Yamaha Factory riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies today completed the final session of the three day IRTA test at the Sepang International circuit in Sepang. The second outing for the 2012 1000cc YZR-M1 proved to be a great success with the riders getting the opportunity to work through a number of updates including chassis, electronics and set up in both wet and dry conditions. Both riders suffered crashes this morning but were unhurt. Lorenzo spent the final afternoon engaged in a race simulation run, pleased with the results having been able to deliver consistent fast laps over an extended period around the 2’01 second mark. He finishes the second Sepang test in fourth position, 0.404 seconds behind Casey Stoner. Spies leaves Sepang in confident mood having bonded well with the 1000cc bike in both wet and dry conditions, taking his first ever wet laps of the circuit yesterday afternoon. The Texan wrapped up the test in eighth place, 0.959 seconds from first. Jorge Lorenzo Position : 4th Time: 2’00.877 Laps: 52 “Well, this afternoon was one of the hardest race simulations of my career because the 1000 is more tiring to ride and the rear tyre seems to drop a lot after three or four laps. After this the feeling stays the same but it’s very different to last year, it’s almost like racing in the rain trying to control the rear in the corner exits and acceleration. I managed to finish the simulation with a good pace so all in all it has been a very positive test, thank you to Yamaha for their hard work.” Ben Spies Position : 8th Time: 2’01.432 Laps: 28 “Today was good, we unfortunately had a small crash but we learnt a lot and got to test some new electronic settings which were a big improvement. We also tried some different shock settings which were a big step forward. It’s a shame we crashed but we know from this test that the bike has great potential so we can go to Jerez with confidence.” Test Times 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 2’00.473 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2’00.648 3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 2’00.802 4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’00.877 5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 2’00.986 6. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 2’01.231 7. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 2’01.275 8. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’01.432 9. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 2’01.492 10. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 2’01.550 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 2’01.609 12. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 2’03.490 13. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2’03.681 14. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Avintia Racing 2’06.632 15. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 2’06.785 Sepang Record Lap C.Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2’02.108 Sepang Best Lap V.Rossi (Yamaha) 2009, 2’00.518 More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Strong finish for the Repsol Honda Team in Sepang The Repsol Honda team leave the Sepang circuit satisfied with a job well done. Casey Stoner set the fastest time of the day with a flying lap of 2’00.473 and team mate Dani Pedrosa recorded the second fastest time with a lap of 2’00.648, just 0.175 from Stoner. Despite missing yesterday, the two Repsol Honda riders have been able to complete their testing program planned for Malaysia. Casey and Dani spent the test working on their RC213V chassis’, focusing on reducing the chattering and both reported a slight improvement. The next test will be at the Jerez circuit at the end of March, a different track where they will be able to fine tune their machine in preparation for the first race in Qatar on April 8. CASEY STONER 1st 2’00.473 “Again we’ve been unable to profit from the full three days of the test here in Sepang, the first day we only manages about 16 laps before the rain came and then yesterday we weren’t able to get out at all. So today it’s been good to have some nice weather, get out on track and find some different solutions on the bike, we’ve been trying a few different things with electronics to have the engine character the same way we like it. We’ve also tried shortening the wheelbase, aiming to reduce the chattering and we’ve been successful in decreasing it slightly but at the moment we’re unable to eliminate it completely, so we still have quite a lot of work to do. The chassis balance feels good as does the traction on the bike, it’s turning well b ut we really need to get rid of the chatter, in general we are happy with the bike”. DANI PEDROSA 2nd 2’00.648 “In general we’ve been working a lot on the chassis at this test, to find the best compromise. We tried different ideas and set ups and we leave quite happy with the feelings. This is a very specific track, so it’s important to have clear ideas for the future. We also made some progress on the braking and the chassis feels a little better because we have a less chatter compared to the first test. We need to keep improving on entry and middle of the corner, but I think that we can expect improvements when we start to work more in depth with the engine and the electronics, which we will do in the Jerez test. Today I also used a different screen to be more comfortable on the straight which felt better”. Testing Results 1 Casey Stoner 2’00.473 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team 2 Dani Pedrosa 2’00.648 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team 3 Andrea Dovizioso 2’00.802 ITA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 4 Jorge Lorenzo 2’00.877 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team 5 Cal Crutchlow 2’00.986 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 6 Hector Barbera 2’01.231 SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing 