Aprilias on top on Day 1 of Sepang MotoGP test

Aprilia duo Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales have come out on top on Day 1 of MotoGP’s first Official Test at Sepang, during which Marc Marquez crashed twice.

Espargaro was fastest courtesy of a first-hour 1:58.371s on his RS-GP, with Viñales eventually closing to just 0.013s adrift right near the end of the eight hours of running.

Both had already been in action at the Malaysian Grand Prix venue just days earlier in the Shakedown Test, which they were eligible for by virtue of Aprilia’s concession status, and then for another day of private testing.

Espargaro’s time was less than a tenth away from Fabio Quartararo’s 2019 qualifying lap record, and more than half a second quicker than the benchmark 1:58.942s which Viñales had set in the Shakedown Test when they were also one-two, in the opposite order.

Alex Rins, who had a spill of his own, put his Suzuki Ecstar entry third on the timesheet at exactly a tenth off the pace, from Gresini Racing’s Enea Bastianini.

The latter, who is riding a GP21-model Ducati this year, went as quick as a 1:58.638s while Pramac Racing’s Johann Zarco, who will have the Bologna marque’s latest machinery, was fifth on a 1:58.946s.

Quartararo was sixth for Monster Energy Yamaha, from Alex Rins on the second of the Suzukis, and Marquez in eighth on his return to MotoGP action after missing the last two rounds of 2021 and the post-season test.

The six-time premier class champion, who suffered double vision after a training crash at the end of October, wound up 0.916s off the pace after dropping his Repsol Honda twice.

Marquez’s factory Honda team-mate Pol Espargaro was last of those within a second of his brother Aleix’s fastest lap, with Mooney VR46 rookie Marco Bezzecchi rounding out the top 10.

Yamaha Test Rider Cal Crutchlow was 11th, with Tech3 rookie Raul Fernandez first of the KTM contingent in 13th.

Jack Miller had an early technical problem and would eventually take just 22nd on 2:00.177s, three spots behind Ducati Lenovo team-mate Francesco Bagnaia.

Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Remy Gardner, who is suffering with a fractured wrist, was 24th of the 27 riders on a 2:00.470s.

The second and final day of the Sepang Official Test takes place on Sunday, before the field moves to Indonesia’s Mandalika for more mileage from Friday.

Day 1: Sepang Official test

Pos	Num	Rider	Nat	Team	Bike	Time	Gap 1st/Prev	Laps
1	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	ESP	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	1:58.371		9/42
2	12	Maverick VIÑALES	ESP	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	1:58.384	0.013/0.013	54/56
3	42	Alex RINS	ESP	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	1:58.471	0.100/0.087	71/72
4	23	Enea BASTIANINI	ITA	Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	1:58.638	0.267/0.167	23/44
5	5	Johann ZARCO	FRA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	1:58.946	0.575/0.308	47/59
6	20	Fabio QUARTARARO	FRA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	1:59.002	0.631/0.056	49/57
7	36	Joan MIR	ESP	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	1:59.067	0.696/0.065	63/68
8	93	Marc MARQUEZ	ESP	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1:59.287	0.916/0.220	55/62
9	44	Pol ESPARGARO	ESP	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1:59.353	0.982/0.066	25/64
10	72	Marco BEZZECCHI	ITA	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	1:59.468	1.097/0.115	49/49
11	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Yamaha Factory	Yamaha	1:59.558	1.187/0.090	29/47
12	30	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	JPN	LCR Honda IDEMITSU	Honda	1:59.634	1.263/0.076	60/62
13	25	Raul FERNANDEZ	ESP	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1:59.682	1.311/0.048	66/69
14	33	Brad BINDER	RSA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1:59.784	1.413/0.102	49/58
15	73	Alex MARQUEZ	ESP	LCR Honda CASTROL	Honda	1:59.913	1.542/0.129	51/65
16	88	Miguel OLIVEIRA	POR	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1:59.945	1.574/0.032	38/60
17	89	Jorge MARTIN	ESP	Pramac Racing	Ducati	1:59.949	1.578/0.004	19/49
18	10	Luca MARINI	ITA	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	1:59.966	1.595/0.017	50/52
19	63	Francesco BAGNAIA	ITA	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	2:00.027	1.656/0.061	22/61
20	49	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	ITA	Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	2:00.047	1.676/0.020	39/42
21	21	Franco MORBIDELLI	ITA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	2:00.107	1.736/0.060	25/61
22	43	Jack MILLER	AUS	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	2:00.177	1.806/0.070	48/55
23	04	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team	Yamaha	2:00.342	1.971/0.165	24/60
24	87	Remy GARDNER	AUS	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	2:00.470	2.099/0.128	59/60
25	40	Darryn BINDER	RSA	WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team	Yamaha	2:00.818	2.447/0.348	43/45
26	50	Sylvain GUINTOLI	FRA	Suzuki Test Team	Suzuki	2:01.390	3.019/0.572	37/46
27	32	Lorenzo SAVADORI	ITA	Aprilia Racing Test Team	Aprilia	2:04.385	6.014/2.995	6/15
	85	Takuya TSUDA	JPN	Suzuki Test Team	Suzuki