Jorge Lorenzo dominates first day of MotoGP testing at Sepang

Lorenzo was more than one second clear at the top of the timesheets as race riders returned to action for the first time in 2016.

The Spaniard led the way for the majority of the day, and with his time of 2m00.684s was the only rider below the 2m01s barrier.

Rossi's best effort, 2m01.717s, came within the final hour to move up from the bottom half of the top 10, before a rain storm curtailed running.

The winner of last year's Malaysian Grand Prix, Dani Pedrosa was third and the best of the Honda riders, just 0.031 seconds behind Rossi, with team-mate Marc Marquez seventh.

Danilo Petrucci enjoyed a brief stint at the top of the times during the afternoon, and ultimately finished fourth, the Pramac Ducati rider one spot ahead of factory pilot Andrea Iannone.

On his satellite Avintia machine, Hector Barbera made it three Ducatis inside the top six after improving inside the last hour.

Petrucci's team-mate Scott Redding was eighth, ahead of Suzuki's Aleix Espargaro and LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow.

Eugene Laverty's day ended well before the rain storm, the Aspar Ducati rider crashing at Turn 4 and suffering a suspected right-hand fracture.