What we learned from MotoGP’s first 2023 pre-season test in Sepang

Almost three months since the entire MotoGP grid was last on track together, the first collective test of 2023 at Sepang invites observers to take certain things for granted. Ducati’s superiority appears unquestionable, after its riders topped the times on all three days. But the test has also thrown up some unexpected elements, such as Yamaha’s final day struggles that prompted criticism from its leading man Fabio Quartararo.

Autosport digs into the lessons learned in Malaysia ahead of the final all-important test at Portimao next month before the world championship proper begins two weeks later.

The Ducati Cup?

When considering the form shown by the Ducati GP22 from the middle of last season onwards, it would have been unexpected if the Borgo Panigale team led by Gigi Dall’Igna had made a mistake with the GP23. These three days of testing in Malaysia confirm that the bike has not only maintained the standard of performance that led Francesco Bagnaia to the 2022 title, but has improved it.

Aside from the cold hard evidence posed by the timesheets, with Luca Marini and Bagnaia leading the way courtesy of their chart-topping efforts on day three and seven of the eight Ducati bikes in the top nine, there are other indications of equal or greater concern for the rest.

Two of the clearest were Jorge Martin’s emphatic assertion that the latest version is a clear step forward from the model he rode last year, and the ease with which Alex Marquez has adapted to a bike that makes his life “much easier than the Honda” he has struggled with until now. The younger Marquez brother recorded his best lap ever at Sepang on his fourth day in total on his new bike, including the one-day Valencia test at the end of last year.

“Either we do something or Ducati can finish in the top six of the championship,” said Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro on Sunday, verbalising the general feeling of the paddock.

Yamaha in strife

At Yamaha in particular the alarm bells are ringing. The good vibes and confidence conveyed by Fabio Quartararo’s gesture when he got off the M1 on Friday changed as the days went by. On Sunday, at the end of the tests, the 2021 world champion looked a little shaken, stunned by his lack of punch on new tyres and low fuel.

Undoubtedly, the bike has gained in top speed thanks to a new power unit which responds both in performance and reliability, the factor that led Yamaha to delay…