7 Alvaro Bautista 2’01.275 SPA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini 8 Ben Spies 2’01.432 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team 9 Stefan Bradl 2’01.492 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP 10 Valentino Rossi 2’01.550 ITA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team 11 Nicky Hayden 2’01.609 USA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team 12 Franco Battaini 2’03.490 ITA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team 13 Colin Edwards 2’03.681 USA SUTER NGM Mobile Forward Racing 14 Yonny Hernandez 2’06.632 COL BQR-FTR BQR 15 Ivan Silva 2’06.785 SPA BQR-FTR BQR More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner on song at second Sepang test Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia 28 February 1 March 2012 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Hard & Extra-Hard; Rear: Medium & Hard Weather: Tue: Dry/Wet, Wed: Wet/Dry, Thu: Dry. Ambient 26-34°C; Track 34-59°C (Bridgestone measurement) The second Sepang pre-season test concluded today with fine weather on the final day allowing teams to make up for lost time following extended rainy periods over the first two days of the test. In a repeat performance of the first Sepang test, Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner was again the fastest rider, stopping the clocks at 2:00.473 on a combination of the hard front and medium rear tyre. Dani Pedrosa’s best time of 2:00.648 was good enough to ensure a Honda lock-out at the top of the timesheets, while Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Andrea Dovizioso was the fastest Yamaha in Sepang, his best lap of 2:00.802 placing him third overall. Perhaps the most telling statistic of the second Sepang test was a gap of only 1.1 seconds among the fastest laps recorded by the eleven riders comprising the factory and satellite Honda, Yamaha and Ducati teams. Colin Edwards’ tireless work saw him cut the gap to the prototype bikes drastically as he set a best time just 3.2 seconds shy of Stoner’s benchmark, while Avintia Racing also improved their performance with a best lap that was 1.6 seconds faster than they managed at the first Sepang test. Bridgestone’s tyre development programme now heads to Europe where it will supply tyres and engineers for both the private CRT test at Aragon on March 8-9 and the final pre-season test of the year at Jerez from March 23-25. Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “I am pleased with the performance of the 2012 specification tyres at the second Sepang test as track conditions varied greatly over the three days. Tyre durability is very important at Sepang and I was encouraged at how the tyres performed during the longer runs as there was very little variation in lap time which indicates that the grip characteristics of the tyres over their operating life are quite predictable. “We also continued evaluation of the experimental front tyre we introduced at the first Sepang test and overall the rider feedback on all the 2012 spec tyres continues to be very positive. We leave Malaysia having successfully completed our testing programme so I would like to thank all the teams and riders for their support during this time.” First Sepang MotoGP test combined times Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Total laps 1 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 2:00.473 (Thurs) 50 2 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 2:00.648 (Thurs) 76 3 Andrea Dovizioso Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:00.802 (Thurs) 95 4 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 2:00.877 (Thurs) 99 5 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:00.986 (Thurs) 103 6 Hector Barbera Pramac Racing Team 2:01.231 (Thurs) 116 7 Alvaro Bautista San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:01.275 (Wed) 75 8 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 2:01.285 (Thurs) 94 9 Stefan Bradl LCR Honda 2:01.492 (Thurs) 85 10 Valentino Rossi Ducati Team 2:01.550 (Thurs) 97 11 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 2:01.609 (Thurs) 138 12 Franco Battaini Ducati Team 2:03.490 (Thurs) 70 13 Colin Edwards NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2:03.681 (Thurs) 82 14 Yonny Hernandez Avintia Racing 2:06.632 (Thurs) 95 15 Ivan Silva Avintia Racing 2:06.785 (Thurs) 123 More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BRADL CONCLUDES SEPANG TEST SESSION WITH THE NINTH FASTEST TIME Sepang, 1st March: the third and final day of testing at Sepang was held in hot and dry conditions with all riders out on track upon opening, including all four Hondas, with Stoner rising to the top of the classification on 2’00.473. The premier class riders put their new bikes through their paces at the 5.548km track and in his third MotoGP test on the LCR Honda RC213V, Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl finished with the ninth fastest time. The young German, who had one “day off” yesterday together with his Honda colleagues, put in 54 laps with a best time of 2’01.492 in preparation for the forthcoming season. Bradl and his squad will be back on track in Spain (Jerez) for the last pre-season testing session on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of March. Bradl 9th: “Yesterday we sat out the second day of testing so today was a tough day for me and the guys. After 54 laps I feel a bit tired as the temperature was very high today but I am leaving Malaysia with a good feeling and a good base set up for the future.Together with HRC engineers support we have tested some engine mapping to improve my riding style and the power delivery. I am pretty satisfied about my laptime and the gap to the front is acceptable: if we continue with this progresses I am sure that positive results will arrive soon.