Jorge Martin Has Successful Surgery On Right Hand As Aprilia Reignite Michelin Row

By David Emmett |

Jorge Martin has successfully undergone surgery on the right hand he injured on the first day of the Sepang test. At the Dexeus Clinic in Barcelona, surgeons inserted a screw into the fifth metacarpal bone in his right hand, the long bone in the hand supporting the little or pinky finger. The fractured metatarsals in his foot did not require surgery, and are expected to recover of their own accord. 

It is too early to assess how quickly Martin can return, the Dexeus Clinic stating that the functional recovery will begin soon. Aprilia announced later on Saturday that he will skip the Buriram test on February 12th and 13th in order to focus on being fit for the opening round of the 2025 MotoGP season at Buriram on the weekend of March 2nd.

2025 Sepang MotoGP Test Gut Reaction: Ducati's Dilemma, Yamaha's Progress, And The Mystery Of Aprilia

By David Emmett |

It has been three long days of testing, and a lot of work, for me as a journalist as well as for the riders and the teams. Of course, I did my work from the comfort of an air-conditioned press room, which made it a fraction easier than riding a 300 horsepower motorcycle as fast as possible in temperatures of well over 30°C.

So no long and detailed analysis tonight. Plenty of time for that in the coming days. For now, here are my initial reactions to what we saw and heard at the Sepang test.

Ducati's dilemma

There can be no doubt that the Ducati Desmosedici GP24 is still an outstanding motorcycle. The three GP24s were in the top four or five on the first two days of the test, and Alex Márquez bettered Pecco Bagnaia's time from last year at the Sepang test by nearly two tenths of a second.

So can Ducati make a better motorcycle? Even Ducati aren't sure. Both Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez are yet to be fully convinced that the GP25 engine is an improvement on the GP24. It has a bit more power, delivers it more smoothly, but it loses out in braking. And there is more time to be gained (or in this case, lost) in braking than in acceleration.

The factory Ducati riders spent almost all the test on the GP24 aero package, as well as the GP24 frame, while Ducati engineers tried swapping out all sorts of different parts in different configurations to try to improve the bike.

2025 Sepang MotoGP Test Day 3 Final Times: Alex Marquez Ends Sepang Test As Fastest

By David Emmett |

Alex Marquez leaves the Sepang MotoGP test as fastest, the Gresini Ducati rider ending the final day with a best time of 1'56.493. The Spaniard just nipped ahead of Pecco Bagnaia early in the morning, the factory Ducati rider setting a time of 1'56.500. Both Marquez and Bagnaia were two tenths faster than Bagnaia's best time at the Sepang test last year, but just under two tenths slower than his record pole time at the 2024 race weekend. 

2025 Sepang MotoGP Test Day 3 16:00 Times: Alex Marquez Fastest, Brief Break For Rain

By David Emmett |

A brief rain shower shortly after 2pm kept everyone in the pits during the lunch break, with no real action on the track. Riders started back shortly after 3pm, and work is continuing. But there have been no changes since 2pm.

Results at 4pm: 

2025 Sepang MotoGP Test Day 3 14:00 Times: Alex Marquez And Pecco Bagnaia Still Fastest

By David Emmett |

Activity has been relatively sparse on track since noon, as the heat of the day starts to increase. Teams and riders are preparing for the lunch break, while keeping one eye on the rain radar, as the skies grow a little darker. A rain shower would disrupt their plans, though the track would likely dry out.

The times are almost unchanged since noon. Alex Marquez still leads Pecco Bagnaia, while Fabio Quartararo is third quickest. There are four more hours of the first test of 2025 to go:

2025 Sepang MotoGP Test Day 3 12:00 Times: Alex Marquez And Pecco Bagnaia Smash Into The 1'56s

By David Emmett |

Times are dropping as riders chased a seriously fast lap on the last day of the Sepang test. Fabio Quartararo was the first to break into the 1'56s in the morning, before Pecco Bagnaia set a serious time of 1'56.500, which Alex Marquez then shaved another few thousandths of with a lap of 1'56.493. That is within two tenths of the outright lap record set by Pecco Bagnaia in Q2 at the race last year, and nearly two tenths faster than Bagnaia's best lap at last year's Sepang test.

2025 Sepang MotoGP Test Day 2 Round Up: Hard Work Disguises Where The Factories Really Stand

By David Emmett |

After the disaster of the first day of the Sepang MotoGP test, we got through the second day without losing another rider, reducing the rate of attrition to just 1.5 MotoGP riders out through injury a day. No doubt the massive crashes of Jorge Martin, Raul Fernandez, and Fabio Di Giannantonio had served as a useful warning of what is at stake in this preseason. But the conditions helped too.

It was a lot hotter on Thursday, and the sun drove air and track temperatures up much closer to what we would normally expect in Sepang. Yesterday's 38°C track temperatures were replaced by a much more usual 55°C. And also, nobody was much interested in using the medium rear, concentrating instead on the soft.

"I think the medium here is the same as Silverstone and Barcelona, but we struggle a lot to make it work," Fabio Quartararo told us. "The gap between the soft and the medium is too much and the drop is the same as the soft. So, I’m not using the medium any more, and I think everybody is using the soft."

A day relative free of drama - there were still more than a few crashes, including both Ducati Lenovo riders, though nothing serious - and a day on which the riders could focus on working. The heat kept a lot of riders in the garage for a couple of hours around 2pm, then a very brief rain shower chased everyone off the track again, but 15 minutes later work was underway again.

2025 Sepang MotoGP Test Day 2 Final Times: Morbidelli Leads Quartararo As Work Continues

By David Emmett |

Franco Morbidelli ends the second day of MotoGP testing at the top of the timesheets, the Pertamina VR46 Ducati rider setting a fast lap in the morning that would not be beaten. Fabio Quartararo looked like improving his time at the end of the day, when a number of riders went out in qualifying trim to set a quick lap. But the Monster Energy Yamaha rider couldn't improve the time he set early on in the morning.

2025 Sepang MotoGP Test Day 2 16:00 Times: Morbidelli Leads Quartararo, Order Unchanged

By David Emmett |

There was a brief rain shower before 4pm, which kept everyone in the pits. Where most of them were anyway, avoiding the heat of the day and saving soft rear tires. Little has changed, Franco Morbidelli still leads from Fabio Quartararo and Alex Marquez. 

Times at 4pm:

2025 Sepang MotoGP Test Day 2 12:00 Times: Morbidelli Leads Quartararo, Order Unchanged

By David Emmett |

The track has gone relatively quiet at Sepang as the teams and riders take a break in the midday Malaysian heat. Franco Morbidelli still leads, but few riders have improved their times. Marc Marquez has overtaken Joan Mir, Marco Bezzecchi has jumped up the order, but the order is largely unchanged.

The conditions are much hotter than Wednesday, with fewer clouds and so hotter air temperatures and much hotter track temperatures. The last day, Friday, looks like being much the same.

Times at 2pm:

Subscribe to