Cycle News

IN THE WIND P22 MARQUEZ'S MAGIC CONTINUES R epsol Honda's Marc Marquez kept his perfect 2014 testing record intact on the third and final day of testing at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia last week, with the MotoGP World Cham- pion again turning the fastest lap of the test on the final day. And for good measure he also broke the lap record. For the most part, everyone's fastest laps came in the cooler temperatures of the morning session on Thursday and Marquez was no exception to that rule as he ripped off his 1:59.533 early – a lap that was faster than Casey Stoner's record of 1:59.607 from 2012. And just to prove that he wasn't a one-lap won- der, the young Spaniard also put in a race simula- tion where he proceeded to click off 15 laps under the 2:01 mark. "I'm pretty happy with how the three days here in Sepang have gone and we have started the pre- season well," Marquez said in a team release. "It's true that this is only the first test and we still have work to do, but we've already been able to do a race simulation and it has all gone well. We have tried many setups and we have gathered a lot of data, so we will be well prepared for the next test here. We still have some things to try out, so we must make the most of the days we have remaining here this preseason. "Physically I feel good, I haven't stopped over this past month and have had a packed schedule, but I have been able to continue training. I was a little weak here when I arrived, because I had the flu last week, but in the end I felt fine which is the most important thing. We can always improve and this test will help me to up my fitness." Marquez ending the test at the top was of little surprise. But Valentino Rossi finishing second might have caught a few people off-guard. The nine-time World Champion was fast from the get- go and he ended the three days with not only the second best time but his own personal best lap of Sepang – a 1:59.727. And that mark put him ahead of his teammate Jorge Lorenzo. "The test has been very good," Rossi said in a team release. "I'm very happy, especially for the second position and more than that for the lap time which is the best of my career in Sepang. It's the first time under 2:00 for me and just one tenth from Marc [Marquez] and the overall record of the track. I found a good feeling with the bike, we found some good solutions and it's been very positive. We tried a simulation in the afternoon that was very good to understand any problems. We suffered a bit to keep a good pace, but it wasn't so bad. For the first test the balance was good." Lorenzo ended up third fastest, though having to abort his race simulation after only five laps didn't make him happy. Still, he was positive about the progress the team had made with both the new tires and the new fuel regulations (down to 20 li- ters, one liter less than last year). His 1:59.866 also came in the morning session – on just his sec- ond lap of the day. If Rossi being second was a surprise to some, then Aleix Espargaro ending up fourth on the "Open" class NGM Forward Racing Yamaha was a shocker. The Spaniard was quick on all three days and he ended up the fourth and final rider to crack the two-minute barrier with his 1:59.998 also com- ing very early on day three. The MotoGP riders will return to Sepang for more testing later in the month – February 26-28. Marc Marquez broke the track record on the final day of the three-day MotoGP test at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE

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