Marquez blitzes as Miller learns to fly

Respol Honda’s Marc Marquez did what was expected of him at the conclusion of the first 2015 MotoGP preseason test at Sepang (Sepang 1) in Malaysia over 4-6 February, topping the time sheets with an astounding 1m58.867 lap to smash his own track testing record, which previously stood at 1m59.553, set at Sepang 1 last year.

Marquez headed teammate Dani Pedrosa, the veteran still looking for his first MotoGP World Championship, who put in a time 0.139s slower but banked an impressive 10 consecutive laps below the 2m01 barrier during his race simulation in the stifling Malaysian heat.

Ducati Team’s factory new boy Andrea Iannone was a brilliant third on the overall timesheets on the Ducati Desmosedici GP14.3, half a second ahead of team leader Andrea Dovizioso in seventh overall. This was the final test with the GP14.3, as the long awaited GP15 will make its debut at Sepang 2 at the end of the month.

Movistar Yamaha’s favourite son Valentino Rossi was fourth fastest from teammate Jorge Lorenzo, both unable to match the flying pace of the Repsol Hondas. Rossi was half a second off Marquez while Lorenzo was a worrying 0.757s behind his compatriot. Both Yamaha’s tried a range of settings including new swingarms and engine management programs, which hampered their single lap pace.

Monster Energy Tech3 Yamaha’s Pol Espargaro did his best to smash every bike he had to pieces over the three days of testing with three crashes to finally finish sixth overall, just ahead of new Forward Yamaha’s Stefan Bradl, the top Open class rider, in eighth. Espargaro’s teammate Bradley Smith struggled with an ankle injury picked up in a training accident and finished ninth overall. Tenth went to Pol’s elder brother Aleix on the returning Suzuki.

For Australian MotoGP rookie Jack Miller, his test was all about acclimatising himself to the new Honda RC213V-RS machine and slowly bringing the lap time down. The Townsville boy would finish with a time of 2m01.895s on the final day, some two seconds up on his first day lap time.

“Today we improved our pace in the morning, managing to put in a different tyre at the right time and we improved our lap time by a second,” Miler said at the conclusion of the test.

“We made some real progress, particularly in the last three runs out on the track, when we started to work with the electronics including the traction control and anti-wheelie settings. For now though, I’m happy. It’s been a positive test. I’ve picked up lots more experience with the Bridgestone tyres and I think that it will get even better for the next test here.”

A selection of riders, including Colin Edwards and Randy De Puniet, stayed on for an extra day in Malaysia, as they focussed on testing the new Michelin race tyres, the French company set to replace Bridgestone as sole tyre supplier in 2016.

The MotoGP field will reconvene for the second three-day pre-season test at Sepang on 23-25 February.

Sepang 1 MotoGP test results
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1m58.867s
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1m59.006s
3. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1m59.388s
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1m59.401s
5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1m59.624s
6. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1m59.851s
7. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1m59.874s
8. Stefan Bradl (Forward Yamaha) 2m00.294s
9. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 2m00.384s
10. Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki) 2m00.486s
11. Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 2m00.536s
12. Maverick Vinales (Suzuki) 2m00.964s
13. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati) 2m00.970s
14. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) 2m01.029s
15. Hector Barbera (Ducati) 2m01.183s
16. Michele Pirro (Ducati) 2m01.232s
17. Scott Redding (Honda) 2m01.263s
18. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2m01.508s
19. Loris Baz (Forward Yamaha) 2m01.624s
20. Jack Miller (Honda) 2m01.895s
21. Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) 2m01.924s
22. Mike Di Meglio (Ducati) 2m02.128s
23. Karel Abraham (Honda) 2m02.297s
24. Eugene Laverty (Honda) 2m02.334s
25. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha) 2m02.363s
26. Takumi Takahashi (Honda) 2m03.113s
27. Alex de Angelis (ART) 2m03.399s
28. Marco Melandri (Aprilia) 2m03.641s
29. Takuya Tsuda (Suzuki) 2m05.478s
30. Michael Laverty (Aprilia) 2m06.190s