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MotoGP, Vinales ends the Sepang test on a high, Rossi 5th

The Yamaha rider leads the way, ahead of Marquez and Dovizioso, Stoner 7th, Lorenzo 9th, Iannone 11th

MotoGP: Vinales ends the Sepang test on a high, Rossi 5th

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He couldn't have hoped for more. A Wednesday to remember for Maverick Vinales, the star of the final test day at Sepang. The Spaniard powered his Yamaha to the head of the pack, closing with a time of 1’59”368, the best time set this week. With the soft tyre, #25 proved to be unbeatable after completing 72 laps

Vinales stands out, while behind him Marc Marquez surprises (+0.138). Yes, because the electronic issues they had with the Honda yesterday caused Marc to spend a long period of time in the garage, as a result of which he closed tenth, one second off the pace. The music changed today though and he's back where he should be, using the medium tyre to set his fastest lap.

Just 0.047 of a second behind #93 is the first of the Ducatis, that of Andrea Dovizioso. He has a special relationship with Sepang and the Italian again showed that he wants a starring role in the show. Dovi, like Vinales, used the soft tyre,  to finish third ahead of Daniel Pedrosa. The fourth fastest time set by #26 confirms that Tuesday's issue in the Honda camp are already a distant memory.

The afternoon brought a last gasp effort from Valentino Rossi. Seven tenths off the pace in the morning, the Doctor reduced this gap to just over two tenths in the afternoon (+0.221), closing fifth ahead of Alvaro Bautista, who has stood out at the Malaysian track this week.

Wednesday's times are particularly close, with ten riders within half a second of each other. These include Casey Stoner, back on the GP17 and less then three tenths from the front after just 46 laps. The Australian finished seventh, followed by Cal Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo, ninth and just over one tenth from the #27 Ducati. #99 continues to improve with the Borgo Panigale bike, he too ducking under 2'00.

Also in the top ten is rookie Johann Zarco, while Andrea Iannone just misses out (11th, +0.677), having crashed for a second time this afternoon. Behind him is his team-mate Alex Rins. Barbera also crashed, closing 18th ahead of Redding and Baz.

An uphill climb for Pramac today, with Danilo Petrucci (+0.942) going no further than fourteenth, forcing Guidotti to admit that: “We didn't come prepared”. The Italian finished ahead of Aleix Espargarò on the Aprilia, while rookie Sam Lowes finishes 22nd.

With the three days at Sepang now concluded, teams move on to Australia for the second batch of tests taking place from Wednesday 15 to Friday 17 February.   

Sepang test - Day 3 times

     

Translated by Heather Watson
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