Rossi fastest on opening day in Sepang

Valentino Rossi has topped the timing sheets on the opening day of the second Sepang MotoGP pre season tests. The Yamaha rider set a 2:00.414 lap to finish the day 0.1 ahead of Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa.

The Espargaro brothers of Pol and Aleix were third and fourth, with Pol 0.3 ahead of factory Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo despite the former world champion being on the newer 2015 spec machine, believed to have the Japanese manufacturer’s new seamless gearbox.

Fourth for the second Espargaro will be a welcome shot in the arm for Suzuki’s return to the series, with both GSX-RR machines looking confident, especially in the early stages of the day. Espargaro’s teammate Maverick Vinales also had a good day, finishing ninth and best of the rookies.

Marc Marquez was sixth behind Lorenzo, with Cal Crutchlow on the LCR Honda only a fraction behind him. Crutchlow himself was best of the Brits by only a tiny amount, with Bradley Smith finishing the day 0.019 behind him.

Andréa Dovizioso rounded out the top ten on the new Ducati GP15’s first appearance, completing only 23 laps as the Italian team get used to the brand new bike. Dovizioso’s teammate Andrea Iannone was fifteenth.

The test continues for another three days, with many of the front-runners getting their first chance to test Michelin’s new control tyres for 2016 later in the week.