Pedro Acosta quickest, despite falls, as Sepang Shakedown ends
MotoGP rookie tops the time🐷s💞heets on day 3 of the Sepang Shakedown Test.
Saturday at the Sepang MotoGP Shakedown tesဣt was a day of ‘firജsts’ for star rookie Pedro Acosta.
After impressing over the previous two days,🔴 the reigning Moto2 champion made his first appearance at the head of the MotoGP timesheets - where he remained by the time a thunderstorm brought an early end to the dry action at 16:30.
Along the way th🉐e Spanish teenager also suffered ♑what is thought to have been his first premier-class fall, at Turn 11, at 13:30. Officially declared “OK”, Acosta returned on his GASGAS Tech3 bike shortly before the thunderstorm.
Accota's test then ended with his first-ever wet MotoGP laps on the RC16... and another fall, this time at Turn 15, in the final minutes. Once 🧜again, timing screens reported the rider was "OK".
Acostꦕa’s earlier 1m 58.189s, the best of the week, edged out new KTM test rider and day two leader Pol Espargaro by 🐷just 0.066s.
Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) completed the top three, a frac🌃tion ahead of countryman Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha). Dani Pedrosa (KTM) was just 0.289s from Acosta in fourth, followed by Repsol Honda’s Joan Mir.
New factory Yamah🐈a rider Alex Rins and new HRC signing Luca Marini (+0.746s) were seventh and eighth with Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow seen testing new bodywork, including the rear box-shape wing, on his way to ninth place - as the final rider in the 1m 58s.
Crutchlow’s former LCR team-mate Takaaki Nakagami was 0.883s from Acosta, with Michele 💜Pirro (Ducati), Lorenzo Savadori (who rode six different Aprilias) and Stefan Bradl (Honda) completing the 13-rider line-up.
Savadori and Crutchlow joined Acosta in completing some wet laps in the final hour when Savadori﷽ suffered his second technical issue of the day.
There will now be a two-day break in the track a🍒ction, during which Monster Yamaha will hold its team launch, before the official Sepang test - due to feature the full 2024 rider line-up - is held from February 6-8.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki 🍰exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury꧂ issues.
