Ducati-dominated Sepang MotoGP test wraps up with Marini on top

The three-day Sepang MotoGP 2023 pre-season test has concluded with Luca Marini out front for Valentino Rossi’s Ducati satellite outfit VR46.

Marini was already quickest in the post-season test in Valencia last November, and – having been ‘downgraded’ from a factory-spec bike to an older machine for 2023 – has continued to thrive with his amended Ducati GP22 that he’s described as having no real weaknesses.

He was one of just two riders to clear the 1m58s bar, with fellow Rossi protege and Ducati’s reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia being the other.

Maverick Vinales was third for Aprlia, three places up on team-mate Aleix Espargaro, with the pair being the only non-Ducati riders to place in the top nine.

Both Vinales and Espargaro have described the 2023 spec of the RS-GP as an improvement across the board, albeit Espargaro did hint at a concern over whether said improvement was enough to really trouble Ducati.

Aprilia, according to Espargaro, is still to bring the engine spec it plans to race this season – which is due to run in the second post-season test for Portimao.

Bagnaia’s new team-mate Enea Bastianini shrugged off a rough Saturday to place fourth, ahead of Saturday pace-setter Jorge Martin, managing 46 laps despite being left with a significant “abrasion” on his hand after a fall the day before.

Outside of the Ducati/Aprilia top nine, filled by riders who all improved upon VR46 Ducati rider Marco Bezzecchi’s benchmark from earlier in the test, Marc Marquez was best of the rest in 10th place for Honda.

Raul Fernandez was a credible 11th for RNF Aprilia, cutting an increasingly positive figure after a torrid debut season back at KTM.

The quickest of the KTM RC16 riders was the returning Pol Espargaro – riding under the Gas Gas banner – in 13th, while Yamaha was headed by Fabio Quartararo in 19th.

Yamaha’s much-desired top speed improvement has been clear, allowing the factory to settle on its 2023 engine spec already, but laptimes across the three days suggest the Iwata brand – which is now down to just two riders on the grid – hasn’t yet optimised its M1 accordingly.

KTM newcomer Jack Miller was 16th, having crashed at Turn 1 just as he’d begun a run on fresh tyres.

As on the previous two days of the test, rain was again a factor – with Sunday’s session having begun on a damp track and rain then forcing an early conclusion to extensive track activities in the final hour.

MotoGP collective testing will conclude with two days at Portimao a month from now, on March 11-12, before the racing season kicks off at the same venue two weeks after that.

Session results