Marc Marquez put down a blistering lap to break the track record and top the time sheets on the final day of MotoGP’s first pre-season test of the year at Sepang International Circuit. The Repsol Honda man laid down a 1:58.867 which broke the qualifying record (1:59.791) that Marquez himself set last year.
“The truth is that when I saw the time I was surprised, just like everyone else,” Marquez said. “In any case, I must say that today the track was fast, as we all rode faster than before. I’m glad I was able to set a good lap, but more important is the fact that I felt very comfortable, right from the start.
“We did a race simulation later on, which also went very well and was perhaps even more important than a single lap. During the race simulation we tested different mapping and in every part we tried different things. The positive is that with the new bike we are already at the same level as in 2014, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. Now I can’t wait for the second test and to see what progress we can make.”
Just .139 of second behind Marquez was his teammate Dani Pedrosa.
“I’m happy with the work we have done today, because we have made progress in some aspects with the rear,” Pedrosa said. “There is still room for improvement, but overall we’ve taken some pretty positive steps in this test and I think that’s a very good thing.”
Ducati’s Andrea Iannone managed to edge out Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi by .013 of a second for third.
In fifth was Rossi’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo ahead of Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Pol Espargaro. Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso ended the day in seventh.
The top finishing Open Class rider was once again, Forward Racing Yamaha’s Stefan Bradl in ninth. And rounding out the top 10 was Aleix Espargaro.
American Nicky Hayden finished 18th.
2015 MotoGP
Sepang Pre-Season Test
Day Three Times
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1:58.867
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1:59.006
3. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1:59.388
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1:59.401
5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1:59.624
6. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1:59.851
7. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1:59.874
8. Stefan Bradl (Yamaha) 2:00.294
9. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 2:00.384
10. Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki) 2:00.486
11. Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 2:00.536
12. Maverick Vinales (Suzuki) 2:00.964
13. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati) 2:00.970
14. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) 2:01.029
15. Hector Barbera (Ducati) 2:01.183
16. Michele Pirro (Ducati) 2:01.232
17. Scott Redding (Honda) 2:01.263
18. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2:01.508
19. Loris Baz (Yamaha) 2:01.624
20. Jack Miller (Honda) 2:01.895
21. Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) 2:01.924
22. Mike Di Meglio (Ducati) 2:02.128
23. Karel Abraham (Honda) 2:02.297
24. Eugene Laverty (Honda) 2:02.334
25. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha) 2:02.363
26. Takumi Takahashi (Honda) 2:03.113
27. Alex De Angelis (Aprilia) 2:03.471
28. Marco Melandri (Aprilia) 2:03.641
