MotoGP Sepang test: Bastianini goes under lap record for Ducati to top day two

In the morning session Martin, who headed the opening day of action at Sepang, was the first rider under the existing lap record with a 1m57.273s, fending off a challenge from KTM’s Brad Binder.

But in the final hour of the day’s track running, Bastianini lit up the timing screen with a 1m57.134s to edge ahead of Martin on the Pramac and get within touching distance of a potential 1m56s lap.

Binder took third overall ahead of Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and world champion Francesco Bagnaia. Fabio Di Giannantonio took sixth as he adapted to life at the VR46 Ducati squad, with Alex Marquez seventh for Gresini.

Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta continued gathering hype around his premier class debut, with the GasGas Tech3 rider slotting into eighth and just under six tenths off the outright pace. The 19-year-old also suffered a small crash at Turn 9 midway through the morning session but was able to continue.

VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi, Honda’s Joan Mir and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo ensured the top 11 riders all lapped within the 1m57s mark, as the Frenchman demonstrated some chart-topping top speed from the new M1 package.

With Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) 12th and Alex Rins (Yamaha) 13th, it was another low-key day for Marc Marquez as he adapts to the Gresini Ducati, with the Spaniard’s best lap time of 1m58.118s putting him almost a full second off the outright pace. But, more pointedly, the eight-time world champion clocked the most laps of any rider with 72 on day two.

Both Franco Morbidelli and Raul Fernandez missed today’s test action due to injuries.

Morbidelli has been ruled out of both official pre-season tests in Malaysia and Qatar as he recovers from a heavy fall suffered riding in Portimao last month, while Fernandez was sidelined after a crash on the opening day of the Sepang test. Michele Pirro and Lorenzo Savadori stepped in for the respective riders.

The Sepang pre-season test concludes tomorrow.