MotoGP Sepang test times – Day 3

Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia close in on lap record, Marc Marquez stuns with Sprint race simulation

Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing) topped the Sepang Test with a 1:56.493, narrowly beating Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) by 0.007s, securing a Ducati 1-2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) impressed by bringing Yamaha into the 1:56 club for the first time, finishing third.

The morning saw fast laps, while the afternoon focused on long runs, with rain threats limiting late pushes. Ducati’s engine dilemma continues, but Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, and Alex Marquez showed strong pace. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46) was quick on a single lap but not as fast over over long runs. Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Racing MotoGP) was the fastest rookie again as he continues to impress onboard the GP24, ending the day in P11.

Quartararo’s pace surprised the paddock, with teammate Alex Rins in P10 and Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira in P12 and P17. While Quartararo displayed stunning speed over all three days of the test, the long run pace from all Yamaha riders demonstrated the Japanese factory has taken a big step forward for 2025, with Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi even labelling them as Ducati’s top challenger.

KTM’s Pedro Acosta (P6) set the factory’s best-ever Sepang lap, while Brad Binder (P13) faced a tech issue. Maverick Viñales (P16) and Enea Bastianini (P18) aim to improve in Buriram.

Honda saw breakthroughs as Johann Zarco (P7) and Joan Mir (P8) set the brand’s fastest-ever Sepang laps.

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi (P9) made the biggest improvement after switching factories, setting a lap time half a second better than his previous best Sepang time on a Ducati.

While it may seem that the other manufacturers are getting closer to challenging Ducati’s dominance, with many setting their best ever times at the track, Marc Marquez’s Sprint race simulation pace might dampen rivals’ enthusiasm. Marc averaged 1m57.930s over 10 laps on the factory Ducati—faster than the entire field, including teammate Francesco Bagnaia. He set seven laps in the 1m57s, with a best of 1m57.641s – a pace that would have easily beaten Jorge Martin in last year’s Malaysian GP sprint. His brother, Alex Marquez (Gresini), was the closest rival on long-run pace, posting three mid-1m57s laps.

Riders and teams will return to the track for the Buriram test from the 12th – 13th February.

Alex Marquez (P1) – “The bike is really good, and we are very satisfied with these three days of testing, especially this last day. It’s just a test, but we’ve fine-tuned everything, and we head to Thailand with great feelings. Today, we also tried a sprint race and were very fast, so it’s not just about the best lap time. That said, Sepang is a track that suits my riding style well, so now we simply move on to the next test to keep working. It’s a different circuit, but I like it.”

Francesco Bagnaia (P2) – “Three positive days, we had the opportunity and time to try everything we scheduled and to fix some aspects. I think Marc (Márquez) and I did a great job, we tried different things and we always gave very similar feedbacks. I’m happy that we will continue to do the job at Buriram in a few days because here in Malaysia there are particular tarmac conditions, with a lot of grip, while in Thailand it will be different. Our 2024 package was already very good, so the choices need to be careful. I would have liked to work more on the time attack, but the priority in these days was decide which direction to take for the future”.

Fabio Quartararo (P3) – “I am really happy! This is the first time that I reached a 1’56s here, so I am happy, and I think that today was a good day for us. The conditions were really good, so in general it was a positive day. Hopefully, during the Buriram Test we will have the same feeling. I’ve been working during the winter break, and not just on a road bike. In general, I was trying to be faster on one lap. I think this was a good point of improvement, but I also think the bike improved in some areas, which helps me to be fast on one lap. I think the goals I set for this test were neither too positive nor too negative. But it’s just one test. I think the real situation won’t show until we’re in Buriram on the Friday afternoon of the GP weekend and during qualifying.”

Marc Márquez (P5) – “I would say that the balance is positive, we did all the job scheduled. During the three days we tested and re-tested the 2025 package. We saw interesting things, we have to analyse all the data from the two bikes and understand what could be the best direction to follow for the test at Buriram. Pecco and I basically are agreed on the 90% of the technical stuff, we had the same feeling on the engine and aerodynamics. We start from a very good base, the GP24 has won many races last season, it is not easy to make another step forward, we need to take care of every detail”.

Jack Miller (P12) – “A couple of solid days spinning laps at Sepang! Tried heaps of stuff, built on the feeling with the bike and even found the limit at Turn 4 with a little front end slide. We can be happy to be in the low 1:57s already. Plenty of room to improve but most importantly we’ve got a clear direction.”