The opening day of official 2020 MotoGP action took place at Sepang in Malaysia today.



Following a Shakedown test for factory test riders, riders from manufacturers eligible for concessions (KTM and Aprilia) and rookies, the full 2020 grid took to the track for the first of three days.

Aleix Espargaro (who rode on the last day of the Shakedown) set the pace for Aprilia during the opening hour of the Official test before Quartararo moved to the top.

The Frenchman - riding with a 2019 M1, rather than the 2020 Factory-Spec M1 presented yesterday - continued to set the pace when a brief but substantial rain shower arrived at 2:30pm, keeping riders in the pits until 4pm.

The track then dried for a busy final hour, until another rain shower in the last ten minutes brought the day to an end.

Quartararo's earlier 1m 58.985s remained unbeaten with team-mate Morbidelli completing a Petronas Yamaha one-two just 0.051s behind.

Then came a Suzuki (Rins), Honda (Crutchlow) and Ducati (Miller) before the next Yamaha of factory rider Vinales. The top 14 riders were covered by less than one-second.

The test marks Zarco's debut outing for Ducati and the first MotoGP laps since shoulder surgery for world champion Marquez and Nakagami. Marquez completed 37 Friday laps and Nakagami 31. Zarco made steady progress to finish 1.5s from Quartararo.

Testing, which began at 10am and concluded at 6pm, continues on Saturday and Sunday.

Triple MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo, who began his new role as a Yamaha test rider at the Shakedown, is expected to ride at some stage during the Official Test.



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*Rookie

Key:

^X Rider is X positions higher than previous hour.

= Rider is same position as previous hour.

˅X Rider is X positions lower than previous hour.



Official Sepang MotoGP records:

Best lap:

Fabio Quartararo FRA Yamaha 1m 58.576s (2019)

Fastest race lap:

Valentino Rossi ITA Yamaha 1m 59.661s (2019)



Unofficial Sepang MotoGP record:

Danilo Petrucci ITA Ducati 1m 58.239s (2019 testing)



2020 Sepang Shakedown Test:

Pol Espargaro SPA KTM 1m 59.444s