Foto: David Goldman / Red Bull Content Pool
What was the first of three important days of the official MotoGP test in Sepang is over. The Malaysian track, which a few days ago had been the stage for the Shakedown where the test riders from the five manufacturers were present, the “rookie” Pedro Acosta and also the official riders from Honda and Yamaha, this time had all the official riders on the track, including, of course, Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing).
The only exception is Franco Morbidelli, with the Prima Pramac Ducati rider still recovering from the heavy crash he suffered in training at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. He was replaced by Ducati test rider Michele Pirro.
It was, as expected, an intense day of official testing, with all drivers and their teams making the most of the time available at Sepang to test new material, and, above all, new aerodynamic solutions and understand in detail the aerodynamic behavior of the motorcycles with new fairings and wings.
For example, this was particularly notable in the case of Miguel Oliveira.
The Portuguese rider from the new Trackhouse Racing satellite team rode his Aprilia RS-GP24 for the first time (he has two bikes available in this test), having been on the track with his bike equipped with a set of sensors fixed to the rear of the Italian bike .
The objective is clear: to analyze the air flow.
Miguel Oliveira, in his preview of the Sepang test, I had warned that there would be many things to test with Noale’s new prototype. And more than lap times, the focus of the driver from Almada and his Trackhouse Racing team will be on understanding the new aerodynamics, in particular taking into account that Aprilia Racing has significantly modified the rear section of the RS-GP24 compared to the bikes from previous years.
With 54 laps completed, Miguel Oliveira closed the first day of the official Sepang test for the queen category with the 15th registration. The Portuguese’s best lap was achieved on the 23rd lap, stopping the clock at 1m58.750s, which leaves him 0.799s behind the fastest rider of the day, Spaniard Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati).
For Miguel Oliveira, today, in addition to the mission of testing many new features on the Aprilia RS-GP24, was not without incidents. In fact, and according to the “report” on the MotoGP.com portal, the Trackhouse Racing rider suffered a fall in turn 12 of the Malaysian circuit, having immediately been considered to be “OK” in physical terms due to the information that was revealed in the time.
If Miguel Oliveira’s fall did not have major consequences, the same cannot be said about his teammate. Raul Fernandez, who, we remember, will compete at the start of the 2024 MotoGP season with the Aprilia RS-GP23, was one of the first riders to crash, in the first 15 minutes of the first day.
The Spanish rider, as happened minutes before with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), fell at turn 11, suffering a violent and impressive “highside”, hitting the ground hard which left him very sore and having to be examined at the Circuit Medical Center and even the nearest hospital to rule out any more serious injuries.
Raul Fernandez’s bike even caught fire in the gravel of the escape, at a time when the red flags had to be shown, interrupting the session. Naturally, the Spanish driver’s day was “shorter” than expected.
As for the top of the timesheets, runner-up Jorge Martin starts the year strong.
The Prima Pramac Ducati rider clocked a time of 1m57.951s, which places him just around half a second away from the absolute MotoGP record at Sepang, held by Francesco Bagnaia (1m57.491s). “Martinator” was actually the only driver on this first day of official testing in Sepang to manage to reach the second 57, and he was also one of the drivers who completed the most laps.
Foto: David Goldman / Red Bull Content Pool
Pedro Acosta finished behind MotoGP runner-up today.
The Red Bull GasGas Tech3 “rookie”, with three days of Shakedown already completed in Sepang, and, therefore, with a pace naturally superior to the other drivers in the premier category who is only now starting to ride on the track again, failed to replicate his best time during the Shakedown. But she didn’t stay very far.
In fact, the technical team tasked by Hervé Poncharal with helping Pedro Acosta adapt to MotoGP is surprised by the capabilities of the Moto2 world champion, not only in being able to ride fast on the GasGas RC16, but, mainly, by the “feedback ” which he gives to the Tech3 mechanics, who are then able to tune the bike so that Acosta can achieve the times he is setting at Sepang.
The podium on this first day of the Sepang test is closed to Fabio Quartararo.
The Frenchman from Monster Energy Yamaha, and contrary to what we saw in other seasons, no longer seems to be losing in top speed to more powerful bikes like the Ducati. In fact, it was just 1 km/h behind today’s best record. This could mean that the Yamaha YZR-M1’s four-cylinder in-line engine is now better matched.
Quartararo was then third fastest, losing to Pedro Acosta by just 8 thousandths.
Today was also the day for Marc Márquez to officially debut as a Gresini Racing driver. The eight-time world champion did not have an easy day. In addition to several technical problems on his Ducati Desmosedici GP23, Marc Márquez didn’t take long to give the Gresini Racing mechanics a hard time.
A crash at Sepang turn 15, the final hairpin of the Malaysian circuit, means that the 2023 “king of crashes” begins his life as a Ducati rider with a crash as well. It should be noted that it was a low-speed crash, and Marc Márquez himself put his bike back on its right side and returned to the track. He closed the day with the 9th time.
Update: Speaking to the official MotoGP.com portal after the end of the test day, Marc Márquez clarified that, contrary to what was initially indicated in the “report” on the official website, he had not yet suffered his first crash with the Ducati. The Spanish driver says that he actually left the track onto the gravel, but never crashed. He confirmed that he suffered another scare, at turn 9 at Sepang, having managed to save the crash at that time.
For the defending champion, today was a busy day. The crash we already mentioned opened the day of testing for Francesco Bagnaia, who placed the Ducati Desmosedici GP24 in 16th place on the timesheets.
At the start of the official MotoGP tests in Sepang, we can also mention the 69 laps completed by Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory), with the Australian being the rider who completed the most laps today.
On the other hand, and as we have also highlighted, the maximum speeds on a circuit like Sepang, with its long straights, especially the main straight, is always something to highlight. In this regard, the 336.4 km/h mark seems to be the maximum, with several drivers registering this mark: Jorge Martin, Pedro Acosta, Marc Márquez and Luca Marini. Miguel Oliveira’s best top speed was 333.3 km/h.
Foto: David Goldman / Red Bull Content Pool
Results from the 1st day of the official MotoGP test in Sepang
1 – Jorge Martin (First Pramac Ducati) 1m57.951s
2 – Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3) 1m58.220s
3 – Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 1m58.228s
4 – Fabio di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46) 1m58.325s
5 – Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) 1m58.357s
6 – Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) 1m58.470s
7 – Alex Márquez (Gresini Racing) 1m58.542s
8 – Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46) 1m58.605s
9 – Marc Márquez (Gresini Racing) 1m58.621s
10 – Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) 1m58.670s
15 – Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) 1m58.750s
Official MotoGP records at Sepang
Best lap: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) 1m57.491s (2023)
Best race lap: Alex Márquez (Gresini Racing) 1m58.979s (2023)
Photo gallery from the 1st day of the official Sepang test
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