#SepangTest: the class of 2023 saddle up!

We saw a sneak peek at the Shakedown. Now get ready for our first full event of the season as our 2023 grid gets back on track in Malaysia

Thursday, 09 February 2023

We’ve seen some team presentations and liveries, we’ve seen three days of Shakedown action and we’ve seen our 2023 rookie, Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3), start to settle in. Now it’s time to get a look at the whole grid, and maybe a few test riders too, as the Official Sepang Test gets in gear.

WHEN + WHERE?

The test runs from the 10th to the 12th of February and takes place at Sepang International Circuit. Normal track action starts at 10:00 local time (GMT +8) every day and lasts until 18:00. Then, from 18:00 until 18:15, there’s a Practice Start session in which riders can do just that, and only that. Check the time zone here.

HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE ACTION?

There’s Live Timing on motogp.com throughout the sessions so you can stay on top of who’s where, as well as plenty of other information about their lap times and different runs. There’ll also be videos and report coverage making sure you don’t miss any key happenings, and timesheets will be sent out!

Then, from 17:30 local time every day until 19:00, After the Flag will be live to provide a host of updates and reports from on the ground. Pitlane reporter Simon Crafar will be joined by eagle-eyed tech reporter Jack Gorst in Malaysia, and the show in Barcelona will be anchored by commentators and presenters Louis Suddaby and Neil Morrison. After the Flag will analyse all the action and bring you exclusive interviews with riders and key personnel throughout!

Streaming Video Is The Way To Go For Motorcycle Racing Fans

What’s new for 2023? More MotoGP™!

21 Grands Prix, 18 countries, the MotoGP™ Sprint and a whole new season of rivalries are just around the corner

2023 CALENDAR

2023 TIME SCHEDULE

We’re on the verge of an action-packed, blockbuster season. More race weekends than ever, two new destinations, and the debut of the MotoGP™ Sprint across the calendar mean we’re in for quite a ride in 2023, but that’s not all! We also welcome GASGAS as a new brand on the premier class grid, and there are, of course, some rider switches and swaps that already have us chomping at the bit to get a glimpse of the class of 2023.

BAGNAIA AND THE BEAST

The biggest headline in the rider changes is the arrival of Enea Bastianini to partner the reigning Champion, Francesco Bagnaia, at Ducati Lenovo Team. The two have already staged some incredible duels, and now they share a garage… setting the scene for the best kind of fireworks.

Then, at Prima Pramac Racing, Jorge Martin has a point to prove having missed out vs Bastianini for that very seat, and the others in the Ducati armada will want to share the spoils. Meanwhile, Alex Marquez arrives on Ducati machinery with Gresini and will be an interesting watch. Trophies don’t grow on trees and AM73 has a few.

THE BALANCE OF POWER

A big talking point heading into 2023 is Yamaha’s engine. Can they find that balance between a little more top speed and retain the manoeuvrability of the inline-four? On the timesheets at the Shakedown the signs looked good in terms of top speed gains.

Quartararo, for one, was vocal about needing to find that power, so we await his comments. His Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ teammate Franco Morbidelli will also have plenty of eyes on him, needing to take a few steps forward in 2023.

WET WINS ARE NOT ENOUGH

In 2022, KTM’s victories were both in the wet. Glorious performances and points, but the Austrian factory are here to win whatever the weather and if they can take a step forward with the machine, we already know Brad Binder will pull every drop of potential from the bike. And now, he has a new teammate.

Jack Miller has won on two other machines in the premier class, and he’s won with KTM in Moto3™. It’s an exciting prospect to see him begin a new adventure at Red Bull KTM and he already had a fair grin after his first taste of the RC16 in Valencia. Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro was also grinning at the Valencia test and his experience should be an asset to the RC16 project as he saddles up with GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 too.

