2022 Sepang MotoGP Test Day One

Aleix Espargaro was the early pacesetter with a 1m58.371 knocking on the of Fabio Quartararo’s qualifying lap record of 1m58.303.  But of course the Aprilia riders had the advantage over the rest of the riders on track as they had the benefit of already riding here earlier in the week, thanks to their relative lack of results allowing them testing concessions not available to riders of any other brand of machinery on the grid.

For the rookies it was the continuation of their learning process on how to adapt themselves to the demands of these 157 kilogram, 300 horsepower animals.

Enea Bastianini was the first of the other MotoGP regulars to dip into the 1m58s, a 1m58.638 for the 24-year-old Italian who this year rides for Gresini.  

Two riders in the 58s less than two hours into the test indicates that we might see some records broken here this weekend if the weather holds,  perhaps even the first ever 1m57?  It should be noted though the cooler morning temperatures can be more conducive to fast times than the sweltering afternoon heat. It was already over 30-degrees Celsius by midday, but of course the heat in the tarmac compounds via heatsink as the day goes on to make things more challenging later in the day. Aleix Espargaro’s 1m58.371 came in the first half hour of the morning. 

Marc Marquez had a small crash early on in proceedings and did not dip under the two-minute mark until a third of the way through the day when he leapt up the time-sheets from 18th to sixth with a 1m59.422.  Today marked the first time since October that Marquez has been on a MotoGP bike, incidentally that last time he rode one was his race to victory at Misano. 

Jack Miller was outside the top 20 at the halfway mark of today’s proceedings, while the order at the top had remained static for quite some time. Aleix Espargaro was still leading the way with that early 1m58.371 ahead of Enea Bastianini, who at that four-hour mark was still the only other rider in the 1m58s. Alex Rins was third on 1m59.430, a fraction ahead of Pol Espargaro, Joan Mir, Marc Marquez, Maverick Vinales, Johann Zarco and Cal Crutchlow while reigning champion Fabio Quartararo rounded out the top ten at that halfway juncture. 

There was then a significant lull in proceedings with no riders on track for long periods of time.

Then with around 90 minutes left on the clock riders started to circulate a bit more often once again. Maverick Vinales moved up to third, but had still not gone quicker than he had earlier in the week. Jack Miller then moved inside the top 20 for the first time, but was still to get under the two-minute barrier.  

With an hour remaining it was still Aleix Espargaro and Enea Bastianini topping the timesheets on the back of their early markers, that pair were still the only riders to have lapped in the 1m58s at this point of proceedings. 

In the last hour though a few more riders started twisting the throttle harder, pulling the brake firmer, and getting down to business..

Marc Marquez moved up to fifth to go quicker than team-mate Pol Espargaro for the first time today with a 1m59.287.  Maverick Vinales then joined Aleix Espargaro and Enea Bastianini in the 58s club, a 1m59.927 to go third quickest. 

Then with 50-minutes remaining Fabio Quartararo moved up to eighth quickest on the back of a 1m59.489, then immediately backed it up with a 1m59.002 on his next lap to go fourth quickest, pushing Alex Rins back to fifth, Marquez sixth and Pol Espargaro seventh. 

Then as the day entered its final 45-minutes Johann Zarco dropped into the 58s, a 1m58.946 to go fourth quickest and push Quartararo back to P5. 

With half hour remaining Marc Marquez went down again, this time at turn 15, rider okay. 

Joan Mir upped his pace with 20-minutes left on the shot clock, a 1m59.067 pushing Suzuki team-mate Alex Rins back to seventh, and Marquez back to eighth. 

Vinales then dropped in a 1m58.483 to go P2 with 15-minutes left in the session. Only 13-thousandths off Aleix Espargaro’s early benchmark and making it an Aprilia 1-2. 

KTM Rookie Raul Fernandez then got wound up to drop almost a second off his previous best, a 1m59.682 to go P12, but still a couple of tenths off what he managed earlier this week. That also made him quickest KTM. 

Alex Rins then joined the 58s club with five-minutes left in the session, a 1m58.471 for P3.  

Marco Bezzecchi left it late to join the top ten, a 1m59.550 to the Mooney VR46 rider to push Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow back to P11. 

Jack Miller left pit-lane with only just enough time to get around his out-lap and cross the stripe before the chequered flag came out, but the Australian had to settle for P22, the slowest of the eight Ducatis.  His Factory team-mate Pecco Bagnaia was only a tenth quicker, suggesting the pair had a huge list of things to work through and evaluate for Ducati on what was this their first day back on the bike for a couple of months. 

Countryman Remy Gardner was P24, his 2m00.470 four-tenths slower than he recorded earlier in the week. Gardner sporting a wrist support to help him ride after he broke his wrist in a motocross training accident only a fortnight ago. The 23-year-old reporting that his wrist was okay in the morning but then swelled up during the day under the rigours of riding the RC16. They also struggled to find a way further forward with set-up from what they had arrived at earlier in the week. 

29 days to go until the season starts proper under lights in Qatar….  Another day of testing at Sepang tomorrow, then next week the men of MotoGP test at Indonesia’s new Mandalika circuit….

Sepang Test Times Day One

Sepang Test Day One Top Speed

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The previous benchmarks

For comparison, Fabio Quartararo holds the qualifying lap record at Sepang with a 1m58.303. The top speed record is held by Andrea Iannone at 339.6 km/h. Valentino Rossi holds the race lap record at 1m59.661. Outside of a race weekend, Danilo Petrucci set the outright benchmark at 1m58.239 during testing here in 2019 when it was a Ducati 1-2-3-4, will we see that time bettered here this coming weekend, and will Ducati dominate once again…?

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2022 MotoGP Entry List

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2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au