Marquez Sets Motorcycle Lap Record On Final Day Of Sepang MotoGP Test
From an HRC press release:
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have finished the first three-day test of 2015 on top of the time sheets, with both riders over half a second faster than their closest rival.
This morning during the cooler temperatures, 2014 World Champion Marc recorded the fastest ever time on two wheels around the Sepang circuit with his time of 1’58.867 on lap 8 – of 52 – (beating his own record of 1’59.533 from the 2014 Winter test), as all the riders took to the track in a time attack. In the afternoon, Marc completed a 20 lap race simulation, and gained valuable data about the current spec Honda.
Dani, who’s morning time was just 0.139 off Marc, also did a 20 lap race simulation in the afternoon – with 10 laps under 2’01 – and fine tuned his settings on his 2015 RC213V in preparation for the next test here in two weeks. He recorded his time of 1’59.006 on lap 11 of 41.
The HRC engineers will now take the data collected from this test back to Japan to analyse and prepare for the second Sepang test, due to take place on the 23-25 February.
Marc Marquez
“The truth is that when I saw the time I was surprised, just like everyone else! In any case, I must say that today the track was fast, as we all rode faster than before. I’m glad I was able to set a good lap, but more important is the fact that I felt very comfortable, right from the start. We did a race simulation later on, which also went very well and was perhaps even more important than a single lap. During the race simulation we tested different mapping and in every part we tried different things. The positive is that with the new bike we are already at the same level as in 2014, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. Now I can’t wait for the second test and to see what progress we can make.”
Dani Pedrosa
“I’m happy with the work we have done today, because we have made progress in some aspects with the rear. There is still room for improvement, but overall we’ve taken some pretty positive steps in this test and I think that’s a very good thing. The team have also integrated well and we have worked very smoothly together, so I’m very happy about that. We did a race simulation in which we tested the bike for the first time in such a scenario. Obviously there are some things to improve but, considering it was the first time, the findings have been pretty good!”
Results Session
Weather: Sunny | Humidity: 57% | Track Temp: 50°C | Air Temp: 32°C
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | MARQUEZ Marc | 93 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | 1’58.867 |
2 | PEDROSA Dani | 26 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | 1’59.006 |
3 | IANNONE Andrea | 29 | ITA | Ducati Team | 1’59.388 |
4 | ROSSI Valentino | 46 | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 1’59.401 |
5 | LORENZO Jorge | 99 | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 1’59.624 |
6 | ESPARGARO Pol | 44 | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1’59.851 |
7 | DOVIZIOSO Andrea | 4 | ITA | Ducati Team | 1’59.874 |
8 | BRADL Stefan | 6 | GER | NGM Forward Racing | 2’00.294 |
9 | SMITH Bradley | 38 | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 2’00.384 |
10 | ESPARGARO Aleix | 41 | SPA | Team Suzuki MotoGP | 2’00.486 |
11 | CRUTCHLOW Cal | 35 | GBR | CWM LCR Honda | 2’00.536 |
12 | VINALES Maverick | 25 | SPA | Team Suzuki MotoGP | 2’00.964 |
13 | PETRUCCI Danilo | 9 | ITA | Pramac Racing | 2’00.970 |
14 | AOYAMA Hiroshi | 7 | JPN | HRC Test Team | 2’01.029 |
15 | BARBERA Hector | 8 | SPA | Avintia Racing | 2’01.183 |
16 | PIRRO Michele | 51 | ITA | Ducati Team | 2’01.232 |
17 | REDDING Scott | 45 | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | 2’01.263 |
18 | HAYDEN Nicky | 69 | USA | Drive M7 Aspar | 2’01.508 |
19 | BAZ Loris | 76 | FRA | NGM Forward Racing | 2’01.624 |
20 | MILLER Jack | 43 | AUS | CWM LCR Honda | 2’01.895 |
21 | BAUTISTA Alvaro | 19 | SPA | Factory Aprilia Gresini | 2’01.924 |
22 | DI MEGLIO Mike | 63 | FRA | Avintia Racing | 2’02.128 |
23 | ABRAHAM Karel | 17 | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | 2’02.297 |
24 | LAVERTY Eugene | 50 | IRE | Drive M7 Aspar | 2’02.334 |
25 | NAKASUGA Katsuyuki | T1 | JPN | Yamaha Test Team | 2’02.363 |
26 | TAKAHASHI Takumi | 72 | JPN | HRC Test Team | 2’03.113 |
27 | DE ANGELIS Alex | 15 | RSM | NGM Forward Racing | 2’03.471 |
28 | MELANDRI Marco | 33 | ITA | Factory Aprilia Gresini | 2’03.641 |
Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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