MotoGP Test Sepang D1: What to remember...

The first day of the MotoGP test in Sepang had fans on tenterhooks for weeks, but no one expected it to be so dramatic on the track!

Because before even looking at the slightest time on the timesheet, it is on the asphalt that part of the start of the season was played out, paid for at a high price in the flesh of some of these champions. Let us realize: 3 drivers are already injured and are returning to Europe to have surgery, thus compromising their start to the season!

George Martin (Aprilia Racing) faces a difficult start to its title defence after falling victim to two falls on the first day, the second leaving him with a closed fracture of the head of the 5th metacarpal of the right hand and a closed fracture of the 3rd, 4th and 5th metatarsals of the left foot. Lorenzo Savadori will replace him to continue the development of the RS-GP25.

This was @ 88jorgemartin's awful highside in his first hours with the number 1 plate 💢

He's at the hospital undergoing tests due to left foot and right hand pain. Updates will follow and in the meantime, we're sending our best wishes to the World Champ 💪#MotoGP pic.twitter.com/2UQtHKOq1w

- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) February 5, 2025

To Fabio DiGiannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), we are told of a huge blunder (we don't even dare tell you about it...) made after the finish line, costing the high price of a fractured left collarbone, while Raul fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) recovered with a fractured left hand and a broken toe on his right foot.

Other falls occurred today, medium or small, and we are lost in conjecture to find the causes: cooler temperatures than during the shakedown, more wind, habits and reflexes to be found after the long winter break for the pilots who did not take part in the shakedown? Probably a bit of all three…
We wish all these pilots a speedy recovery, as they will now have time to think about the best way to return as quickly as possible to join their less unfortunate comrades.

Among these, fabio quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) proved to be the fastest after also winning the Shakedown. His best time of 1'57.555 is already slightly faster than the 1'57.794 set in the 2025 shakedown, and also better than the 1'58.228 set in the same test in 2024 as well as his 2024 qualifier of 1'57.592. That bodes well for a first day of official testing, but the Frenchman is obviously benefiting in part from his participation in the shakedown and keep your feet on the ground.

“Well, you know, I don’t want to be too positive from the beginning. I think we are working satisfactorily. It’s only the first day of the test. We have to see the others too: we can already see that many of them went very fast on the first day. We are here for three days, so we have to be neutral and try to work well and we will see where we are in Thailand.”

Also marked by a measured but profound satisfaction, Marc Marquez is only 51 thousandths away by focusing primarily on the choices to make regarding your engine, before the latter was frozen for two seasons.

"I understand why Ducati has one of the best bikes on the grid, because they were very calm when they discovered the problem and they were able to solve it. So tomorrow we continue the same plan and try to get closer and closer to the best, then we'll see."
There's not much more to get closer to...

Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) completes the top three ahead of his teammate Fermin Aldeguer, who was the fastest of the rookies on Wednesday. A great team effort that the rookie did not consider difficult, despite the fact that he is the youngest driver on the grid.

“I’m very happy. We’re in the top five, and with the more difficult track conditions compared to the shakedown, I drove 5 seconds faster. I didn’t focus on attacking the clock, but it was easy to do fast laps.”
Yet many would like to be able to say the same...

Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) is fifth on a GP24 that he already tried last year.

“The first day was positive because I got on well with the team and I was fast on the track. The work is different when you don’t have a factory bike, but for sure we tried a lot of things, and it was an important day.”

In 1'58.115, Joan mir (Honda HRC Castrol) places the first Honda in 6th position and finds the smile again by getting closer to nine thousandths of the best time of the test driver Alex Espargaro at the Shakedown. The Majorcan will sleep well tonight…

“Today we tried two different bikes, not quite an old one and a new one, and we already worked a lot in the morning. I am happy because we understood the direction we wanted to take for this test, a setting and geometry that allowed me to ride the way I want and smile while doing it. Honda brought a package that allows me to do what I want on the bike, that is the main thing. I was happy and I smiled every time I went out because I was enjoying riding the bike.”

We will not return to the “exploits” of Fabio DiGiannantonio, which still precedes Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), 8th, riding the M1. The latter is two positions ahead of his teammate Miguel Oliveira and feels roughly the same way.

“Day by day I feel more and more comfortable on the bike. That transition period where you try to get to grips with the bike is what’s really important and in the afternoon I really started to feel comfortable on the M1. I feel comfortable on the bike, the settings are there and so we were able to work during the day, test some things and try to move forward. I’m having a lot of fun. The Yamaha allows you to do something different to other bikes I’ve ridden in the past, in terms of corner speed and so on. Once you feel the confidence that the bike gives you, of course your riding style changes, but luckily for me I still think I can ride with the typical Jack Miller style in terms of how you enter the corner and brake hard, being able to slide the bike to help it stop. That was my biggest question mark, and now that I can do it without compromising the strengths of the M1, I'm happy."

Johann zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) is in the top 10, finishing P9. As usual, the Frenchman trusts his manufacturer and works tirelessly.

“We are working very hard, it’s a solid first day. I am confident in the way HRC wants to prepare things. Overall we managed to control the situation and do a good job, even with different tyres, and that’s important. I am happy to see that I have better control of the bike, because I can feel my riding experience, and that will help us to continue to improve.”

At KTM, we will note the very tight grouped shot, achieved by Peter Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), P11 after a crash in turn 13, Brad Binder et Maverick Vinales (Red Bull KTM Tech3). The Spanish shark has worked in depth and, according to his words, still has room for improvement, not really having looked for the time…

"I think I was the only one not chasing the times."

Finally, we cannot not talk about Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), 17th on the timesheet on his GP25 today, but still holder of the circuit record in 1'56.337. The Italian rider calmly roughs out his Ducati GP25, which he finds better in acceleration, but a little less good in braking. This is apparently due to the electronic settings that manage the engine, and there is no doubt that the Turinese will not stay in this area of the ranking for long...

“The throttle response on the GP25 is very smooth and precise, slightly better than on the GP24, which pumped more on corner exit. The best thing about the GP24 was the braking phase. Overall, we are not at the same level yet.”