MotoGP Sepang test 2 times, 26-28 February: Day 3
The Hondas are back on top, although that’s not the full story. Day 3 gave us Dani Pedrosa clocking a time 0.081 ahead of teammate Marc Marquez, with Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Alvaro Bautista rounding out the top five.
The Thursday session started wet, so only a few riders went out on track. The times were generally slower with much of the rubber washed away by the rain. This meant that although Pedrosa topped today, Lorenzo’s time from Wednesday stands as the quickest time of the test.
Cal Crutchlow, Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl take places five, six and seven in the overall timesheet, and are easily the next fastest group of riders, followed by the factory Ducatis. Unfortunately for Ben Spies, not only did his teammate Andrea Iannone outshine him on day 3, so too did Michele Pirro, Ducati’s test rider. Spies’s shoulder, operated on not long ago, is clearly nowhere near 100%.
In CRT news, Randy De Puniet has reason (other than his girlfriend) to be cheerful. He managed to finally outdo his teammate Aleix Espargaro and clock the fastest CRT time, 2.3 seconds from Pedrosa’s day 3 best, and just over 2.5 seconds from Lorenzo’s faster time from day 2. The Aprilia CRTs, at Sepang at least, are looking pretty respectable.
Day 3:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap | Lead. Gap | Prev. Gap | Laps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PEDROSA, Dani | Repsol Honda Team | 2:00.562 | 41 / 57 | |||
| 2 | MARQUEZ, Marc | Repsol Honda Team | 2:00.643 | 0.081 | 0.081 | 54 / 54 | |
| 3 | LORENZO, Jorge | Yamaha Factory Racing Team | 2:00.992 | 0.430 | 0.349 | 23 / 56 | |
| 4 | ROSSI, Valentino | Yamaha Factory Racing Team | 2:01.062 | 0.500 | 0.070 | 60 / 61 | |
| 5 | BAUTISTA, Alvaro | GO&FUN Honda Gresini | 2:01.078 | 0.516 | 0.016 | 13 / 43 | |
| 6 | CRUTCHLOW, Cal | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 2:01.094 | 0.532 | 0.016 | 57 / 59 | |
| 7 | BRADL, Stefan | LCR Honda MotoGP | 2:01.309 | 0.747 | 0.215 | 7 / 46 | |
| 8 | DOVIZIOSO, Andrea | Ducati Team | 2:01.650 | 1.088 | 0.341 | 35 / 44 | |
| 9 | HAYDEN, Nicky | Ducati Team | 2:02.070 | 1.508 | 0.420 | 23 / 53 | |
| 10 | SMITH, Bradley | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 2:02.314 | 1.752 | 0.244 | 46 / 64 | |
| 11 | IANNONE, Andrea | Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team | 2:02.566 | 2.004 | 0.252 | 46 / 52 | |
| 12 | PIRRO, Michele | Ducati Test Team | 2:02.773 | 2.211 | 0.207 | 36 / 38 | |
| 13 | DE PUNIET, Randy | Power Electronics Aspar | 2:02.863 | 2.301 | 0.090 | 44 / 45 | |
| 14 | SPIES, Ben | Ignite Pramac Racing Team | 2:03.055 | 2.493 | 0.192 | 31 / 33 | |
| 15 | NAKASUGA, Katsuyuki | Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team | 2:03.154 | 2.592 | 0.099 | 24 / 32 | |
| 16 | BARBERA, Hector | Avintia Blusens | 2:03.155 | 2.593 | 0.001 | 37 / 42 | |
| 17 | YOSHIKAWA, Wataru | Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team | 2:03.257 | 2.695 | 0.102 | 22 / 26 | |
| 18 | ESPARGARO, Aleix | Power Electronics Aspar | 2:03.423 | 2.861 | 0.166 | 18 / 45 | |
| 19 | ABRAHAM, Karel | Cardion AB Motoracing | 2:04.066 | 3.504 | 0.643 | 33 / 57 | |
| 20 | EDWARDS, Colin | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | 2:04.102 | 3.540 | 0.036 | 21 / 42 | |
| 21 | AOYAMA, Hiroshi | Avintia Blusens | 2:04.512 | 3.950 | 0.410 | 15 / 51 | |
| 22 | LAVERTY, Michael | Paul Bird Motorsport | 2:04.546 | 3.984 | 0.034 | 21 / 24 | |
| 23 | PESEK, Lukas | Came IodaRacing Project | 2:04.674 | 4.112 | 0.128 | 32 / 33 | |
| 24 | PETRUCCI, Danilo | Came IodaRacing Project | 2:04.686 | 4.124 | 0.012 | 18 / 36 | |
| 25 | CORTI, Claudio | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | 2:04.718 | 4.156 | 0.032 | 48 / 51 | |
| 26 | HERNANDEZ, Yonny | Paul Bird Motorsport | 2:04.722 | 4.160 | 0.004 | 46 / 47 | |
| 27 | TAKAHASHI, Takumi | HRC Test Team | 2:04.749 | 4.187 | 0.027 | 63 / 65 | |
| 28 | STARING, Bryan | GO&FUN Honda Gresini | 2:05.313 | 4.751 | 0.564 | 15 / 40 |
Motothoughts 