Stoner on top at Sepang

Ducati Team test rider and double MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner led the way at the top of the timesheets on the first day of MotoGP testing at Sepang in Malaysia on January 30.

Coming off the back of his own private test at Sepang prior, Stoner finished day one ahead of Ducati race rider and 2016 Malaysian GP winner Andrea Dovizioso as the Italian factory locked out the top.

SEPANG LIVE TIMING

Behind the two red machines was Maverick Viñales in P3, showing his teeth once again after topping timesheets first time out on his new Movistar Yamaha machine in Valencia. Rain cut the day short as it began around two hours before the end of the session, putting paid to any attempt to better times.

Stoner put in 32 laps with a best of 1:59.680, ‘DesmoDovi’ 29 laps with a best of 1:59.797. The two men were the only riders below the two-minute barrier. New arrival in red Jorge Lorenzo was further down the order in P17; a 2:01.349 on a 2016 machine, before rain put paid to any further advances.

One of the Ducati Team’s most high-profile additions in Malaysia is a new exhaust, something that proved a key focus in the initial stages of testing for the factory.

Viñales’ 2:00.129 in P3 was his best over 54 laps on his first track day of 2017, with teammate Valentino Rossi on a 2:00.694 to go P8 - a second down on Stoner after 27 laps – with new additions left off the agenda for the first day back on track for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP.

Both Rossi and Viñales also tested at Sepang late in 2016 in a private test shared with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rookies Jonas Folger and Johann Zarco. Fastest rookie on day one was Folger in an impressive P7, who was up the timesheets from the off. The German’s best of the day was a 2:00.643 after 40 laps, with his French teammate putting in a best of 2:01.224 over 69 laps. Both premier class newcomers got in some wet track time late in the afternoon.

Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) was the early leader as the day began and finished up the session in a notable P4 as he moves to the team to pilot a Ducati for the first time, with new teammate Karel Abraham further down the timesheets as he returns to MotoGP from a year in WorldSBK. Bautista also got in some running in the wet later in the session, and ended the day after 53 laps with a best of 2:00.134.

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s charge was led by Andrea Iannone on day one as the Italian put his new MotoGP machine up into the top five. The ‘Maniac’ put in 44 laps, with an impressive best of 2:00.489. Rookie teammate Alex Rins, who is getting back to full strength following a crash in testing in Valencia, was down in P20 with a 2:01.890, but showed a clear progression – and ventured out even after the rain started.

LCR Honda Team’s Cal Crutchlow was the quickest Honda as he finished day one in P6, with a 2:00.569 his best time after 44 laps. Repsol Honda got 2017 in gear in P9 and P13, with reigning world champion Marc Marquez leading teammate Dani Pedrosa by 0.2 seconds. Marquez did 56 laps with a best of 2:00.738, Pedrosa 44 laps with a top time of 2:00.970.

EG0,0 Marc VDS Honda duo Jack Miller and Tito Rabat had a slightly tougher day at the office, with the Assen 2016 winner on a 2:01.943 and the former Moto2 world champion a further 0.4 seconds back. Honda was another manufacturer with a new exhaust, and both Marquez and Pedrosa also took to the track in the rain.

Hector Barbera rounded out the top 10 for Avintia Racing with a 2:00.743 out of 38 laps, with Octo Pramac Yakhnich duo Danilo Petrucci and Scott Redding in hot pursuit. Petrucci, on the 2017 Ducati, clocked a best of 2:00.850 – with his teammate on the 2016 machine only just in arrears on a 2:00.853.

Aleix Espargaro led the charge for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini in P15 with a 2:01.272, with the machines sporting a new fairing. Rookie teammate Sam Lowes did a best of 2:02.943, but did get a significant amount of track time – 50 laps - something important after the Brit sat out some previous sessions in Valencia and Jerez following some big crashes. Espargaro completed 36 laps.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith got back to work on their 2017 project as full factory riders for the first time, with Espargaro putting in a 2:01.338 and Smith a 2:03.033. The younger of the two Espargaro brothers also ventured out in the rain in the final part of the session as KTM prepares to go racing full time in the premier class, eager to test out the bike – which sports some key differences to its competitors such as the tubular steel chassis – in different conditions.