Pedrosa finishes the MotoGP Sepang Shakedown opening day fastest.
The Sepang Shakedown Test marks the official return of MotoGP in 2024. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Test Rider Dani Pedrosa leads the timesheets with a time of 1:59.233, while rookie Pedro Acosta shows off on his Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 machine once more, finishing just 0.152 seconds behind the three-time World Champion.
Seven riders competed on the first day of action, with Pol Espargaro returning to the orange as he starts a new job as a test rider for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Factory Racing), Lorenzo Savadori of Aprilia Racing, Michele Pirro of the Ducati Lenovo Team, Stefan Bradl of the HRC Test Team, and Cal Bradl were the other riders working hard for their respective factories.
With the new concessions regulations in place, the second and final days of the shakedown test will feature the full-time MotoGPTM stars from Yamaha and Honda on the course. That implies that on Friday and Saturday, Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPTM team, Joan Mir, Luca Marini of the Repsol Honda Team, Johann Zarco, and Takaaki Nakagami of the CASTROL/IDEMITSU Honda LCR will be slugging it out on the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit.
What new technology have we already witnessed? All four of the aforementioned manufacturers—Aprilia, Ducati, KTM, and Honda had new aero to test, with three of them focusing especially on the rear tail unit aero. KTM tested the latest aero package from the Austrian firm, which includes redesigned wings and a new belly pan, with Pol Espargaro and Pedrosa.
Even though Acosta had only been riding a MotoGP thoroughbred for two days, he was already trying new products for KTM/GASGAS while the current Moto2 World Champion put some creative work on his front mudguard. Acosta also tested the carbon and steel chassis on Thursday.
There will be a lot more action during the shakedown events over the following two days before the official test begins on Tuesday, February 6.
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