repsol Honda Team+0.369 
3CRUTCHLOW C.Monster Yamaha Tech 3+0.625 
4MARQUEZ M.Repsol Honda Team+0.710 
5ROSSI V.Yamaha Factory Racing Team+0.783 
6BAUTISTA A.GO&FUN Honda Gresini+0.926 
7BRADL S.LCR Honda MotoGP+1.203 
8HAYDEN N.Ducati Team+1.496 
9DOVIZIOSO A.Ducati Team+1.521 
10SMITH B.Monster Yamaha Tech 3+1.741



2013/2/26.    Repsol Honda Team˘s Dani Pedrosa remained on top as MotoGP™ pre-season testing continued in Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit today as him and rookie teammate Marc Márquez sandwiched the Yamaha Factory Racing bike of world champion Jorge Lorenzo. Marquez had a crash (again) at the morning session. 

The day started off dry at Sepang but rain after 2:30pm local time resulted in much of the pack waiting in their garages. Pedrosa, who had aimed for a long stint and is now targeting that goal on Wednesday, topped the timesheets with his 2˘01.580 lap time. 

Valentino Rossi had also intended for efficient race-distance runs but will also have to wait, having placed his Yamaha fifth. This he set with the 2012 spec Yamaha, as engine problems on the latest 2013 model stopped him from getting a run on it. The conditions confirmed that LCR Honda MotoGP˘s Stefan Bradl was fourth overall, continuing to analyse the two setup options he first trialled at the earlier test. 

With his best dry time just 17 thousandths of a second slower than the slowest factory Honda racer, less than a second covered the top seven; that particular group was rounded out by Monster Yamaha Tech 3˘s Cal Crutchlow and GO&FUN Honda Gresini˘s Álvaro Bautista, with British rookie Bradley Smith ending the day firmly inside the top ten despite a small crash as he lost the front. Crutchlow and Smith are both left with no parts to test, and are focussing solely on set-up and riding style. Ducati Team also saw both of its runners finish inside the top ten, as Andrea Dovizioso and 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden managed eighth and ninth positions. The Audi-owned squad grabbed attention early on as it rolled out its machines with brand-new fuel tanks.

 Dovizioso cited he was pleased with getting more time on the bike, and said that the upgrade, despite being small, was a positive step. Further down the order, test riders from all three factory outfits worked on an assortment of programmes, with Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Waturu Yoshikawa pairing up for Yamaha while Ducati ran Michele Pirro and Honda Takumi Takahashi. 

 


Live Timing - MotoGP Sepang Test 2 2013 MotoGP Session 1 Finished

Po. Name         Team            Gap           First 
1PEDROSA D.Repsol Honda Team2:01.580 
2LORENZO J.Yamaha Factory Racing Team+0.235 
3MARQUEZ M.Repsol Honda Team+0.362 
4BRADL S.LCR Honda MotoGP+0.379 
5ROSSI V.Yamaha Factory Racing Team+0.448 
6CRUTCHLOW C.Monster Yamaha Tech 3+0.692 
7BAUTISTA A.GO&FUN Honda Gresini+0.782 
8DOVIZIOSO A.Ducati Team+1.221 
9HAYDEN N.Ducati Team+1.563 
10SMITH B.Monster Yamaha Tech 3+2.052

 

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