The first day of official testing a Sepang finished with Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo leading the top of the charts for the entire day, the Spaniard who missed the last three races of the season and the post Valencia test after losing the top of his finger during warm-up practice at Phillip Island, laid down the best lap of the day with 2:01.657. He was followed by Dani Pedrosa on the Honda RC213V who was 0.346s adrift.

As everyone knowns by now, Repsol Honda team mate Casey Stoner did not take part in the test today. The reigning World Champion pulled a back muscle while he was warming up and donning his leathers and was sent back to his hotel after physiotherapy and stocking up on anti-inflammatory pills. Stoner’s four laps are credited to Honda test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi.

Cal Crutchlow in his second year with Yamaha Tech3 finished up in third, followed by Yamaha factory rider Ben Spies. Valentino Rossi debuting the GP12 dubbed Phoenix did 43 laps on the 90% new bike and finished in fifth and 0.735s from Lorenzo. It looks like the bike has actually improved as last season Rossi was losing constantly 1.5s, but it could also be that the GP12 likes the new tires that Bridgestone brought in.

Andrea Dovizioso who broke his collarbone late last month and is still recovering from surgery was 6th and a little more than a second off pace, followed by Pramac’s Hector Barbera on the GPZero Valencia version of the Ducati.

Yamaha’s test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga finished ahead of Nicky Hayden, but the Ducati rider is still recovering from a fractured scapula and broken ribs that he picked up in a training accident. This was the American’s first taste of the Ducati GP12 as he missed the Valencia tests after fracturing his scaphoid which he had to undergo surgery for following the first lap pile-up during the last race of the season.

The lap times of the three CRTs present were massively slow, between 6 and 9.6 seconds slower than Jorge Lorenzo and not to mention the Honda, Yamaha and Ducati test riders. Colin Edwards was the fastest of the group, despite some electrical teething problems, finishing ahead of Avintia riders Jordi Torres and Ivan Silva.

MotoGP Sepang final test times Day 1:

01 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 2:01.657 - - 30
02 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 2:02.003 +0.346 +0.346 48
03 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:02.221 +0.218 +0.564 32
04 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 2:02.234 +0.013 +0.577 28
05 Valentino Rossi Ducati Team 2:02.392 +0.158 +0.735 43
06 Andrea Dovizioso Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:02.751 +0.359 +1.094 20
07 Hector Barbera Pramac Racing Team 2:02.773 +0.022 +1.116 41
08 Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha Factory 2:02.829 +0.056 +1.172 32
09 Alvaro Bautista San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:02.869 +0.040 +1.212 45
10 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 2:03.151 +0.282 +1.494 33
11 Stefan Bradl LCR Honda 2:03.668 +0.517 +2.011 44
12 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 2:03.781 +0.113 +2.124 45
13 Franco Battaini Ducati Team 2:04.986 +1.205 +3.329 35
14 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 2:07.163 +2.177 +5.506 4
15 Colin Edwards NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2:08.240 +1.077 +6.583 21
16 Jordi Torres Avintia Racing 2:10.671 +2.431 +9.014 42
17 Ivan Silva Avintia Racing 2:11.267 +0.596 +9.610 12

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