Alex Marquez stars in Sepang Sprint simulation: “Too much!”
Alex Marquez not only set the fastest outright lap but also delivered the best Sprint simulation at the Sepang MotoGP test - and said it could have been even better.
If the Sprint simulations by leading riders on the final day of the Sepang MotoGP test had been a real race, Alex Marquez would have emerged as the winner.
The Gresini rider, runner-up to Francesco Bagnaia in last October’s Malaysian MotoGP Sprint race, turned the tables on the factory Ducati rider by being 1.385s faster over their respective ten-lap simulations.
Alex Marquez’s run featured a blistering 1m 57.295s on lap two, on his way to an average lap time of 1m 58.028s, compared with Bagnaia’s 1m 58.166s.
Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, who missed last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix due to injury, completed an all-Ducati GP26 top three in the Sprint sims.
Marc averaged 1m 58.289s and was 2.613s slower than his brother over the sim distance.
Alex Marquez later described the 1m 57.2s lap as “too much” and, despite his eye-catching pace, admitting to making “too many” mistakes.
“Maybe too much in the beginning! A 57.2,” Marquez smiled when asked about his Sprint simulation.
“It’s the first simulation this year and later on I did too many mistakes. Small ones, but too many mistakes. I lost one second or more. But for the rest, I'm happy.
“We tried a few things, focussing on trying to improve a little bit the setup that we were missing in the first and second day, and to extract the potential from the bike.
“I feel like I think we are a little bit better than last year, a little bit more competitive. Not a big step, but a few [small] steps, and there’s still a few more things to try on Thailand.
“So I’m quite happy about the day, and the test, but the pre-season is always a little bit strange!”
After coming under pressure from Aprilia and KTM towards the end of last season, Ducati was on top at Sepang for both outright lap time and Sprint simulations.
“The first race weekend in Thailand is where we'll see if we have advantage or not,” Marquez said. “In the test, it's difficult to see. So we need to keep calm because I think not everybody put all their potential on the track.”
Alex Marquez, promoted to factory spec machinery this year, was the only Gresini rider on track with team-mate Fermin Aldeguer still recovering from a femur fracture in training last month.
The final pre-season test takes place at Buriram on February 21-22.
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.