GUNNING FOR GLORY

Glorious as it was, that single 2022 Grand Prix win is not enough for Aprilia. After a title campaign that was on course until late in the season, Aleix Espargaro wants to fight for even more in 2023 and teammate Maverick Viñales wants to beat him to it.

Now, we have four Aprilias as RNF field two piloted by Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez. Oliveira’s class has been clear throughout the Grand Prix classes and now he’s at the start of a whole new adventure – having already featured high up the timesheets in the Valencia Test. Raul Fernandez, meanwhile, also has a fresh start after the promise of a record-breaking rookie season in Moto2™ turned into a tougher debut season in MotoGP™. Now it’s time to show what he’s got.

THE QUEST FOR (MORE) SUCCESS

Marc Marquez wants to win. And so do Honda. The two biggest mountains of the past few seasons are arguably shared between the two: Marquez with his injury struggles, surgery and comebacks; and Honda with their search for steps back towards the top. Winning is what it means to be Honda. They are the last factory to win the triple crown before Ducati’s 2022 success, after all, and their long history in the sport sparkles with trophies. Can they add more?

They’ve certainly added a few interesting pieces to the puzzle already. 2020 World Champion Joan Mir partners Marquez at Repsol Honda, and Alex Rins arrives at LCR. Both offer some serious firepower. They also retain the experience of Takaaki Nakagami, and of test rider Stefan Bradl, in their quest for more success… whilst adding the know-how of new Technical Manager Ken Kawauchi, too.
DUCATI

Michele Pirro was on track for all three days for Ducati, ahead of the return of reigning World Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and new teammate Enea Bastianini. The Borgo Panigale factory debuted updated aero at the Shakedown, and Pirro’s had two machines on Tuesday with different versions of the tail exhaust – a large one and a short one.

On the final day of the Shakedown, the Italian spent most of his time working with the updated aero package. The biggest thing of note was an update to the “ground-effect” side fairings from the Valencia Test, which were much larger and more detailed. The actual side pod and the main set of wings were the same as what we saw at the Valencia Test.

Ducati will now have Bagnaia and Bastianini out at the Sepang Test, and of course there’s a whole armada of Borgo Panigale machinery throughout the grid. What more will we see at the Sepang Test proper?

YAMAHA

A main topic of conversation heading into the Sepang Test will be Yamaha’s 2023 engine, and promising steps seem to have been made during the Shakedown. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) was trackside on the final day of the Shakedown Test too, and the Frenchman will have seen the speed trap numbers Yamaha were posting, which at one point displayed Cal Crutchlow clocking 335 km/h – five more than Quartararo managed in last year’s Grand Prix, and eight more than Yamaha managed in the 2022 Sepang Test.

Both Quartararo and teammate Franco Morbidelli will be putting Yamaha’s new front fairing through its paces – as they did in the Valencia Test. Both Crutchlow and Japanese test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga were running with the fairing on the final day, handing Quartararo, Morbidelli and Yamaha some valuable information ahead of the three-day Sepang Test.

APRILIA

Aprilia Racing Team Manager Paolo Bonora confirmed that the Noale camp have something “innovative” on the front fairing. We saw from photos of Lorenzo Savadori that this innovation sits at the top of the front fairing, as seen below.

Aprilia have taken advantage of time in the wind tunnel, so the newly designed aero package has been used a lot in testing so far – including updates on the side fairing, where side pods are becoming a big topic of discussion. As with every factory, the 2023-spec engine is high on the priority list for Aprilia, as Aprilia Racing Team riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales get set to pick up where Savadori has left off.

RNF Aprilia MotoGP™ Team’s Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez are expected to get some parts to try in the three-day test, but their main focus to start with will be to build on what they learnt from their first taste of the RS-GP back in Valencia… where Oliveira was pretty high up the timesheets.

KTM

MotoGP™ Legend Dani Pedrosa was back in action for the Austrian manufacturer, working with new Red Bull KTM Factory Racing recruit Jack Miller’s side of the garage on Day 1 and then moving over to Brad Binder’s side on Monday. The main focal point was reportedly comparing different engine specs, with aero updates nearer the end of the Shakedown if there was time after Monday’s track time was cut short due to the weather.

