MotoGP Sepang Test Live J3: The hunt for records is on! Quartararo remains undefeated

As usual, this article will be constantly updated throughout this third and final day of testing of the 2020 season at Sepang.

The latter will take place from 3:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. French time.

If one of the surprises of the first day of testing at Sepang had been the flattering position of the ApriliaAlex Espargaro, the intermediate day was placed partly under the yoke ofa visibly very competitive KTM in the hands of Dani Pedrosa.

Only partly because the other surprise, although paradoxical, was constituted by the new pole position for yesterday's poleman, Fabio Quartararo.

Indeed, no one expected the French rider to place the factory Yamaha YZR-M1 so high in the rankings which he took possession of that very morning and which was deemed to still need to be fine-tuned, according to the official riders. .

But he did it, what's more without using Michelin’s “magic” tire, and there is no doubt that this unexpected message sent to his adversaries has a certain impact...

Facing the young Niçois, the troops are more than tight with no less than 16 drivers in less than 8/10 of a second! Something to keep hope alive for all those belonging to this group, and even for Johann zarco who yesterday reduced his gap with the fastest by 3 tenths.

On paper, this last day in Malaysia should be very lively from the opening of the track, while the end of the session could be shortened by the appearance of rain but also by the legitimate desire of some to put the MotoGP back on track. faster in their Flying Cases to Qatar, after ten days spent working in Malaysia…

But before that, there remains one question for the moment unanswered: will the unofficial records (1'58.239 by Danilo Petrucci during the 2019 test) and official records (1'58.303 by Fabio Quartararo during his 2019 pole position) fall today?

We would tend to think that “yes”…

First day standings:

 

Second day standings:

 

Past references:
– Best test lap: 1’58.239 (Danilo Petrucci 2019)
– Pole position 2019: 1'58.303 (Fabio Quartararo)
– Best lap in the race: 1'59.661 (Valentino Rossi 2019)

 

Sunday February 9, 3:00 a.m. (10:00 a.m. in Sepang): 

With a rather overcast sky and a less scorching sun than yesterday, there is no time to lose to hit the trail and Maverick Viñales, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo, Álex Márquez, Aleix Espargaró, Jack Miller, Johann Zarco and Joan Mir are the first to set off.

 

 

 

fabio quartararo is the first driver to go under two minutes and achieves 1'59.787 during his second flying lap.

In the next passage, Joan mir takes command in 1'59.548 then it's Cal Crutchlow who achieves 1'59.241 in his second flying lap.

Also note the start of the session with flying colors Johann zarco who occupies seventh position in 2.00.029 after a quarter of an hour on the track.

The top 10 is then made up of Cal Crutchlow, Jack Miller, Álex Rins, Maverick Vinales, Joan Mir, Fabio Quartararo, Danilo Petrucci, Johann Zarco, and Iker Lecuona but things are obviously far from over since the sectors are lighting up red almost everywhere...

Alex Rins, Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo are the first to break the 1'59 mark, El Diablo taking command during his fifth flying lap in 1'58.665. Number #20 lowers the provisional reference to 1'58.541 on the next pass while Andrea Dovizioso enters the Top 5.

Less usual, Miguel Oliveira places KTM RC16 in provisional fourth place, in 1'58.873, then 1'58.764, by far its best time of testing.

 

 

 

As the first half hour approaches, Marc Marquez begins its work but it is Valentino Rossi who takes the track last, just after Takaaki Nakagami.

After this first hectic burst of 30 minutes, the hierarchy is made up of Fabio Quartararo, Aleix Espargaró, Jack Miller, Álex Rins, Miguel Oliveira, Pol Espargaró, Cal Crutchlow, Joan Mir, Andrea Dovizioso, Francesco Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, Maverick Viñales, Álex Márquez, Johann Zarco, Franco Morbidelli and Danilo Petrucci. All these drivers are under two minutes which is not yet the case for the following.

 

 

 

Jack Miller in his works yesterday...

 

 

Ten minutes later, Pol I will espargaro is 69 thousandths closer to the time of fabio quartararo.

Jorge Lorenzo is present but the live timing does not immediately indicate the number 99: difficult to know its times... Besides, generally speaking, the live timing works quite poorly today. However, things were quickly rectified.

 

 

A quarter of an hour before the end of the first hour, Cal Crutchlow, then fifth at less than 2/10, produced his effort and dethroned fabio quartararo of leadership, in 1'58.431.

At this moment, Valentino Rossi is positioned 11th, Marc Márquez 13e.

1'58.349, this is the new provisional reference imposed by fabio quartararo in his 16th flying lap, 7 minutes before the end of the first hour! Best time of the three days, but not yet a record… Like yesterday, the French driver is using his M1 Factory.

 

 

 

Just before first hour, Johann zarco continues to progress, in 1'59.366.

 

 

Ranking at 4:00 a.m. (11:00 a.m. at Sepang):

 

In the wake, Francis Bagnaia takes the lead of the Ducati and is positioned 4th, between Alex Rins et Valentino Rossi. Perhaps stung, his teammate Jack Miller then gains one place to position itself in seventh place.

Much further, Danilo Petrucci sails in 19th position, last Ducati, before progressing to 13th place. The Terni driver doesn't like his new rear tire... But reestablishes the bar by taking 6th position after a few minutes.

 

 

 

Things are calming down a little and if 13 drivers have lapsed 1'58 this year (compared to only 6 last year in the test), the record established by Danilo Petrucci during the 2019 test still holds, in 1'58.239.

At 11:26 p.m., Jorge Lorenzo crossed the two-minute mark and moved up to 22nd position, then to 20th in 1'59.697 after 16 flying laps. We know that no development task has been entrusted to him for the moment and his only objective is to find his feet on the M1, which he seems to be doing quite quickly...

A Yamaha M1 on which we also test the holeshot device which we told you about at the beginning of January (see here). Since that night, a video has been circulating on the internet, clearly showing that Yamaha chose the same solution as Ducati, namely lowering the rear of the bike to lower its center of gravity during starts. In this video, it is Kohta Nozane, one of two Japanese test pilots, testing the system.

 

 

https://twitter.com/Vi3Mu/status/1226240382842830848

 

Minor fall of Mika Kallio...

At 11:41 p.m., Johann zarco breaks the 1'59 mark in 1'58.951... 15th just behind Andrea Dovizioso, just 0,6 seconds from the lead!

At this moment, Maverick Vinales, despite 26 laps completed, is not one of the 17 drivers who are in the same second. What is happening?

 

Ranking at 5:00 a.m. (12:00 a.m. at Sepang):

 

At Suzuki, we asked the test pilot Takuya Tsuda to relay Sylvain Guintoli. It must be said that the French driver completed countless laps during the 3 days of shakedown and the 3 days of testing!

 

 

 

fabio quartararo let the hot hours pass and took off the leather...

 

 

 

Only 5 drivers left on track at the moment, so let's take this opportunity to point out the aerodynamic elements tried by Maverick Vinales yesterday and Valentino Rossi today.

 

 

 

We can think that these are profiling for the hands, in order to promote top speed...

Move to Marc Márquez, currently 12th at 0,4 seconds. The Honda rider estimates his physical condition at only 70% of his maximum, well below what he expected. This is probably why he was unable to recover from a fall yesterday by losing the front at the end of his last run. A high-speed fall from which the Spanish pilot once again escaped unscathed.

 

 

 

Alberto puig declared that it was still negotiating the renewal of the contract of its favorite pilot. For the moment, nothing has been signed, but we are working on it…
Marc Márquez try a “scooter” style rear brake today, like Cal Crutchlow previously.

 

Friendly : Maverick Vinales et Jorge Lorenzo did a few laps together on the track…
Maverick Casa Particular in Viñales said about Jorge Lorenzo : " You have to try to understand the bike. It's a very different bike than last year and the more on-track analysis the better. »

Valentino Rossi : " I like talking with Lorenzo because he always makes interesting comments. Having him with us is important. »

Between the Mallorcan pilot and the official pilots, the flow seems to be flowing!

 

 

 

Ranking at 6:00 a.m. (13:00 a.m. at Sepang):

 

fabio quartararo put the leather back on and got back on the track…
He is currently the only one to lap in 1'59.

As Sylvain Guintoli, Alex Rins and Joan Mir have finished riding for this test. At Suzuki, we are very satisfied with the new engine and we also tried a new chassis (without carbon).

