Before the start of the first MotoGP tests of the year in Sepang, Valentino Rossi had declared that he would be annoyed if he saw himself dominated by his students Morbidelli and bagnaia on the track. At the end of three days of intensive Malaysian tests, it is clear that what the Doctor feared has happened. Reading the timesheet for the third and final day in fact ranks Vale tenth which sees the Yamaha Petronas eighth and, above all, the Ducati Pramac squarely second…
The two students who left his academy are therefore in front of him. On GP One, he comments: “ Pecco was really impressive in his fast lap. Good game ! I hope he is slower in terms of running pace. Its potential? If you consider that he has always been good during testing, that he clocked a 1'58.3 with the little experience of the bike he has, I would say that you will have to keep an eye on him ».
Public chat Morbidely, he adds : " we have similar performances, but it will be difficult to stay ahead of him. If we add Bagnaia's performance, I would say I would have to poison them both! When we started the academy project with these two, I never thought we would be here. I didn't think our pilots would be able to beat me. On the one hand, I'm worried, but on the other, I'm happy because it shows that our academy is working. It's like that. We help our pilots to beat me. We can't go back ».
MotoGP, Sepang J3 Test: times
| 1 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP19 | 1:58.239 | ||
| 2 | 63 | Francis Bagnaia | Ducati GP18 | 1:58.302 | 0.063 | 0.063 |
| 3 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati GP19 | 1:58.366 | 0.127 | 0.064 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP19 | 1:58.538 | 0.299 | 0.172 |
| 5 | 12 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha M1 | 1:58.644 | 0.405 | 0.106 |
| 6 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 1:58.780 | 0.541 | 0.136 |
| 7 | 41 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:59.022 | 0.783 | 0.242 |
| 8 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.141 | 0.902 | 0.119 |
| 9 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda RC213V | 1:59.148 | 0.909 | 0.007 |
| 10 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.155 | 0.916 | 0.007 |
| 11 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:59.170 | 0.931 | 0.015 |
| 12 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:59.180 | 0.941 | 0.010 |
| 13 | 6 | Stefan bradl | Honda RC213V | 1:59.368 | 1.129 | 0.188 |
| 14 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Ducati GP18 | 1:59.485 | 1.246 | 0.117 |
| 15 | 36 | Joan mir | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:59.486 | 1.247 | 0.001 |
| 16 | 20 | fabio quartararo | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.497 | 1.258 | 0.011 |
| 17 | 5 | Johann zarco | KTM RC16 | 1:59.640 | 1.401 | 0.143 |
| 18 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM RC16 | 1:59.751 | 1.512 | 0.111 |
| 19 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM RC16 | 1:59.949 | 1.710 | 0.198 |
| 20 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati GP18 | 2:00.378 | 2.139 | 0.429 |
| 21 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | KTM RC16 | 2:00.766 | 2.527 | 0.388 |
| 22 | 50 | Sylvain Guintoli | Suzuki GSX-RR | 2:00.990 | 2.751 | 0.224 |
| 23 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia RS-GP | 2:00.995 | 2.756 | 0.005 |
| 24 | 66 | Mika Kallio | KTM RC16 | 2:01.020 | 2.781 | 0.025 |
| 25 | T2 | Nakasuga/Folger | Yamaha M1 | 2:01.243 | 3.004 | 0.223 |
| 26 | T1 | Jonas Folger | Yamaha M1 | 2:01.719 | 3.480 | 0.476 |
