MotoGP
The Repsol Honda rider was fastest on Tuesday, with Lorenzo, Márquez and Rossi all in hot pursuit...
MotoGP is back, and the early signs from Sepang in Malaysia are that 2013 will be a season to savour.
The pre-season excitement that has bubbled away during the two-month testing ban finally found its release on Tuesday when the MotoGP class rolled out for the first official test of 2013, and there was more than enough to satisfy by the time the first of the three days drew to a close.
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa was the fastest rider of the day, but defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was just 8/1000ths of a second off his rival. Marc Márquez did not disappoint, coming in at just 0.044s off his team-mate Pedrosa after leading the timings earlier in the day.
The rookie's performance was just as eagerly observed as that of Valentino Rossi's on the Yamaha. The Italian, back on the M1 and in the same garage as Lorenzo, was fourth in the order, just over 0.4s off Pedrosa and restoring a confidence that had taken a bashing over the last two years at Ducati.
Any fears that the weather may limit track time proved to be unfounded as the entire day was used to full effect, with the various teams able to maximise the allotted time to cram in as much work as possible on the updated machines for 2013.
LCR Team's Stefan Bradl was the top 'satellite' rider in fifth as he put to use the factory-spec Honda RC213V he'll run with, while CalCrutchlow and Álvaro Bautista were not far off.
Nicky Hayden was the highest placed Ducati, but in 10th position and 2.1s off top spot it was evident there is still a long road ahead of the Italian factory. Rookie Bradley Smith on the Tech 3 Yamaha was faster than Andrea Dovizioso on the second factory Desmosedici GP13, while Ben Spies' first run-out on the Italian bike was shortened by shoulder pain as he managed just 21 laps for the day.
Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama was able to put in 48 laps on his CRT machine after sitting out the second day of the CRT-only test on Monday due to an injured wrist. Aleix Espargaró was the quickest CRT on Tuesday, 2.6s off the top time.
Check the full timings for day one here.
