Jorge Lorenzo fastest on final day of MotoGP test at Sepang
Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo blitzed the final day of MotoGP's opening pre-season test at Sepang, as Casey Stoner starred for Ducati
Reigning world champion Lorenzo topped the first day of the three-day test on Monday, and after setting the second-fastest time on Tuesday reasserted his dominance on Wednesday.
With one hour remaining, Lorenzo was 0.540 seconds clear of team-mate Valentino Rossi with a 2m00.016s effort, but there was more to come.
Lorenzo improved to 1m59.966s, the week's first lap beneath the two-minute barrier, and then underlined his dominance when he logged a 1m59.595s with 15 minutes remaining.
For good measure, he then recorded a 1m59.580s lap inside the final 90 seconds.
The lap was quicker than Lorenzo's fastest time during last October's Malaysian Grand Prix at the circuit, and just over half a second off Dani Pedrosa's pole lap, as the field was confined to Michelin's hard compound following Loris Baz's Tuesday crash.
More importantly, Lorenzo's time was 0.976s clear of Rossi, who did not improve in the afternoon after a rain shower interrupted running, while the first 90 minutes were also lost to inclement weather.
Honda's Marc Marquez slotted into third in the closing stages, but finished the day 1.303s behind Lorenzo.
LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow was another late improver and finished the day a strong fourth, while Marquez's team-mate Dani Pedrosa was sixth.
Between them was Stoner.
The two-time world champion shared the track with the MotoGP field for the first time since 2012 on Tuesday, and continued that programme on the final day.
Riding Ducati's 2015 machine, Stoner set his lap of 2m01.096s on his first run, to go second at the time, and he finished the day fifth.
Tuesday pacesetter Danilo Petrucci was seventh, ahead of factory Ducati rider Andrea Iannone.
The Italian crashed early on his 2015 Ducati, before setting his fastest time on the 2016 Desmosedici, with team-mate Andrea Dovizioso 13th.
Scott Redding and Maverick Vinales completed the top 10, ahead of Hector Barbera and Aleix Espargaro.
Tech 3 Yamaha rider Bradley Smith was the busiest man of the day, logging 65 laps on his way to 16th, including a mammoth stint late in the day.
After sitting out Tuesday's running following his crash on Monday, Eugene Laverty returned to action and was 22nd fastest.
Phillip Island will host the next test on February 17-19.
DAY THREE TIMES:
Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m59.580s | 36 |
2 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 0.976s | 38 |
3 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 1.303s | 45 |
4 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR | Honda | 1.412s | 42 |
5 | Casey Stoner | Ducati | Ducati | 1.490s | 30 |
6 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Honda | 1.581s | 48 |
7 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1.637s | 18 |
8 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | Ducati | 1.643s | 38 |
9 | Scott Redding | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1.649s | 42 |
10 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1.664s | 51 |
11 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1.854s | 30 |
12 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | Suzuki | 2.043s | 44 |
13 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 2.095s | 34 |
14 | Yonny Hernandez | Aspar | Ducati | 2.194s | 40 |
15 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2.290s | 44 |
16 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2.338s | 65 |
17 | Loris Baz | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 2.961s | 33 |
18 | Stefan Bradl | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 3.212s | 44 |
19 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha | Yamaha | 3.360s | 27 |
20 | Tito Rabat | Marc VDS | Honda | 3.432s | 57 |
21 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 3.603s | 46 |
22 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar | Ducati | 3.939s | 25 |
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