Sepang MotoGP Shakedown Test results - Day 2 (FINAL)

Final lap times on Monday’s second day of the 2023 Sepang MotoGP Shakedown Test.
Cal Crutchlow at Sepang Shakedown
Cal Crutchlow at Sepang Shakedown

A drying track produced a frantic final hour of action on day two in Malaysia, which ended with Cal Crutchlow again officially fastest for Yamaha.

The Englishman again appeared to be the only Yamaha test rider on track and was swapping between the three different bikes (T1, T2 and T3).

Crutchlow's late time of 2m 2.079s put him half a second clear of Ducati's Michele Pirro with GASGAS rookie Augusto Fernandez in third.

A glimpse of Dani Pedrosa's KTM lap times...

KTM's Dani Pedrosa spent all of Day 1 and much of Day 2 riding without a transponder turned on, meaning he was not listed on the official timing.

But the Spaniard, rumoured to have been even faster than Crutchlow on Sunday, then suddenly appeared on the timing screens in the final hour.

The 31-time MotoGP race winner, who will make a wild-card appearance at this year's Spanish GP, quickly moved to the top with a 2m 2.807s on slicks... Then vanished from the screens once again!

Pedrosa returned to do more slick laps in the last half-hour, and could well have gone faster, but the transponder remained off (apparently at his request)...

Day two got off to a slow start due to persistent light rain.

Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori was first on track, with only Pirro and Crutchlow also recording an early lap time.

Crutchlow was fastest as of 11am, with Honda's Stefan Bradl then taking over during his opening 6-lap stint, riding an all-black bike also featuring the rear seat fins.

Fernandez, the only full-time MotoGP rider eligible for the Shakedown, then put his GASGAS-branded KTM on top just before midday.

As the drizzle cleared and the track slowly began to dry, Fernandez improved his time to remain quickest.

The early afternoon saw most riders remain in the pits, with the last of the wet-tyre Monday laps by Pirro, who went fastest just before 4:30pm on a patchy half-dry/half-damp surface.

Savadori then became the rider to try slicks, just before 5pm, moving to the top and prompting others to rush out and cram in as much slick tyre work as possible during the last hour.

2023 Sepang MotoGP Shakedown Test - Day 2 (FINAL)
 RiderNatTeamTimeLaps
1Yamaha Test Bike T3N/AYamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)2m 2.079s23
2Michele PirroITADucati Test Rider (GP)+0.519s33
3Augusto FernandezSPATech3 GASGAS (RC16)*+0.691s7
4Lorenzo SavadoriITAAprilia Test Rider (RS-GP)+0.870s21
5Jonas FolgerGERKTM Test Rider (RC16)+2.046s23
6Michele PirroITADucati Test Rider (GP)+4.805s7
7Lorenzo SavadoriITAAprilia Test Rider (RS-GP)+5.378s18
8Augusto FernandezSPATech3 GASGAS (RC16)*+10.176s19
9Stefan BradlGERHonda Test Rider (RC213V)+11.340s27
10Yamaha Test Bike T2N/AYamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)+11.666s16
11Yamaha Test Bike T1N/AYamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)+11.968s5
12Michele PirroITADucati Test Rider (GP)+12.715s1
13Lorenzo SavadoriITAAprilia Test Rider (RS-GP)+17.872s7
14Jonas FolgerGERKTM Test Rider (RC16)+24.109s2
* Rookie

Fastest Day 1 Time:
Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha 2m 1.146s (330.3km/h top speed)

Official Sepang MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Jorge Martin SPA Ducati 1m 57.790s (2022)
Fastest race lap:
Jorge Martin SPA Ducati 1m 59.634s (2022)

The Shakedown, from February 5-7, is mainly used to make sure the new machines are running correctly before they are handed over to the race riders, as well as some development work on new parts (especially aerodynamics).

Crutchlow was officially fastest on day one (there are reports Pedrosa set a 2min 0.4s) with a time of 2m 1.146s, set before a mid-afternoon rain shower, putting the Englishman 0.185s ahead of reigning Moto2 champion Fernandez.

Crutchlow also took the 2023 M1 engine to a top speed 0.1km/h faster than the best Yamaha speed (330.2km/h) during the Malaysian MotoGP race weekend, by Fabio Quartararo in qualifying. Quartararo's lap time was almost two seconds quicker than Crutchlow's day one lap, so the big question will be if the top speed of the new engine increases in proportion to lap time...

The Official Sepang Test, for all race riders, will be held at the Malaysian Grand Prix venue from February 10-12.

Testing takes place from 10am to 6pm.

 

Sepang Shakedown Test - Day 1:

2023 Sepang MotoGP Shakedown Test - Day 1 (FINAL)
 RiderNatTeamTimeLapS
1Yamaha Test Bike T2N/AYamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)2m 1.146s12
2Augusto FernandezSPATech3 GASGAS (RC16)*+0.185s28
3Yamaha Test Bike T1N/AYamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)+0.427s13
4Stefan BradlGERHonda Test Rider (RC213V)+0.459s20
5Lorenzo SavadoriITAAprilia Test Rider (RS-GP)+0.500s7
6Yamaha Test Bike T3N/AYamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)+0.801s14
7Michele PirroITADucati Test Rider (GP)+0.969s29
8Stefan BradlGERHonda Test Rider (RC213V)+1.069s37
9Augusto FernandezSPATech3 GASGAS (RC16)*+1.331s6
10Lorenzo SavadoriITAAprilia Test Rider (RS-GP)+1.700s22
11Lorenzo SavadoriITAAprilia Test Rider (RS-GP)+1.793s9
12Jonas FolgerGERKTM Test Rider (RC16)+2.540s6
13Jonas FolgerGERKTM Test Rider (RC16)+3.509s6
14Michele PirroITADucati Test Rider (GP)+12.234s17
15Lorenzo SavadoriITAAprilia Test Rider (RS-GP)+17.994s5
16Lorenzo SavadoriITAAprilia Test Rider (RS-GP)No Time1
17Lorenzo SavadoriITAAprilia Test Rider (RS-GP)No Time1

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