With testing for the premier class at Sepang finished, the Moto2 and Moto3 riders took to the track at Valencia on Tuesday. Just about the entire field in both classes rolled out of the pits for the first test of the season, and with the weather improving as the day went on, times soon began to drop. By the end of the day, the fastest men in both classes were lapping under the official lap records.

In the Moto2 class, it was Johann Zarco who was fastest, setting a blistering pace on the Kalex. The Frenchman ended the day with a run that saw him under the pole record on four consecutive laps. Sam Lowes ended the day in 2nd, after a strong first day of testing. Lowes professed himself much happier with the changes to the bike over the winter, the Speed Up now sporting an aluminum swingarm and WP suspension. Reigning Moto2 champion Tito Rabat was third fastest, just behind Lowes, and just under four tenths off the pace of Zarco.

Alex Rins made a very strong debut in the Moto2 class, ending the day in 6th, ahead of his teammate Luis Salom. Former teammate and reigning Moto3 world champion Alex Marquez had a much tougher day, leaving the first day with the 26th fastest time, some three seconds behind Zarco, and over two seconds behind Rins.

In Moto3, newcomer Fabio Quartararo demonstrated why the rules were changed to allow the young Frenchman to move into the Grand Prix paddock a month before he should have been allowed to. The Estrella Galicia rider lapped under the race record, posting four of the five fastest laps set on the day. The only man to trouble the French youngster was Danny Kent, the Englishman posting a very quick time during the second session of the day. Enea Bastianini was the third quickest rider on the day, the Italian confirming the results of his outstanding rookie year. Niccolo Antonelli was fourth fastest, making it a Honda clean sweep of the top times, Miguel Oliveira the first KTM rider in 5th.

Quartararo's times are confirmation of the French youngster's speed. There had been reliable rumors that Quartararo had been lapping at four tenths under the lap record back in November. But there is reason for caution as well. Quartararo is known to be exceptionally quick around Valencia, a track he knows particularly well. How well he will perform once the season gets underway and he starts to race at tracks he doesn't know remains to be seen. Even so, to be this quick this early in his career is a remarkable achievement so far.

Moto2 times:

Pos No Rider Bike Time Diff Prev 1 5 Johann Zarco Kalex 1:34.754 2 22 Sam Lowes Speed Up 1:35.106 0.352 0.352 3 1 Tito Rabat Kalex 1:35.145 0.391 0.039 4 12 Thomas Luthi Kalex 1:35.194 0.440 0.049 5 19 Xavier Simeon Kalex 1:35.264 0.510 0.070 6 40 Alex Rins Kalex 1:35.630 0.876 0.366 7 39 Luis Salom Kalex 1:35.687 0.933 0.057 8 21 Franco Morbidelli Kalex 1:35.813 1.059 0.126 9 94 Jonas Folger Kalex 1:35.871 1.117 0.058 10 3 Simone Corsi Kalex 1:35.895 1.141 0.024 11 23 Marcel Schrotter Tech 3 1:35.920 1.166 0.025 12 95 Anthony West Speed Up 1:36.017 1.263 0.097 13 60 Julian Simon Speed Up 1:36.130 1.376 0.113 14 77 Dominique Aegerter Kalex 1:36.209 1.455 0.079 15 36 Mika Kallio Kalex 1:36.409 1.655 0.200 16 55 Hafizh Syahrin Kalex 1:36.411 1.657 0.002 17 7 Lorenzo Baldassarri Kalex 1:36.435 1.681 0.024 18 30 Takaaki Nakagami Kalex 1:36.456 1.702 0.021 19 11 Sandro Cortese Kalex 1:36.496 1.742 0.040 20 25 Azlan Shah Kalex 1:36.743 1.989 0.247 21 49 Axel Pons Kalex 1:36.791 2.037 0.048 22 10 Thitipong Warokorn Kalex 1:37.302 2.548 0.511 23 96 Louis Rossi Tech 3 1:37.430 2.676 0.128 24 70 Robin Mulhauser Kalex 1:37.469 2.715 0.039 25 88 Ricky Cardus Tech 3 1:37.492 2.738 0.023 26 73 Alex Marquez Kalex 1:37.773 3.019 0.281 27 4 Randy Krummenacher Kalex 1:38.121 3.367 0.348 28 2 Jesko Raffin Kalex 1:38.252 3.498 0.131 29 66 Florian Alt Suter 1:39.518 4.764 1.266

Moto3 times: