Built in just 14 months near Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) has hosted a MotoGP Grand Prix since 1999. Since 2010, it has also served as the official test venue for pre-season testing. season.
Despite being 5,5 kilometers long, the best times there have remained within a two-second range over the past decade. Will 2022 see the 1'58 barrier broken? It's entirely possible…
Early February 2010, Valentino Rossi sets the benchmark in 2'00.925 on his Yamaha 800cc, ahead of Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo et Dani Pedrosa. Three weeks later, the doctor lowers the time to 2'00.271 relegating his Australian rival to 0.241 seconds.
The following year, the Hondas had the wind in their sails during the first test and it was Marco Simoncelli who achieves 2'00.757 ahead of the two official motorcycles of Dani Pedrosa et Casey Stoner. Three weeks later, the leading trio is the same but it's Casey Stoner who crosses the 2 minute mark for the first time, in 1'59.665.
2012 marks the return of the 1000cc, and Shuhei Nakamoto, the big boss of the MotoGP program at Honda, then analyzes: “ I think for the same frame the advantage over the 800 is about two tenths, depending on the track. On winding ones, such as Laguna Seca, it's even less. The advantage is speed and acceleration but only near maximum speed, when Traction Control and anti wheelie are no longer activated. There is too much power, as is already the case with the 800, but on the 1000 it is distributed differently, relying on more torque. The problem remains power consumption, limiting the best performance. We still only have 21 liters of fuel available and need to develop new technology to have better control of consumption and get the most out of each gallon. It's a new approach. »
During the first test, and despite the two long straights supposed to favor the power of the 1000cc, Casey Stoner just managed to improve on his best time from the previous year, thanks to a 1'59.607. During test 2, the Australian was still the fastest but went back above 2 minutes, in 2'00.473.
In 2013, Dani Pedrosa cannot do better, in 2'00.100, then Yamaha regains the advantage during the second test thanks to Jorge Lorenzo, but in only 2'00.282. The absence of the Australian is felt…
From the first tests in 2014, Marc Márquez improves the reference to 1'59.533. In the absence of the Spanish driver during the second test following an off-road fall, it is Valentino Rossi who finds himself at the top of the ranking, the Italian icon managing at the last minute to get back under two minutes, in 1'59.999.
Marc Márquez takes over during test 1 of 2015 and even smashes the 1'59 mark, in 1'58.867! During the second test, the Honda driver will still be the fastest, but in 1'59.115.
As of 2016, there is only one test series in Malaysia. This one sees Jorge Lorenzo leading the debates, the Majorcan scoring 1'59.580 with the new Michelin tires in front of two Ducati representatives, Danilo Petrucci et Hector Barberá. The transition between Bridgestone and Michelin was smooth, even if the French manufacturer conceded about half a second for its return to the MotoGP arena...
In 2017, Yamaha maintains the advantage thanks to Maverick Vinales in 1'59.368 ahead Andrea Iannone et Marc Márquez.
2018 sees the return of Jorge Lorenzo in the foreground, but this time on the handlebars of the Ducati, this one even beating the reference of Marc Marquez dating from 2015, thanks to a time of 1'58.830.
2019 is the year of Ducati, the Borgo Panigale firm taking the first four places with Danilo Petrucci, Francesco Bagnaia, Jack Miller et Andrea Dovizioso. The GP19s made the powder speak and petrux lowered the reference to 1'58.239, which remains to this day the best time achieved on the Malaysian circuit.
Indeed, fabio quartararo only touched on this reference in 2020, in 1'58.349, just a few days before the global pandemic disrupted the course of activities.
No tests have taken place in Malaysia in 2021 and the 2022 tests, if they take place, should prove exciting. Even though the engines were frozen in 2020 and 2021, MotoGP continued to progress, above all with the introduction of the ride height device and the improvement of aerodynamics. With engines “released” in 2022, we can think that the 1'58 mark seems within shooting range...
Last indication, the official record belongs to fabio quartararo in 1'58.303 since Q2 2019.
Place your bets…
