Marquez dominates on day one of MotoGP testing at Sepang … but thought he was better than that !
Marc Marquez’s painful shoulder did not prevent him from setting the best time on the first day of MotoGP testing of 2019 at the Sepang circuit (Malaysia). The reigning world champion, a solid leader on his Honda, is ahead of Alex Rins ‘Suzuki and Maverick Viñales’ Yamaha. Debriefing.
Two birds with one stone ! By striking the first at the MotoGP tests in Sepang, Marc Marquez not only reassures himself about his state of health, but he also immediately warns his opponents: the reigning world champion will be there in 2019, although his left shoulder still makes him suffer and lack of force on braking! What also reassure the Honda clan, but also his team manager Alberto Puig, who broke his arm on a motorcycle just before the resumption in Malaysia…
- Sepang tests :
- MNC special file :
Bad luck seems to be beating down on the winged brand at the start of the 2019 season: let us remember that the "semi-official" pilot at Honda-LCR, Cal Crutchlow, is also coming out of three months without a motorcycle! Heavily injured in the ankle in Australia, the English rider takes the handlebars for the first time this week: out of caution, it is his teammate Takaaki Nakagami who will be responsible for roughing the parts to be tested.
Marquez gives a shoulder
Seeing Marquez at the top is therefore a comfort for the HRC, especially since its star driver did not take long to make the powder speak: the n ° 93 went down in 1’59.621 in his 26th lap, before returning definitively in the box three rounds later. The Catalan is thus both the fastest and the least present on the track: all his rivals completed between 50 and 65 laps during this first sunny day..
His time puts him at around 6 tenths of the official record for the Malaysian track, held since 2015 by Dani Pedrosa in 1’59.053. Note, however, that a certain Jorge Lorenzo is on the last day of winter testing on his Ducati: a record lap … but not official because it was contested outside a Grand Prix..
"I’m very happy to be back on the handlebars after a long winter, but I expected to be better than that," said Marquez, surprisingly disappointed with his morning performance. "I still have no strength, it goes for a couple of laps but I had to change my riding style to compensate. I stopped early to save myself, there are two days left and we’ll see how it works. Honda has worked a lot this winter, we tried a few things but the list is still very long. We test the most important things first. The bike is already well advanced but there is still a lot to try before the Qatar"…
Rins and Viñales on the lookout …
Second at 0.259 seconds behind Marquez, Alex Rins shows that the Suzuki will be able to play in the leading group as it did several times last year. Rins also asserts his status as the new leader of the Hamamatsu clan: his teammate Joan Mir, a MotoGP debutant, is only 23rd..
"My first impressions are excellent and we have plenty of new parts to test to polish our 2019 motorcycle", confirms n ° 42: "the lap times and the pace were already high today, so I feel that we have a good potential. I want to start the year as well as possible to have a regular season from the start. ".
Also good start to the season for Yamaha, who saw Maverick Viñales take third time at 0.316 sec. Despite the importance of this gap, this introduction could give balm to the heart to the new n ° 12: a good thing as we know the sensitivity to performance of "Mack", now mentally supported by the former pilot Julian Simon.
- MNC of February 6, 2019 :
"I’m really happy because I immediately felt comfortable," said Viñales. "I’ve trained a lot on motorcycles this winter, so physically I’m fine. I want to spend the three days thoroughly and I can be quite precise on the track. There is still room for improvement and it is very important if we wants to fight for the championship. I would like to improve the acceleration and also the braking a little bit, which caused us a lot of problems last year..
Esteve Rabat (+0.362 sec) and Danilo Petrucci (+0.430 sec) complete the Top 5 of this first day of testing at Sepang ahead of Valentino Rossi (+0.433 sec), which reveals as every year a specific helmet decoration that he will wear during the offseason trials.
"I asked Aldo (Drudi, his designer, Editor’s note) to take a brush and draw freehand, as he did before. And the result is great!", Rejoices n ° 46 by presenting this AGV helmet with bright colors which effectively returns a "raw" aspect of brushstrokes.
Regarding his first day, the Doctor first of all recalls that he found it "great to get back on the bike, even if it was physically hard because it was very hot".
"The first day was pretty positive", he continues: "I always had a good feeling with the bike and I worked a lot on improving the grip and the lap times, especially on worn tires. is the first day, I looked a little at the times of the leaders and we are not that far. It seems that we have improved compared to last year ".
Peco Bagnaia first beginner of the day
Further in the ranking are Andrea Dovizioso’s Ducati (8th at 0.576 sec), Pol Espargaro’s KTM (10th at 0.692 sec), Jack Miller’s Ducati (11th at 0.762 sec) and Honda Cal Crutchlow (14th at 1.060 sec), which gently takes its marks on the RC213V. The English is followed by Francesco Bagnaia, 15th and first rookie in this ranking on his Ducati Pramac 1.073 sec from Marquez.
Miller’s teammate is ahead of another rookie: Miguel Oliveira (above), however slowed down by a technical problem on his KTM satellite managed by Tech3.
The Portuguese rookie even allows himself to be the second KTM driver of the day: he precedes the test driver of the Orange brand Mika Kallio (19th) and especially Johann Zarco (20th), who has been racing since Saturday in Sepang in the part of the debugging of motorcycles that the teams nickname "shakedown".
