With the almost endless test restrictions that were imposed on MotoGP a year ago, the idea of the Shakedown test arose. A test of the test that will take place in the same circuit a few days before and in which, on the one hand, the tester pilots can work in point and tests. On the other, verify that the motorcycles of the official pilots are in order and, more recently, the rookies of the category and the marks with concessions can take their official pilots to work on the evolution of the motorcycle.
With the current MotoGP situation that implies that the Shakedown test, which has been held from Friday to Sunday in the SEPANG circuit, has been shooting a total of 13 pilots, with Yamaha officers joining the second day. Although in terms of volume we find almost half of the grill, the truth is that guiding by the times in this case would not be reasonable.
And if the test is well planned, what is least sought is the attack on the chrono but to try different configurations, element and give consistency to the rhythm. That does not mean that they have not gone quickly because, for example, Fabio Quartararo who has ended in front of the three days, has marked 1: 57,794. This time means staying two tenths of his best round in Sepang and for a first contact is very good.
In addition, it must be remembered that the race record is established by Álex Márquez in 2023 with 1: 58,979 which shows the speed of Fabio and the rest of the pilots, despite the fact that Pecco Bagnaia pole in 20224 was 1 : 56,337. We can say that the time of Fabio is in between both and, therefore, within a logic competitiveness that, since the rest of the rooster of the championship is not, we cannot qualify.
With the Shakedown we cannot draw definitive conclusions, but leaves threads to throw
What does seem is that Jack Miller is getting well to the Yamaha, because in this Shakedown he has been the second pilot faster. But perhaps more surprising is the time of Aleix Espargaró, who practically marked the same time as in the past GP with the April, being this time a thousandth faster. Even so, the HRC pilot thought that it could have gone a little faster, although that time was faster than that achieved by Nakagami, Marini and Mir in the GP.
The role of Ogura has also caught attention, which seems to be adapting quickly to the category and sneaked right in front of Pol Espargaró, which with KTM and Dani Pedrosa have been testing multiple aerodynamic and technical solutions these days. Also Michele Pirro for Ducati and Lorenzo Savadori for April, in addition to Andrea Dovizioso and Augusto Fernández with Yamaha have been testing different solutions, although in the case of Yamaha there have been no samples of the V4 they are developing.
To finish off, Fermín Aldeger follows its adaptation to the category with good feelings, while for Somkiat Chatra everything seems more complicated, closing the classification almost three seconds of Quartararo.
