Sepang Tests – Day 3: Álex Márquez fastest, Johann Zarco a distant 15th

The third and final day of testing in Malaysia began with the Yamahas on track. All of them, except for the one from... fabio quartararo, injured, were able to take to the track at Sepang after a day in the garage, following a problem detected on the V4 engine, which is making its debut this year on the four YZR-M1s of the official team and Pramac.

However, it wasn't the Iwata-based manufacturer that dominated the front of the pack. Marco Bezzecchi confirmed that his RS-GP is competitive with the best bikes by setting the fastest time of the final afternoon session with a 1:56.526, achieved 15 minutes before the end of the session. The Italian, third in the last world championship, ultimately finished ahead of the satellite Ducatis of Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46) and Álex Márquez (Gresini).

To find any trace of the Borgo Panigale factory riders in the afternoon session, you have to go down to 7th place, where Marc Márquez is, while Pecco Bagnaia is 10th. Both teammates are more than a second behind Marco Bezzecchi. Marc Márquez notably suffered his first crash of the season in the morning, but fortunately escaped injury. During the morning session, where the riders began the day with a series of qualifying laps, the fastest overall time went to Álex Márquez. The runner-up in the world championship clocked a time of 1:56.402, the fastest of the week, ahead of the three other riders on the Desmosedici GP26: Fabio Di Giannantonio, Marc Márquez, and Pecco Bagnaia, the only ones to break the 1:57 barrier on Thursday. To end Ducati's overwhelming dominance, they will definitely have to fight hard this year.

In the day's overall standings, Pedro Acosta was the best KTM rider (8th, +0.851 s), while Enea Bastianini finished 10th (+0.888 s). Between them was the first Yamaha, ridden by Álex Rins, in 12th place. It was a difficult day for Honda, where only Joan Mir (9th) made it into the top 10. Johann Zarco, still finding his feet, was only 15th, 1.199 s behind.

ALSO READ > Joan Mir hails the "best package" he has had since joining Honda

MotoGP – Sepang Tests (Malaysia)
Day 3 rankings

1) Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing) – 1:56.402
2) Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) – +0.124
3) Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Racing Team) – +0.383
4) Marc Márquez (Ducati Team) – +0.387
5) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Team) – +0.527
6) Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Racing Team) – +0.728
7) Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) – +0.843
8) Pedro Acosta (KTM Factory Racing) – +0.851
9) Joan Mir (Honda HRC) – +0.866
10)Enea Bastianini (KTM Tech3) – +0.888
11) Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) – +0.924
12) Alex Rins (Yamaha MotoGP Team) – +1.178
13) Brad Binder (KTM Factory Racing) – +1.188
14) Maverick Viñales (KTM Tech3) – +1.197
15) Johann Zarco (Honda LCR) – +1.199
16) Luca Marini (Honda HRC) – +1.403
17) Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha) – +1.754
18) Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pramac Yamaha) – +1.924
19) Diogo Moreira (LCR Team) – +2.074
20) Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing) – +2.500
21) Augusto Fernández (Yamaha Factory Racing) – +2.876