MotoGP™ winter test in Sepang.

The 2 days of MotoGP™ winter testing (official test) held at Sepang International Circuit (SIC), Malaysia on the 5^th – 6^th February 2022 was a successfully one with some 11,000 spectators coming over to the circuit to watch some of the top teams going through rigorous testing on their 2011 / 2022 bikes. This winter test is an appetizer for the fans of MotoGP™ for what is to come when the circus arrive on 23^rd October for the Malaysian round. It has been a long 2 years of missing out watching MotoGP™ live due to covid-19 Pandemic.

Day 1 of testing saw Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro clocking the fastest time of 1m 58.371s, however Gresini’s Enea Bastianini improved on Day 2 with a 1m 58.131s, followed by Aprilia RS-GPs of Alex Espargaro and Maverick Vinales, clocking 1’58.157″ and 1’58.261″ in 2^nd and 5^th placing.

Winter testing is a time for teams to gather valuable data on tires, rider’s feedback, suspension, brakes, engine, electronics, and chassis set up, improving on them while conforming to regulations set by FIM & Dorna. A check on the time sheets and sectors references, all 24 riders who participated managed to drop below the 2-min lap mark and out of those, 10 riders were just within three tenths of a second from each other.

SIC CEO Azhan Shafriman Hanif is happy that all the Covid-19 protocols and standard operating procedures (SOP) were strictly enforced and adhered to by all the teams and also the 11,000 spectators that turned up.

Azhan also hoped that after the success of this winter test, Covid-19 situation will improve and Malaysia will move onto the endemic stage which will then allow for a more flexible SOP come this October 2022.

Credits : Photos courtesy of Fuad Nizam and content courtesy of Jeya@Cactus.