Rossi leads opening day of MotoGP testing at Sepang

Valentino Rossi got his testing schedule started in the best way possible at Sepang with the quickest time of the day on his Yamaha.

Rossi's best lap of 2:00.414 was more than enough to end the day on top, with the Italian believed to be running the full seamless gearbox in his Yamaha YZR-M1.

Pedrosa was not too far off the leader, with a best lap of 2m 0.543s on the RC213V that HRC engineers are working hard on to improve edge grip and acceleration out of corners.

The Yamaha Tech 3 team will be very upbeat today, with Espargaro impressing with a best lap of 2:00.876, but the surprise of the day was the Suzuki and factory rider Aleix Espargaro, who leaped into fourth place with a best lap of 2m 1.055s ahead of double MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo on the second of the Yamaha's.

Marc Marquez was somewhat off the pace today, the reigning MotoGP champion finishing day one in sixth place and just ahead of LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow, the British rider setting a best lap of 2:01.222 while fellow countryman Bradley Smith was next along for the Yamaha Tech 2 squad with a best time of 2:01.241.

Suzuki will also be very happy that Maverick Vinales finished in ninth, with Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso rounding out the top ten.

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	2:00.414		54
2	Dani Pedrosa	Honda	2:00.543	+0.129	52
3	Pol Espargaro	Yamaha	2:00.876	+0.462	45
4	Aleix Espargaro	Suzuki	2:01.055	+0.641	39
5	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha	2:01.162	+0.748	51
6	Marc Marquez	Honda	2:01.190	+0.776	43
7	Cal Crutchlow	Honda	2:01.222	+0.808	43
8	Bradley Smith	Yamaha	2:01.241	+0.827	51
9	Maverick Viñales	Suzuki	2:01.317	+0.903	50
10	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	2:01.355	+0.941	23
11	Scott Redding	Honda	2:01.592	+1.178	52
12	Alvaro Bautista	Aprilia	2:01.740	+1.326	51
13	Hector Barbera	Ducati	2:01.926	+1.512	39
14	Nicky Hayden	Honda	2:02.062	+1.648	41
15	Andrea Iannone	Ducati	2:02.142	+1.728	30
16	Danilo Petrucci	Ducati	2:02.225	+1.811	35
17	Karel Abraham	Honda	2:02.394	+1.980	28
18	Stefan Bradl	Yamaha Forward	2:02.410	+1.996	42
19	Yonny Hernandez	Ducati	2:02.606	+2.192	29
20	Eugene Laverty	Honda	2:02.730	+2.316	45
21	Mike Di Meglio	Ducati	2:02.941	+2.527	33
22	Jack Miller	Honda	2:03.006	+2.592	35
23	Michele Pirro	Ducati	2:03.105	+2.691	35
24	Loris Baz	Yamaha Forward	2:03.316	+2.902	37
25	Katsuyuki Nakasuga	Yamaha	2:03.337	+2.923	43
26	Alex De Angelis	Art	2:03.966	+3.552	45
27	Marco Melandri	Aprilia	2:04.000	+3.586	42