10 things you need to know after MotoGP’s Sepang test

After turning 181 laps, French sensation Fabio Quartararo topped the timesheet on all three days of testing at the Sepang International Circuit, showing exactly why Yamaha signed the 20-year-old to partner Maverick Vinales in the factory team for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Despite still being 10km/h slower than Jack Miller's Ducati GP20 in the speed trap (323.3km/h versus 333.3km/h), Quartararo ended the test 0.082s clear of factory-supported LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow. Rumour has it he did it on an 800km-old engine too, presumably one of the motors used by the factory team during last November's Valencia test.

Visibly lighter than in 2019, Jack Miller looks ready to fight for a factory seat for the 2021 season and he's adapting quickly to the new and improved GP20. According to Ducati Corse boss Gigi Dall'igna, the 2020 Desmosedici has small improvements in all areas – engine, chassis, aerodynamics and electronics. While Miller says he's "really happy with what Ducati's done over the winter" and that "it feels really good", the factory team manager, Davide Tardozzi, says he's confident but "we must see what our rivals have done". Miller ended the test eighth overall, 0.267s down on Quartararo.

MotoGP's current world champion, Marc Marquez, underwent the same corrective shoulder surgery during the winter that he had 12 months ago and said he went into the Sepang test at "60 or 70 per cent" fitness. He completed 131 laps across the three days (compared to Vinales' 201) to finish 13th in the combined times, just 0.423s down on Quartararo.

With brother Alex as his rookie teammate, it left the testing duties to fall squarely on the shoulders of LCR rider Cal Crutchlow, who completed 172 laps to end the test in second overall. The Honda was 3.1km/h down on the fastest Ducati in the speed trap.

Bolstered by the signing of five-time world champ Jorge Lorenzo as the official test rider, the factory Yamaha duo of Valentino Rossi and Vinales was upbeat about the improvements Yamaha has made to the YZR-M1 over the winter.

Top speed has improved by about 5km/h and, despite the fastest Yamaha still being 6.1km/h down on the Ducatis through the speed trap, Rossi lapped faster around the Sepang International Circuit than he ever has in his entire 20-year Grand Prix career. His 1m 58.541s was his first-ever sub-1m 59s lap and being nearly half a second under his previous best time shows Yamaha has made some significant improvements. Oh, and Yamaha has employed a mechanical holeshot device for the 2020 season.

Last year's Suzuki was very good and this one looks even better. With an already competitive package underneath him, Alex Rins celebrated two victories during the 2019 season and finished fourth overall despite three DNFs.

Now, according to Suzuki team boss Davide Brivio, everything has "moved forward a little". Factory rider Joan Mir says the biggest improvements for him are braking stability and acceleration, while Rins says the new chassis accentuates the corner-speed advantage the Suzuki has over its rivals even more.

Rins ended the three-day test third fastest, just one tenth behind Quartararo, while Mir was the quickest Suzuki through the speed trap at 328.2km/h.

The headlines won't show it, but Aprilia was the hardest-working factory during the winter break, turning up to Sepang with a completely new motorcycle. The engine architecture has changed to a 90-degree V4 to mimic Honda and Ducati and is now faster than both the Suzuki and the Yamaha through Sepang's speed trap (329.2km/h).

Factory rider Aleix Espargaro ended the day 10th overall, 0.345s down, the Spanish rider crediting not just the engine, but also the new chassis, which seems to have fixed the understeer issues the 2019 RS-GP suffered. Aleix performed a fast and consistent race simulation which showed the Aprilia as a podium threat for the 2020 season.

Meanwhile, Dani Pedrosa's experience is paying off as KTM's official test rider, with KTM factory rider Pol Espargaro reaping the benefits of improved feel on corner entry and better tyre durability – both relatively small improvements that can make a huge difference in a race scenario.

Pol Espargaro ended the three-day test seventh quickest, 0.261s off the pace, and was just 3.1km/h slower than the Ducatis through the speed trap. All three days saw all six manufacturers comfortably in the top 10.

There are three rookies stepping up to the premier class this year. Reigning Moto2 champ Alex Marquez steps up to the Repsol Honda squad alongside brother Marc, Moto2 front-runner Brad Binder is teaming up with Pol Espargaro in the Red Bull Factory KTM squad, while Iker Lecuona makes his premier-class debut with the Tech3 KTM outfit.

Marquez turned 153 laps compared to Binder's 162 and Lecuona's 108, with the Spaniard finishing the event 18th overall and 0.693s off Quartararo's best lap. Binder was just one place and 0.05s behind Marquez in 19th place, while Lecuona, who is recovering from arm-pump surgery, finished the test in 24th, 1.549s off the pace.

Marquez revealed he spent a lot of time working on worn tyres to try and prepare himself for a race scenario, as well as getting his head around a time attack in order to qualify well.

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The motorcycle manufacturers aren't the only factories hard at work over the winter, with Michelin throwing a new-construction rear tyre into the ring for the 2020 season. Available in all three compounds – soft, medium and hard – the feedback was overall positive from the riders with many extolling the improved drive grip the new carcass offers, reducing wheel spin and improving acceleration out of corners.

Factory Ducati riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci were the only riders who struggled with set-up to get the most out of the new rear tyre, with the pair complaining of rear-end pumping under hard acceleration. Interestingly, the Pramac Ducati duo of Jack Miller and Pecco Bagnaia – both on GP20 machinery – didn’t suffer the same complaint.

Once known as the winter world champion, Maverick Vinales didn't chase a fast lap for the timesheets, instead using the Sepang test to work on his race pace. The Spaniard put in the most laps of the test, 201, and made a lot of long runs in a bid to simulate a race scenario.

Similarly, the one-lap pace of Fabio Quartararo won't necessarily translate into being strong over race distance, although the talented Frenchman's ability will very likely mean he'll be there or thereabouts.

Each and every factory has brought a considerably different motorcycle to the party for 2020, which gives satellite-team riders like Johann Zarco a clear advantage – for the opening few rounds at least.

Essentially riding the motorcycle Andrea Dovizioso rode to runner-up spot last year, and with Avintia Ducati receiving extra support from the Ducati factory, the team has bucket loads of data at its disposal. Add to that the fact he's been given Marco Rigamonti as crew chief, the same guy who guided Andrea Iannone to Ducati's first victory since Casey Stoner, that he's ridden no fewer than four different factory bikes in the last 18 months and he's in with a shot of earning the factory slot that both Miller and Bagnaia are vying for.