Image: Supplied.

Spaniard Dani Pedrosa wrapped up this week’s MotoGP test at Chang International Circuit atop the time-sheets, confirming Honda’s pace by following in the wheel-tracks of Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda).

It was Crutchlow who led the way on day one, Marquez on day two and Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa on day three to make it three days in a row on top for Honda at the official Thailand test.

Pedrosa is quickest overall with a 1m29.781s, with Marquez P3 on combined times at 1m29.969s and Crutchlow fourth, just outside the 1m29s. Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3) was second overall, just 0.086s off Pedrosa.

Marquez suffered a small crash on day three, but the six-time champion nevertheless pounded through another huge workload of laps. One innovation spotted on Sunday was a carbon swingarm, which was also used in Sepang and Valencia, but the biggest headline for the Japanese factory was the incredible pace. It bodes well ahead of the season-opener, with Honda bidding to retain both the riders and constructors titles.

The interloper in the Honda party at the top was Zarco, who looked set to go fastest until right at the end. The Frenchman broke the 1m30s barrier on day three twice, with his fastest effort a 1m29.867s before he called it a day some time before the end of the test. Zarco, who will be using the 2016 chassis on his Tech3 machine this year, did 47 laps and was top Yamaha.

Fellow sophomore Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) made it a clean sweep of impressive performances on Sunday, as the Spaniard ended the test in fifth overall. Teammate Andrea Iannone also ended the test positive, but a little further down in 15th overall, finding it hard to unlock better pace on new tyres. The Hamamatsu factory brought a number of things to the test, including a previous aero fairing and two iterations of a new aero fairing, as well as chassis updates.

Australia’s Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) was once again a star attraction and finished the test in P6 overall, only 0.007s off Rins ahead of him. The Ducati newcomer has settled in incredibly quickly on the GP17 and teammate Danilo Petrucci on the GP18 and Ducati test duty made it both Alma Pramac Racing machines in the top 10 as he slotted into P9 on combined time-sheets.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was finished early on day three, with the track having proven more useful than expected during the hotter parts of the day and the Italian getting through the program. He finished the Thai test seventh on combined times after trying three aero fairings and comparing chassis updates. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo was P16 on combined times after a more difficult test than his domination of Sepang with a record lap, comparing the GP18 and GP17 on the final day in Thailand.

Movistar Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales ended Thailand in eighth overall, with a lap set on Saturday when the Spaniard said the afternoon had seen them take a big step forward. But on Sunday, teammate Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was quicker, P10 compared to Vinales’ 12th place on the day three time-sheets. Rossi’s Sunday best was a 1m30.511s and The Doctor set it on lap 69 of 70, but was 12th overall.

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was a big headline at the conclusion of the Thai test. The Japanese rookie put in a 1m30.456s and took a stunning 10th overall, moving forward throughout the sessions and keeping himself top debutant. But Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) surged forward on the chase, moving up to 13th overall and just two-tenths off. His teammate Tom Luthi improved on Sunday too, having missed the available tracktime at the end of 2017 and did a 1m31.354s.

Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was the next rookie up and the Malaysian got another 47 laps under his belt in his first-ever MotoGP test. Just 0.183 off Luthi, it was another impressive move forward for the first ever Malaysian in the premier class. Tito Rabat (Reale Avinta Racing) took P11 overall as he was another who is settling into life on a Ducati well, just ahead of Rossi and Morbidelli. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was 14th and top Noale factory machine.

Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and KTM test rider Mika Kallio also made progress with their pace on Sunday, but with so much to test, time attacks weren’t high on the agenda. One headline-grabber for the Austrian factory on the final day was a new aero fairing and Smith fulfilled the target of getting into the 1m30s bracket with a 1m30.921s.

Although the Thailand test is now over, three more days of testing remain, with Losail International Circuit in Qatar the next host from 1 March.

Detailed results