Marc Márquez restarts in style; aerodynamics reigns at the Sepang test

The reigning champion tops day 1 of official MotoGP testing in Sepang. What did the manufacturers try? Report and standings.

First outing since October, and here comes Marc Marquez immediately putting everyone in line. A decidedly interesting restart, given that Aleix Espargaro's best time in the shakedown (1:57.1) is already filed away. And it makes you think that even Bagnaia’s absolute record of 1:56.3 might already be in danger... We’ll see in the coming days, keeping in mind these are tests, so everyone’s priority is the new parts to evaluate. In the meantime, the three test riders on site have been truly tireless: Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia), Augusto Fernandez and Andrea Dovizioso (Yamaha), who after the intense shakedown are continuing to run tests and rack up laps in support of the factory riders. Here’s how it went today.

In the afternoon both Ducati Lenovo riders ran with the new fairing, the one brought to the track by test rider Pirro on the first day of the shakedown. It should be added that Marc Marquez had a small technical issue, quickly resolved. Here in the image on Pecco Bagnaia’s bike, credits Ducati Corse. Remember that, in addition to the two factory riders, both Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio (2nd today) will have the most up-to-date technical package.

A piece of good news was seeing Quartararo back on track—despite soreness from his crash this morning—to complete the first day of testing. As mentioned earlier, the two Iwata-brand test riders were tireless as well, highly active alongside the factory riders. Let’s remember that everyone (except Toprak Razgatlioglu, who must now focus solely on adapting to a MotoGP bike) is also testing swingarms and frames.

The above also applies to Honda: in addition to testing a bit across all areas, the RC-Vs made a strong showing today, especially with the Honda HRC Castrol duo, and Johann Zarco also performed well. As with the multi-time WorldSBK champion, Diogo Moreira likewise only needs to focus on his adaptation process to MotoGP.

Above, fairing and even a “checkered” tail section tested by Joan Mir, Luca Marini, and Johann Zarco. Times are still not very telling, though it’s interesting to see the RC-Vs near the top. An intriguing late burst came from Maverick Vinales, who, only in the last quarter hour, put a KTM up front—precisely in third position—ahead of Bezzecchi’s Aprilia and the Hondas themselves. Day one is in the books, minds already on tomorrow, but for now, a look at the times.