It could be the usual suspects at the top of MotoGP when the new season kicks off.

Despite the changeable weather, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi completed the three-day test at the Sepang International Circuit topping the standings with a perfect 1-2, while Repsol Honda man Marc Marquez posted the third fastest time.

The final day of the first Official MotoGP test of 2016 started off slowly for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team.

The final day of the first Official MotoGP test of 2016 started off slowly for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team.

Lorenzo and Rossi arrived at the Malaysian track this morning ready to pick up the testing schedule where they had left off the day before, but were forced to wait for the dry line to form around the Sepang International Circuit for most of the morning.

Once they headed out on track in the afternoon, both riders were quick to prove their key protagonist status for 2016, finishing first and second respectively in the overall test standings.

When Lorenzo left his pit box, he immediately made his presence known as he moved to the top of the time sheets with a 2’00.882s. After his team-mate briefly took over the lead, he returned to the top of the rankings with a 2’00.016s lap time just before rain clouds gathered over the Malaysian circuit again, putting a halt to the track action.

With a little more than an hour left to go, he resumed his testing and headed back out to set the first lap under the 2’00 mark of the three-day test, which only the Spaniard himself could improve on when he set a best lap of 1’59.580s. He ended the test 0.976s ahead of the rest of the field.

Team-mate Rossi may have been the last of the MotoGP riders to start testing, but he left no doubt that he was just as keen to prove his speed as his team-mate.

The nine-time World Champion started with a time attack and slotted into fourth place at the end of his first run. Around halfway through the final day of testing he went fastest with a time of 2’00.556s, before taking a short break as it started to rain.

Rossi hit the track for a second time with 40 minutes left on the clock and finished the day testing some different parts for his YZR-M1 to end the day in second place.

“The lap times speak for themselves,” said Lorenzo afterwards.

“They were very good lap times, set with new electronics and hard rear tyres, because we can’t use the soft rear because of what happened yesterday. I’m very happy with Michelin, because they made a very big step with the feeling with the new front tyres. They did a great job, because now the feeling is closer to what we had with last year. Anyway, I felt very comfortable and fast during these three days, I’m still recovering from this illness that I have and for sure in Phillip Island we will be stronger and able to do a race simulation.”

Day 3 – Top 10 Results