Among the four MotoGP debutants this year, there is Takaaki Nakagami who did better than hold his own during this first day of testing in Malaysia. Because the Japanese was not content, with his Honda LCR, to dominate Morbidelli and Lüthi, also equipped with RC213Vs, or even Simeon with the Ducati. He knocked on the door of the top 10 by not even giving two tenths back to his much more experienced teammate Cal Crutchlow…
Of course, to get there, he used the rear soft tire. But still: Nakagami walks the Sepang track for the first time on the handlebars of a MotoGP while he discovers Michelin tires, including this soft tire. In fact, it is appropriate to congratulate the driver for a performance which, if confirmed in the coming days, could well bring down the cards in the quest for the status of best beginner...
« This first day was good for me » rejoices the one who has completed 64 laps and who achieved 63rd its interesting 2'00.664. “ It's the first time I've ridden at Sepang with a MotoGP. The conditions were difficult but we progressed lap by lap to build a good relationship with my mechanics and get the best out of the bike. ».
« We have made big progress, with each outing on the track, we have improved and I have good feelings with the bike. In the end, we fitted the rear soft tire and the lap times were competitive. The most important thing is that I feel good on the bike and I'm starting to get the hang of the Michelins. That was our goal and after this good day, let's wait to see how things will go for the next ones ". A shared curiosity…
MotoGP #Sepang test J.1: Chronos
1. Dani Pedrosa, Honda, 1:59,427 min
2. Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati, +0,343 sec
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati, +0,375
4. Danilo Petrucci, Ducati, +0,696
5. Jack Miller, Ducati, 0,751
6. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, +0,806
7. Marc Marquez, Honda, +0,863
8. Johann Zarco, Yamaha, +0,994
9. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, +1,095
10. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +1,141
11. Alex Rins, Suzuki, +1,200
12. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, +1,237
13. Maverick Vinales, Yamaha, +1,287
14. Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia, +1,439
15. Tito Rabat, Ducati, +1,485
16. Andrea Iannone, Suzuki, +1,600
17. Bradley Smith, KTM, +1,672
18. Franco Morbidelli, Honda, +1,734
19. Álvaro Bautista, Ducati, +2,301
20. Sylvain Guintoli, Suzuki, +2,437
21. Scott Redding, Aprilia, +2,535
22. Yonny Hernandez, Yamaha, +2,626
23. Karel Abraham, Ducati, +2,661
24. Xavier Simeon, Ducati, +3,519
25. Tom Lüthi, Honda, +4,305
26. Michele Pirro, Ducati, +5,340
27. Mika Kallio, KTM, +6,505