There seemingly was time, unless there’s even more to come, and Pedrosa did a fair few laps on the new aero package on the final day. The front fairing shape has changed slightly, the “shark tooth” serrations on the edges are no more, and the top set of the wings have been slightly updated. The side pod wings have received the same treatment. The biggest change was larger “ground-effect” side fairings.

The other headline saw new KTM testing recruit, Jonas Folger, join Pedrosa on track as the German got to grips with the RC16 for the first time. Now the marque will also get feedback from Brad Binder and Miller at the Sepang test, and at GASGAS, Pol Espargaro – who has considerable experience on previous iterations of the RC16 – will also be on hand.

GASGAS

Speaking of GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, reigning Moto2™ World Champion and 2023 MotoGP™ rookie Augusto Fernandez was also back on his RC16 at the Shakedown and started to focus on making the machine his own. The rain on day 2 also allowed the Spaniard to try wets on a wet track, wets on a drying track, slicks on a drying track and slicks in the fully dry conditions. His best laptime was a 2:00.482 on the final day of the Shakedown to slot into fourth.

HONDA

After a Valencia Test that seemed underwhelming from the outside, Stefan Bradl had a busy Shakedown Test for HRC as the Japanese giant put their heads down to get back to the top. On the first day, the German was out on a new-look Honda machine that was dressed in redesigned aero, a new exhaust, two different chassis and the 2023 engine.

A big change in the Honda camp for the 2023 season is the arrival of new Technical Director Ken Kawauchi, fresh from the helm of Suzuki’s recent successes, and the Japanese guru was in the Honda box for all three days of the Shakedown.

On Tuesday, Bradl was doing back-to-back comparisons between different aero packages, the latest one also having been spotted at the private Jerez Test. The trusted test rider also spent some time comparing bikes with and without the ‘stegosaurus’ wings on the tail unit. Now, it’s time for Marc Marquez and Repsol Honda Team teammate Joan Mir to take up the testing duties, with LCR Honda duo Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Rins also gearing up for a huge three days in Malaysia.

Bagnaia and Bastianini ready for the first 2023 pre-season test at Sepang (Malaysia)
 

Pirro concludes with positive feelings the three-day ‘Shakedown’ Test at Sepang International Circuit.

Just over two weeks after the team’s presentation in Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), the Ducati Lenovo Team is now ready to make its return to the track at the Sepang International Circuit, where this weekend, Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianiani will finally have the opportunity to test their Desmosedici GP bikes in 2023 configuration, in a three-day pre-season test scheduled from 10th-12th February.

For the reigning World Champion and his new teammate, it will be the first time out on track this year after the long winter break that began last November. Therefore, it will be important to get reacquainted with their Desmosedici GP in preparation for the opening race of the season, scheduled in just over a month in Portugal.

From 5th-7th February, at Sepang, which will also be the stage of the Malaysian GP next November, Ducati test rider Michele Pirro took part in the “Shakedown” Test, reserved for test riders and rookies in the premier class. During the three days, affected by unstable weather, especially during the first two days, Pirro could test the latest innovations introduced on the bike and developed by Ducati Corse during the winter. The rider from San Giovanni Rotondo completed over 170 laps and was the only one to go under the two-minute mark, ending the final day on top with the fastest time of 1:59.803.

Michele Pirro (#51, Ducati MotoGP Test Team)

“I’m satisfied with our work in these first three days of testing. We put in many kilometres in dry and wet conditions, completing about 170 laps in three days. Given the unstable weather and the ever-changing track conditions, we had to concentrate most of our work on the last day, which was the only one that was entirely dry. We still managed to do several tests and gather important information about the new components, and the times were also good. Now we are ready for the next three days of testing, where it will be up to the factory riders to continue the development.”