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Positive progress for Dovizioso and Crutchlow in Malaysia A weather-hit three-day MotoGP test session at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia ended in positive fashion for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow today. Torrential rain on the first and second day restricted the track time available to Dovizioso and Crutchlow but both took advantage of hot, humid and dry conditions on the final day to carry out crucial development work on the new Yamaha YZR-M1 1000cc machine. Dovizioso was in dazzl ing form and the Italian completed 54-laps on his way to setting a best time of 2.00.802 that left him in an outstanding third place on the final timesheets. He was only 0.329s behind reigning World Champion Casey Stoner in first position and he finished the fastest non-factory rider. Close to full fitness after breaking his right collarbone in a training accident in early January, Dovizioso got through a packed testing schedule, which included experimenting with different riding positions to help him feel more comfortable on the YZR-M1. He also successfully analysed a revised Yamaha engine spec that improved corner entry and on the final afternoon he comp leted a long run of 15-laps to understand the endurance performance of Bridgestone’s new softer construction tyres designed specifically for the 1000cc machines. The second Sepang test was also a big success for British rider Crutchlow, who declared himself satisfied with the updated Yamaha engine made available in Sepang. The 26-year-old set a personal best time of 2.00.986, which was only just over 0.1s slower than factory Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo and he set the fifth best time to continue his excellent pre-season form for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. Andrea Dovizioso 2.00.802 min: “Despite the rain disrupting the first two days, this has been a really positive test and I am very happy. I did my first laps in the rain on the Yamaha and I had a very positive feeling. The engine was very smooth and I could manage the sliding but one very important area was my physical condition. My shoulder was much better than the first test here and this enabled me to understand the potential of the YZR-M1 machine much more. I am much more confident on the bike and I am happy with the lap time and the position and we have done a very good job understanding many things here. I like the new engine because it helps with the corner entry, and this was already a really strong point of the Yamaha. I did a long run of 1 5-laps today and it was important to learn the characteristics of the bike over a longer distance. It was really interesting to understand about tyre wear and we have some work to do but the potential of the bike is already at a very high level. Now I am really looking forward to the next test in Jerez because it is a completely different track with different temperature and this will be good experience for me to understand the bike even more.” Cal Crutchlow 2.00.986 min: “I am really happy because the weather obviously played a big part the first two days but we were able to get some dry track time today and make some good progress with the bike. I like the new engine from Yamaha and credit to them because they have been working hard and the improvement bodes well for the start of the season. I’m happy with my lap time because this is not my favouritetrack at all and I am fifth fastest and very close to the top three. A major positive too is that I am very consistent and this is something that I have improved from last year. This gives me a lot of confidence and encouragement and I’m really enjoying riding the 1000cc bike. I did a long run of 12-laps and the new tyres were sliding around quite a bit. It made it very physical but quite good but i t looks like tyre management is going to be more important than ever. The bike is working well at Sepang but now I’m curious to see how it performs in Jerez. That’s a completely different track and the weather will be much cooler, so this will give us another indication of the potential of the bike.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: MotoGP Test Sepang Day 3 MotoGP Test Sepang, Malaysia Day three of three-day test. March 1, 2012 Weather: Hot and sunny Track temperature: 50 degrees C Ambient temperature: 31 degrees C HONDA RIDERS FINISH SEPANG TEST ON TOP Repsol Honda riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa finished the second three-day MotoGP test of the pre-season with the fastest times, continuing on the strength they had built from the rain-interrupted first day. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista was seventh fastest, with Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl ninth on the LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V. The four Honda riders were back on track at the Sepang International Circuit after missing Wednesday while Honda technicians in Japan diagnosed an engine problem with the Repsol Honda RC213V of Dani Pedrosa. Making up for lost time, Stoner quickly re-established his superiority and continued his run on finishing on top in every session this test season in which he was a serious contender. (Stoner missed the opening day of the first Sepang test with a strained back and sat out Wednesday.) Stoner and team-mate Pedrosa spent their only full day of testing working on electronics and chassis settings, trying to lessen the front wheel chatter which has affected most of the new 1000cc machines. The fastest of Stoner’s 34 laps was 2m, .473s, a time which was well off the 1m, 59.607s lap he had completed in the previous Sepang test. Stoner was confident he would have challenged the earlier time if he had had three full days of seat time. Pedrosa finished with a best lap of 2m, 0.648s, a time which was off Stoner’s pace by .175s. The Spaniard and his team were able to reduce front end chatter, but not completely eliminate it after completing 40 laps of the 5.458Km circuit. He expects more progress when the teams re-convene for the final test of the season in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain later this month. Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) was seventh fastest after making the most of only full day of testing as he continued to adapt to the Honda RC213V. Bautista had a cold tyre crash that made one of his machines unusable, but he was still able to put in 51 laps. With his lone Honda, he concentrated on suspension settings, both front and rear, and finished the test nearly a second closer to Stoner than he had earlier this month, while also clocking his best ever lap time at Sepang. On the final day of his second MotoGP test on the LCR Honda RC213V, Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl took advantage of the hot and dry conditions to complete 54 laps. His diligence paid off, with the young German improving his first day time by over 1.3s to finish ninth fastest and just about a second off the pace of the two-time MotoGP World Champion Stoner. The teams now have more than three weeks to continuing developing their motorcycles before the final pre-season test in Spain from March 23-25. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V): 1st, 2m, 0.473s “Again we’ve been unable to profit from the full three days of the test here in Sepang. The first day we only managed about 16 laps before the rain came and then yesterday we weren’t able to get out at all. So today it’s been good to have some nice weather, get out on track and find some different solutions on the bike. We’ve been trying a few different things with electronics to have the engine character the same way we like it. We’ve also tried shortening the wheelbase, aiming to reduce the chattering and we’ve been successful in decreasing it slightly, but at the moment we’re unable to eliminate it completely, so we still have quite a lot of work to do. The chassis balance feels good as does the traction on the bike; it’s turning well, but we really need to get rid of the chatter. In general we are happy with the bike.” Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V): 2nd, 2m, 0.648s “In general we’ve been working a lot on the chassis at this test, to find the best compromise. We tried different ideas and set ups and we leave quite happy with the feelings. This is a very specific track, so it’s important to have clear ideas for the future. We also made some progress on the braking and the chassis feels a little better because we have less chatter compared to the first test. We need to keep improving on entry and middle of the corner, but I think that we can expect improvements when we start to work more in depth with the engine and the electronics, which we will do in the Jerez test. Today I also used a different screen to be more comfortable on the straight, which felt better.” Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V): 7th, 2m, 1.275s “I am satisfied because we were finally able to get a full day under our belt after being here for two days already and only managing to get out on track for the first morning. Obviously it was a tough day because we had to pack everything in, so we started out first thing this morning and only took a short break at the hottest part of the day. We worked mainly on adapting to the 1000cc bike and even though I was tired by the end of the day I was satisfied with our progress. Unfortunately I made a mistake on my first lap of one run when the tyres were still not up to temperature and ran wide onto the astroturf and then had a small crash. Luckily I wasn’t hurt, and we were able to continue working on the other bike, mainly with suspension settings, and putting together a decent rhythm. I am happy though, because we have taken a big step forward and closed the gap to the top guys. We know we still have a long way to go, but I am confident because the relationship with the team is great and I know we will make more progress in the next test at Jerez.” Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V): 9th, 2m, 1.492s “Yesterday we sat out the second day of testing so today was a tough day for me and the guys. After 54 laps I feel a bit tired as the temperature was very high today, but I am leaving Malaysia with a good feeling and a good base set up for the future. I am pretty satisfied about my lap time and the gap to the front is acceptable. If we continue with this progress I am sure that positive results will arrive soon.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: Ducati Team concludes Sepang test with sunny weather and busy schedule Despite a negative weather forecast, the final day of the Sepang test was the only one of the three not affected by rain. Valentino Rossi stayed on the track until the last minute in order to complete as much work as possible for the Ducati engineers, who continue working on the development of the GP12. As for Nicky Hayden, despite still not being in perfect physical condition, he continued testing into the afternoon, and on his very last exit, he had a harmless low-speed fall in Turn 1. Both riders found the new electronics that were introduced at this test to be a breakthrough, although they didn’t find the ideal setup for improving their lap times and ended the day in tenth and eleventh positions. Still, they both reduced their gap to the front considerably compared to the first test. The next winter test is scheduled for March 23-25 at the Spanish Jerez circuit. