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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Martin tops MotoGP Sepang day one as Bagnaia suffers early crash

Martin tops MotoGP Sepang day one as Bagnaia suffers early crash

Published Feb 7, 2024 03:35 am

At A Glance

  • Spaniard Jorge Martin topped the timesheets on the opening day of the MotoGP pre-season test at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia on Tuesday, Feb. 6, to ensure a Ducati domination as world champion Francesco Bagnaia suffered an early crash.

SEPANG (AFP) -- Spaniard Jorge Martin topped the timesheets on the opening day of the MotoGP pre-season test at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia on Tuesday, Feb. 6, to ensure a Ducati domination as world champion Francesco Bagnaia suffered an early crash.

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Prima Pramac Racing Spanish rider Jorge Martin takes a corner during the first day of the pre-season MotoGP test at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang on Tuesday, Feb. 6. (AFP)

Riding a Prima Pramac machine, the 26-year-old Martin stamped his early dominance with a time of 1 min 58.904 sec on lap 15.

Last year's championship runner-up then bettered that two hours into the session by clocking the fastest lap time of 1 min 57.951 sec.

His compatriot, 19-year-old sensation, Pedro Acosta came in second fastest with a time of 1 min 58.220 sec, with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo completing the top three.

Italian duo Fabio Di Giannantonio and Enea Bastianini made it a good day for Ducati by finishing fourth and fifth fastest respectively.

Martin, who was only a half a second adrift of the fastest Sepang lap, played down his time.

"I think it's good to be fast, better than to be slow for sure. But I didn't really look too much into the lap times, the most important thing to look at is about the performance and the handling," he said after completing 59 laps.

"Overall it was a nice day, I did a lot of laps so I am happy."

Acosta, who will be making his debut in the premiere class this year, was elated with his performance over 60 laps.

"I am just focused on growing up every day and try to improve every time I am on that bike," he said.

Two-time world champion Bagnaia, on a Ducati, crashed out on his first lap but the Italian recovered to finish 16th fastest.

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez had to contend with technical issues on his Ducati bike but managed to finish ninth fastest.

Pre-Season MotoGP test times on Tuesday at the Sepang Circuit (5.543km):

Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati) 1 min 57.951 sec, Pedro Acosta (ESP/KTM) 1 min 58.220 sec, Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 1 min 58.228 sec, Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati) 1 min 58.325 sec, Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati) 1 min 58.357 sec, Maverick Vinales (ESP/Aprilia) 1 min 58.470 sec, Alex Marquez (ESP/Ducati) 1 min 58.542 sec, Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Ducati) 1 min 58.605 sec, Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati) 1 min 58.621 sec, Johann Zarco (FRA/Honda) 1 min 58.670 sec

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