"It’s a big circuit with fast corners and the heat allows you to test the front axle well in order to better understand the weak points", commented Johann..
First French rider in 2’00.985, rookie Fabio Quartararo finished 18th 1.364 sec behind the leader on his M1 of the new Petronas SRT (Sepang Racing Team) structure, which replaces Tech3 as the Yamaha satellite team..
"It’s not easy to have the feeling on such a powerful bike, but I thought the first laps would be more difficult," said El Diablo. "I’m happy because I’ve improved: while in Jerez I had to do a lot of laps to get a good time, today I was able to set a qualifying time after only two laps. The test de Sepang is different from Jerez, which is a much smaller circuit. Here, we have long straights and it is very hot. Tomorrow we will continue to work on the bike, trying to have a better feeling when braking. ".
Results and standings of the first day of MotoGP testing in Sepang
- MARQUEZ, Marc Repsol Honda Team 1: 59.621
- RINS, Alex Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1: 59.880 0.259
- VIÑALES, Maverick Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1: 59.937 0.316
- RABAT, Tito Reale Avintia Racing 1: 59.983 0.362
- PETRUCCI, Danilo Mission Winnow Ducati 2: 00.051 0.430
- ROSSI, Valentino Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 2: 00.054 0.433
- NAKAGAMI, Takaaki LCR Honda IDEMITSU 2: 00.158 0.53
- DOVIZIOSO, Andrea Mission Winnow Ducati 2: 00.197 0.576
- BRADL, Stefan Honda Test Team 2: 00.214 0.593
- ESPARGARO, Pol Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2: 00.313 0.692
- MILLER, Jack Alma Pramac Racing 2: 00.383 0.762
- MORBIDELLI, Franco Petronas Yamaha SRT 2: 00.460 0.839
- ESPARGARO, Aleix Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2: 00.602 0.981
- CRUTCHLOW, Cal LCR Honda CASTROL 2: 00.681 1.060
- BAGNAIA, Francesco Alma Pramac Racing 2: 00.694 1.073
- OLIVEIRA, Miguel KTM Tech 3 Racing 2: 00.902 1.281
- TEST 1, Yamaha Yamaha Test Team 2: 00.965 1.344
- QUARTARARO, Fabio Petronas Yamaha SRT 2: 00.985 1.364
- KALLIO, Mika Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Test Team 2: 01.054 1.433
- ZARCO, Johann Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2: 01.121 1.500
- IANNONE, Andrea Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2: 01.249 1.628
- GUINTOLI, Sylvain Suzuki Test Team 2: 01.286 1.665
- MIR, Joan Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 2: 01.432 1.811
- ABRAHAM, Karel Reale Avintia Racing 2: 01.627 2.006
- TEST 2, Yamaha Yamaha Test Team 2: 01.736 2.115
- SYAHRIN, Hafizh KTM Tech 3 Racing 2: 01.853 2.232
- SMITH, Bradley Aprilia Racing Factory Team
- TSUDA, Takuya Suzuki Test Team
Related articles
-
Offseason tests – Ducati power 4 for the last day of MotoGP testing at Sepang –
Ducati power 4 for the last day of MotoGP testing at Sepang The third and final day of MotoGP testing in Sepang (Malaysia) is largely dominated by…
-
MotoGP – Marquez dominates second MotoGP practice session at Sepang –
Marquez dominates second MotoGP practice session at Sepang It was once again the young prodigy Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) who dominated the second…
-
Offseason Tests – MotoGP Sepang Testing – Day 1: Pedrosa shoots first! –
MotoGP Sepang testing – Day 1: Pedrosa shoots first ! Dani Pedrosa was the fastest on the first day of the official MotoGP 2018 tests in Malaysia, just…
-
Offseason testing – MotoGP Jerez testing: Ducati dominates day one –
MotoGP Jerez testing: Ducati dominates day one Danilo Petrucci was the fastest of the first day of official MotoGP testing at the Jerez de la Frontera…
-
MotoGP 2019 testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez The 2019 MotoGP riders were finally able to enjoy a day of testing in…
-
Offseason testing – Viñales, Marquez and Rossi lead the first MotoGP 2019 tests in Valencia –
Viñales, Marquez and Rossi lead the first MotoGP 2019 test in Valencia At the end of a first day of 2019 MotoGP testing cut short by the rain, Maverick…
-
Offseason testing – Marquez dominates the last day of testing 2019 in Jerez, disrupted by the rain –
Marquez dominates the last day of testing 2019 in Jerez, disrupted by rain The second and final day of MotoGP testing in Jerez (Spain) ended earlier than…
-
Leader of the second day of MotoGP testing in Sepang, Viñales sprints to the record ! Maverick Viñales made a strong impression on the second day of…
-
Offseason Tests – MotoGP Sepang Testing – Day 3: Lorenzo is scared for records on the 2018 Ducati! –
MotoGP Sepang testing – Day 3: Lorenzo scares records on the 2018 Ducati ! The third and final day of official MotoGP 2018 testing at Sepang marks the…
-
Offseason testing – MotoGP Sepang testing – Day 2: Viñales and Rossi accelerate –
MotoGP Sepang testing – Day 2: Viñales and Rossi accelerate The two official Yamaha riders are at the forefront of the second day of official testing at…