 

 

 

Only Marc Marquez, Brad Binder, Maverick Casa Particular in Viñales (still 12th!) and Takuya Tsuda are currently on track…

 

 

 

At 13:51 p.m., all engines stopped for the traditional lunch break at the hottest time of the day. If rain appears this afternoon, the test is over. Otherwise, we could see some attempts at Time Attack at the end of the session…

Waiting, fabio quartararo, Jack Miller et Mika Kallio got back on the trail.

 

 

Ranking at 7:00 a.m. (14:00 a.m. at Sepang):

 

To wait while waiting for a new element, here is the video, now traditional, filmed yesterday by an avid viewer...

 

 

 

Top speeds (photographed by Mat Oxley):

 

Like yesterday, the V4s take the lion's share, starting with those coming from Borgo Panigale.
Despite his factory bike, fabio quartararo still makes 10 km/h at Jack Miller !

Despite the heat, three drivers continued to ride: fabio quartararo, Jack Miller et Francis Bagnaia...

 

Ranking at 8:00 a.m. (15:00 a.m. at Sepang):

 

In this day, Mir, Kallio et Miller fell while on Saturday, three drivers used the very soft rubber allowing them to challenge the clock in the best conditions: Pedrosa, Mir et Morbidely. Will these seven-league boots be worn again at the end of the session to seek the record?

From the Honda box, Alberto puig comments upon noting the return to the track of Jorge Lorenzo with a Yamaha: “ we never imagined that the desire to race would come back to him, we could not force a driver to continue on the track. It is true that Lorenzo brings with him the experience and knowledge of our garage, but he won't have a magic wand. We behaved 100% correctly. » After two long runs, his pilot Marc Márquez stopped because of a painful left hand because it had to compensate for the effort of the injured right shoulder.

De Quarterly à Casa Particular in Viñales, 18 drivers are within a little more than eight tenths…

Piero Taramasso, Michelin MotoGP manager, spoke about the new tires: “ all pilots love them, when the motorcycle is tilted, the contact area with the ground is greater, so when they accelerate in the traction zone there is more grip. They must adapt to their riding style and adjust the chassis and suspension. In the Austrian and Thai Grands Prix we will not bring this carcass »

Timing-wise, it’s the status quo…

 

Ranking at 9:00 a.m. (16:00 a.m. at Sepang):

 

Marc Márquez returned to the mobile clinic during the break, he has not returned yet. During this time, Jacks Miller experiencing oil pressure problems on his Ducati. On Sky, we make a visual comparison between the systems put in place by Yamaha and Ducati to facilitate departures…

 

 

 

At Yamaha , the mechanical button is on the side of the fairing while with Ducati, he is on the handlebars.

At Suzuki et KTM, the tests are finished. Just like those ofAlex Marquez. His brother Marc took over the track, but he fell in the last turn. The eight-time world champion is unhurt, but with his physical form far from the mark, a Honda which is having difficulty getting used to the new Michelin rear tire, this is his second fall in two days... It will leave it there.

 

 

 

Ranking at 10:00 a.m. (17:00 a.m. at Sepang):

 

There is only one hour left before the end of these tests in Sepang, which began on February 2 with the “shakedown”. A start to the 2019 financial year which has already delighted Yamaha, Suzuki et Aprilia, reassured KTM, but worried Honda et Ducati. The common point ? The new rear Michelin tire…

As for the case Lorenzo, the question is his true physical condition. This Sunday, he did series of three to four laps before stopping. Beyond Yamaha suggestions and wildcard hopes, he must first find optimal shape.

 

 

30 minutes from the end of hostilities, the time ranking remained unchanged: Quartararo, Crutchlow, Rins, Bagnaia, Rossi, Petrucci, Pol Espargaró, Miller, Aleix Espargaró, And Mir for the top 10.

Johann zarco is still fifteenth, behind Andrea Dovizioso.

Fifteen minutes from the checkered flag, the dreaded rain is coming.

This is the end of these tests, which are rich in lessons, with this in mind: the records have not fallen but it will be close in 2020!

See you in Qatar for the final tests starting February 22!

 

Final standings of the third day of the MotoGP test at Sepang:

 

Past references:
– Best test lap: 1’58.239 (Danilo Petrucci 2019)
– Pole position 2019: 1'58.303 (Fabio Quartararo)
– Best lap in the race: 1'59.661 (Valentino Rossi 2019)

Credit rankings: MotoGP.com