MotoGP has returned to semi-official track action for the first time since November, with a three-day shakedown test at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit kicking off pre-season.
With a number of top names both past and present in action, it means we’ve got a valuable opportunity for a first look at the 2025 grid.
The test isn’t quite an official outing; instead, it is organised by the teams, which means that media access (and, as a result, coverage) will be somewhat limited.
However, it’ll also see factory test riders, MotoGP rookies and racers from manufacturers with concessions get a chance to take to the Sepang circuit for three days before the main test.
For rookies Ai Ogura, Fermin Aldeguer and Somkiat Chantra, the three days will speed up their learning curve after only a single day of premier class track action in Barcelona last November - but the focus will very much be on ergonomics and bike settings rather than laptimes.
Instead, the real work at Sepang will be left to the test riders, with an all-star lineup taking to the track over the course of the next few days.
KTM, adamant that despite its significant financial problems it has got plenty to try out, will be headed up by Pol Espargaro and Dani Pedrosa, with the Spanish pair joined by two Italians Michele Pirro (Ducati) and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia).
On the Honda front, one of the two manufacturers with significant concession status, it’ll be Pol’s brother Aleix Espargaro riding alongside his fellow 2024 MotoGP racer Taka Nakagami, but without the presence of long-time tester Stefan Bradl.
Perhaps even more significant, though, is the absence of the team’s three experienced racers - the factory duo of Joan Mir and Luca Marini, and Chantra’s LCR team-mate Johann Zarco. Instead, Mir and Marini will head to Jakarta to launch their 2025 colours at Honda’s huge factory in the Indonesian capital city.
That’s not something that Yamaha is planning on missing out on, though, with all four of its 2025 racers expected to be on track. Factory pairing Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins will presumably be working on the latest spec machines’ development while the test gives Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller the chance to continue to adapt to the M1 in the newly rebadged Pramac team.
Yamaha has its own rather impressive testing lineup, too, with Augusto Fernandez making his public debut as a test rider for it.
He’ll be joined by former MotoGP title fighter Andrea Dovizioso, drafted in on a semi-permanent basis to replace Cal Crutchlow as the British racer continues to struggle with ongoing complications from arm surgery early last year.
However, the Japanese factory has been quick to deny rumours that Dovizioso’s presence means he’s there to try out its new V4 engined bike, instead insisting that he’s joining the current development program for the current inline four.