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 10th, 2:01.550 (57 laps) “One small positive note to the day is that we reduced the gap to the front a little bit. It was 1.2 seconds, and now it’s 1 second. It’s also nice that the new electronics work well, but it hurts being down on the timesheets compared to all the others. We tried a bunch of things in order to take a step forward from the first test, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to do it and were actually worse. It was harder for me to ride well compared to three weeks ago, especially my corner speed. It’s true that this test was more difficult in terms of weather and track conditions, but it seemed to affect us more than the others. Honestly, I expected to do better than tenth. We were also unfortunate because at the best part of the day, when I did a 2:01.5 and we had some tyres to try to lower the time further, we had a problem with the fork that cost us some time. Maybe without that we would have cut another three or four tenths and been further up, but our pace is still about seven tenths back. Honestly, that’s not a huge amount, but anyway we’re still behind. We’re not pleased with how it went this time, but we have to try and work hard and see what happens at Jerez, where the track is very different than this one, with much different weather and temperatures. We’ll see how we do there.” Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 11th, 2:01.609 (44 laps) “Of course I would prefer to have been closer to the front, but it’s my first real test of the year. The bike feels better on braking and into the corner, and I like the feedback it gives me. Also, the lap times don’t seem as affected when the track gets hot and greasy. We need to work on some chatter and on corner exits. We have plenty of ideas, as there are a lot of things we didn’t get to try this week because of the weather. Toward the end, I lost the front end in Turn 1 and crashed, but it was an easy one and I’m fine. I’m happy with how my shoulder is coming along. I hope that with three more weeks of recovering and rehab, it should be close to 100 per cent for Jerez.” Filippo Preziosi (General Manager, Ducati Corse) “It was sunny for the last day of the Sepang test, and after almost completely losing the first two days due to rain, we had to concentrate a lot of work into a relatively short time. Clearly, situations like that make it more difficult to achieve maximum performance because the setup changes continuously. Today Valentino is tenth and Nicky is eleventh, and obviously we would prefer to be further up. Anyway, they both liked the new electronics package that we had for this test. We’ll keep working hard between now and the next test at Jerez, where we’ll try to put everything we have together and optimize it.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: The second Official MotoGP™ Test of 2012 in Malaysia came to a close with the reigning World Champion again top of the timesheets, closely followed by team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Andrea Dovizioso. The third and final day of testing at Sepang was held in hot and dry conditions, with teams setting out early to make up for time lost yesterday due to rain. All riders were out on track upon opening, including all four Hondas, and under ideal 40 degree track temperatures Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) posted a 2’00.473 in the morning. That time remained as the best of the three days as the World Champion focused his efforts in the afternoon on efficient fuel consumption. Dani Pedrosa pursued his team-mate by 0.175s as the Spanish rider focused his efforts on chassis modifications to improve stability under braking and reduce front end chatter. Andrea Dovizioso was three tenths from Stoner with a time of 2’00.802 on his Tech 3 machine after the Italian found a more efficient and comfortable riding position yesterday. Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo was fourth quickest and ended his day with a race simulation that revealed the more powerful 1000cc bikes will require careful tyre management. The 2010 World Champion reported that the new soft Bridgestones lost their grip early in the simulation, making braking more difficult due to sliding. The Spaniard also reported that the electronics improvements made during this test made corner entry easier and smoothed out the YZR-M1 overall. Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies ended his day early, completing 28 laps with a best time of 2’01.432 set before a crash in the early afternoon. The American walked away from the fall unhurt though did not re-enter the track in the afternoon and his time from the morning placed him eighth in the line-up. Spies commented that he was happy with the electronic improvements though he and his team “haven’t pushed the bike to its limit yet”. Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) climbed to fifth position by the end of the day with a best lap 2’00.986, half a second off the leading time of Stoner and 0.245s ahead of the quickest Ducati in the field, the Pramac Racing GP12 of Héctor Barberá. Álvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini ) recovered from a crash in the morning to post a time of 2’01.275, over a second quicker than his time set on Tuesday, placing him seventh. The Spaniard declared at the end of the day: “This morning I had a hard time riding, it’s clear that I have a lack kilometers on the bike and yesterday we didn’t ride, plus I had a silly fall today but then picked up speed and reached a good pace.” Newcomer Stefan Bradl finished the day in ninth and 1.019 off the top time set by Stoner, with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden following in 10th and 11th respectively. The Ducati Team pair have work to do, with Rossi reporting that the outstanding issue remains riding position and that the set up for it was better at the first Sepang Test. Developments made with the traction control, however, has been reportedly been good. Colin Edwards (NGM Mobile Forward Racing ) wrapped up the second Malaysian Test in 13th position with a best time of 2’03.681, a one second improvement from his last visit to the circuit, while Avintia Racing riders Yonny Hernández and Iván Silva also improved the team’s performance with a best lap that was 1.6 seconds faster than at the first Sepang test.