Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo led day one of the opening MotoGP test at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit on Monday, with the reigning champion posting a time just shy of the two-minute mark.
Team-mate Valentino Rossi jumped up to second on the timesheets in the final hour of the session, demoting Honda’s Dani Pedrosa to third just as the rain arrived, bringing the opening day to a close 20 minutes early.
Most riders spent the day familiarising themselves with the new Michelin tyres following the switch from Bridgestone as well as the new standard ECU and various factory developments.
The factory teams had several versions of bike available, with Honda evaluating two engine variations between riders Marc Marquez – seventh quickest – and Pedrosa.
Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales ran on 2015 and 2016 variants of the Suzuki, as well as 2016/15 hybrid, with the 2016 model using a new seamless shift gearbox.
Aspar rider Eugene Laverty is reported to have suffered a right-hand fracture after his throttle stuck open, crashing out at Turn 4 and prompting a red flag.
The incident will likely rule Laverty out of testing and is a huge blow for the Irishman, having only just recovered from a fracture to his left wrist in November.
Ioda was the only team not present at the test, with the outfit considering a switch to the WSBK category.
MotoGP Sepang Test – Day 1 Times:
| # | Rider | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | 2:00.684 | 37 | |
| 2 | Valentino Rossi | Yahama | 2:01.717 | 1.033 | 55 |
| 3 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 2:01.780 | 1.096 | 34 |
| 4 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac | 2:01.811 | 1.127 | 43 |
| 5 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | 2:01.912 | 1.228 | 49 |
| 6 | Hector Barbera | Avinitia | 2:02.002 | 1.318 | 59 |
| 7 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 2:02.278 | 1.594 | 50 |
| 8 | Scott Redding | Pramac | 2:02.338 | 1.654 | 46 |
| 9 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | 2:02.539 | 1.855 | 42 |
| 10 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | 2:02.586 | 1.902 | 42 |
| 11 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | 2:02.645 | 1.961 | 40 |
| 12 | Pol Espargaro | Yamaha Tech 3 | 2:02.646 | 1.962 | 42 |
| 13 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 2:02.650 | 1.966 | 40 |
| 14 | Yonny Hernandez | Avintia | 2:02.916 | 2.232 | 55 |
| 15 | Bradley Smith | Yamaha Tech 3 | 2:03.026 | 2.342 | 55 |
| 16 | Michele Pirro | Ducati | 2:03.203 | 2.519 | 32 |
| 17 | Loris Baz | Avintia | 2:03.204 | 2.520 | 58 |
| 18 | Tito Rabat | Marc VDS | 2:03.463 | 2.779 | 53 |
| 19 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar | 2:03.565 | 2.881 | 27 |
| 20 | Stefan Bradi | Aprilia | 2:03.978 | 3.294 | 39 |
| 21 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia | 2:04.075 | 3.391 | 34 |
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