2023 Sepang MotoGP Test Shakedown Times
Ducati test rider Michele Pirro topped the time-sheets ahead of Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow and KTM/GASGAS rookie Augusto Fernandez.
That might not be a completely accurate picture though as Dani Pedrosa put in plenty of laps on various development RC16 mules with different aero variations but did not run a timing transponder…
The ‘shark tooth’ serrations on the edges of the KTM front fairing are no longer there, while the top set of the wings have been slightly updated, but remain largely the same. The side pod wings have received the same treatment. However, the biggest change we can see is the ground-effect side fairings have grown in size.
Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) completed a positive three days of Shakedown testing with a best of 2m00.482. The reigning Moto2 World Champion will be back on track this weekend for three days of official testing, where he’ll be joined by his 2023 rivals.
Augusto Fernandez
“The first test in Valencia was just about riding a MotoGP bike, without thinking about changing settings too much, so logically the goal of the Shakedown was to get the job started properly and build my base. I am happy to have had three days to get used to the MotoGP bike, and I already feel like I am starting to understand why everything is happening, and how to ride this machine. We got a lot of information over the last three days, both in dry and wet conditions, and it is going to be very important to understand what I need to do to go faster in the next few days. The team did a very good job so I would like to say thank you to them. I am looking forward to Friday at the Sepang Test.”
Nicolas Goyon – GASGAS Team Manager
“Augusto Fernandez reunited with his bike here in Sepang after the first test in Valencia back in November. These three days of Shakedown Test were really constructive, although the weather was not helpful. The positive is that he was able to ride already in a lot of different conditions, which is crucial for a rookie: he rode in wet tyres on full wet track, in wet tyres on a drying track, in slick tyres on a mixed track, and of course in slicks on a dry track. The third day was the most intense day as it was fully dry, and he did some very interesting lap times. He did not crash at all, which means that we have a good margin to improve. He has a very good attitude, his comments are positive and constructive, so everyone in the box and at the Pierer Mobility Group is happy with him. We look forward to continuing the work with Augusto on Friday for the Sepang Test.”
Over at Ducati one key thing to note is that Ducati have updated their “ground-effect” side fairings from the Valencia Test, which are now much larger and have a little bit more detail.
The actual side pod and the main set of wings are the same as what we saw at Valencia.
Having tested alone on Sunday and Monday, Cal Crutchlow had company on Tuesday as fellow Iwata factory test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga joined the fold. Both the British and Japanese riders were putting Yamaha’s new front fairing through its paces – the one we saw at the Valencia Test – as well as the latest mudguard.
2021 World Champion Fabio Quartararo will also have seen the speed trap numbers Yamaha were posting, which at one point displayed Crutchlow clocking 335 km/h – five more than Quartararo managed in last year’s Grand Prix, and eight more than Yamaha managed in the 2022 Sepang Test. It will be interesting to see how the latest Yamaha holds up on the speed charts when the full complement of MotoGP riders swing into action this weekend.
Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori was back out on Aprilia’s new front fairing aero package on the final day, with the Italian lapping with more than one RS-GP. Savadori was also busy preparing the bikes for Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales ahead of the Official Test starting on Friday.
Stefan Bradl had a busy Tuesday doing back-to-back comparisons between different HRC aero packages, the latest one being something we saw at the private Jerez Test.
Bradl also spent some time comparing bikes with and without the ‘stegosaurus’ wings on the tail unit.
The Official Sepang Test starts on Friday the 10th of February at 1000 local time, 1300 AEDT.
2023 Sepang MotoGP Test Shakedown Times
- Michele Pirro – Ducati – 1m59.803
- Cal Crutchlow – Yamaha +0.550s
- Augusto Fernandez – KTM +0.679s
- Lorenzo Savadori – Aprilia +0.920s
- Stefan Bradl – Honda +1.326s
- Jonas Folger – KTM +3.820s