Francesco Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team)

“I am happy to be back on track on my Desmosedici GP finally. I have prepared a lot this winter, constantly training for this season. Now we have three very demanding and important days of testing ahead of us. We’ll have a lot of work to do, and it will be important to tick some points off immediately to avoid making mistakes. Hopefully, the weather will be on our side, allowing us to make the most of the time available”.

Enea Bastianini (#23, Ducati Lenovo Team)

“Finally, we’re back on track for the first test of 2023, and I’m excited about it. It will be three crucial days, which will also allow me to get to know better my new team, with whom I already broke the ice in the first test at Valencia last year. Pecco and I will be working together to try and get as far as possible with our test programme and immediately identify the way forward to be as ready as possible for the next test in Portugal, which will precede the opening Grand Prix of the year at Portimão”.

The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will take to the track for the first day of testing at Sepang on Friday, 10th February, and will have eight hours of free practice starting at 10:00AM local time.

MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP KEEN TO KICK OFF 2023 TESTING PROGRAMME IN MALAYSIA

Sepang (Malaysia), 9th February 2023

After a long winter break, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli are more than eager to get back into action during the Official Sepang IRTA Test that runs from 10-12 February.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli have been itching to get back to MotoGP riding. They couldn‘t be more thrilled that tomorrow they will be back aboard their YZR-M1s for the first official IRTA MotoGP testing day of 2023. They will work tirelessly during the Official MotoGP Sepang Test, held from 10-12 February, to start the new season off in the best way possible.

Quartararo hasn‘t been idling about during the off season. Before travelling to the Sepang International Circuit he has been keeping busy with promotional activities as well as around-the-clock training sessions. The Frenchman is feeling top fit and is determined to make 2023 his year. The positive Sepang Shakedown Test results and the feedback from Cal Crutchlow, the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Test Team rider, have put El Diablo in a competitive mindset straight away.

Morbidelli arrives in Malaysia happy to be reunited with his crew and his bike. He kept busy training during the winter break, both on and off track, to make sure he would be able to hit the ground running in the first test of 2023. Fully aware of the importance of the upcoming three track days and the high quantity of testing items on his list, Morbido is keen to get to work. Besides working on his feeling with the new YZR-M1 bike, he will be putting in a high number of laps to collect as much data as possible for the Yamaha engineers.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

It’s been a longer winter break than usual. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we’re very happy to be back at the track. We have a good atmosphere in the garage after the Shakedown Test. It was a shame that rain cost us some time, so we hope for fully dry days during the upcoming test to get through all the testing items, even though the weather forecasts for this weekend are not great. I’m impressed with the proactive work done by the Yamaha engineers over the winter: we have many things to evaluate here. The number of items they prepared for this test is really huge! We have an updated chassis, aerodynamics, rear arm, and engine. I expect Friday morning to be used for the riders to get back up to speed after three months of no riding. After that, they have an intense working plan. It will be difficult to finish it all, considering the amount of time and tyres available to us as well as the weather conditions playing a key part. But we will try to get as much done as possible to start 2023 off in the right way.

FABIO QUARTARARO

The wait is over! This winter break was very long, but in a way that was good for me because it gave me time to train and prepare for the upcoming season. It will be a long one – we know this. We need to put in good work during this test to make sure we are ready for it. I‘m excited to try the 2023 spec and to see what progress we made. I arrived in Sepang a bit earlier and spent some time at the track during the Shakedown Test. I heard and saw positive things, so I can‘t wait to try it for myself.

FRANCO MORBIDELLI

We are finally back together as a crew. This test is a fresh start, and you can feel the excitement. The Shakedown Test went well, so there is a positive atmosphere in our team. During the upcoming test I aim to show a good performance level. We improved towards the end of 2022, and now it‘s time to build onto that and make further steps. We have a lot of things to test in the next three days. We will work hard, as always, to make a good start to the 2023 pre-season.