Sepang Test Day 2: Fabio Quartararo on top again

Fabio Quartararo leaves the pits

Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was once again the man at the top of the timesheets on Day 2 of the #SepangTest, but this time the Frenchman made his mark on the 2020 factory machine as he got a taste of the new YZR-M1 on Saturday.

The man he deposed was Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), who was once again the fastest Ducati, after the Australian had held on to P1 for some time. Third was another stellar performance that stole some headlines as Dani Pedrosa – erstwhile master of Sepang – put KTM into the top three and only 0.090 off the top; his 1:58.662 most definitely an eyebrow-raiser.

Day 2 saw the weather play nice, with track time uninterrupted and that proving valuable for many – and many putting in a good number more laps on Saturday. Quartararo’s 70 laps were testament to that and followed up a performance on Day 1 that was impressive but, in some ways, could have been expected – with the number 20 already having shown scintillating speed on the 2019 Yamaha.

Getting on the new machine and proving able to put in a 1:58.572 not long after ensured Day 2 was more than a simple rinse and repeat. Teammate Franco Morbidelli was also quick in fifth after 60 laps, 0.259 off the top on an “A-spec" 2020 machine – reportedly without the new engine and air intake. He crashed at Turn 2, rider ok.

Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), meanwhile, slotted in right behind the Italian – only 0.062 in further arrears, although he did crash again, just as he did on Day 1. The number 12 did 69 laps as both he and teammate Valentino Rossi continued to work with three machines each, and Rossi was tenth overall after 60 laps. ‘The Doctor’’s best was a 1:59.116. Yamaha test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga suffered a crash, rider ok.

For Honda, it was a more muted day on the timesheets, but it was reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who took back the honor of quickest for the factory after Cal Crutchlow’s (LCR Honda Castrol) P4 on Day 1. Marquez was ninth with a best of a 1:59.097 after 47 laps, although he crashed at Turn 3. Rider ok, bike not so much. Crutchlow did 64 laps, with his huge workload continuing as he remains on point for test duty, and a best of 1:59.247 put him in P12.

Alex Marquez was top rookie once again although, as stated, had Binder for close company, and Takaaki Nakagami’s (LCR Honda Idemitsu) comeback continued to prove a challenge. He was P21 after 47 laps.

Sepang Test Day Two

Pos.	Rider	Num	Nation	Team	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	Quartararo Fabio	20	FRA	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	1'58.572
2	Miller Jack	43	AUS	Pramac Racing	Ducati	0.069
3	Pedrosa Dani	26	SPA	KTM Test Team	KTM	0.090
4	Mir Joan	36	SPA	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	0.159
5	Morbidelli Franco	21	ITA	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	0.259
6	Vinales Maverick	12	SPA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	0.321
7	Rins Alex	42	SPA	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	0.406
8	Espargaro Pol	44	SPA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	0.417
9	Marquez Marc	93	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	0.525
10	Rossi Valentino	46	ITA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	0.544
11	Espargaro Aleix	41	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	0.652
12	Crutchlow Cal	35	GBR	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	0.675
13	Petrucci Danilo	9	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	0.685
14	Bagnaia Francesco	63	ITA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	0.741
15	Dovizioso Andrea	4	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	0.770
16	Oliveira Miguel	88	POR	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM	0.793
17	Marquez Alex	73	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1.089
18	Binder Brad	33	RSA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1.208
19	Zarco Johann	5	FRA	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	1.253
20	Rabat Tito	53	SPA	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	1.617
21	Guintoli Sylvain	50	FRA	Suzuki Test Team	Suzuki	1.714
22	Nakagami Takaaki	30	JPN	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	1.775
23	Lecouna Iker	27	SPA	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM	1.824