SEPANG, Feb 5: Spaniard Dani Pedrosa of Honda led a close-fought first day in pre-season MotoGP testing at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit on Tuesday, with the three-time championship runner-up still looking for his first world crown.

Pedrosa was top of the timesheet with a fastest lap of 2:01.157, while reigning double champion Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha was down 0.008 seconds, and Honda’s star rookie Marc Marquez of was 0.044 seconds off the pace.

Italy’s nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi, who is back with Yamaha after two disappointing seasons with Ducati, briefly topped the fastest times but ended the day fourth, 0.427 seconds adrift.

The first day of the three-day test got off to a busy start with many of the riders heading straight to the track due to the risk of wet weather.

Overnight rain meant a damp track at the start of the day, but the circuit was dry enough for slicks when the green lights were illuminated, and there were no more downpours.

The second test session will be held at Sepang from February 26 to 28. The third session will be held in Jerez from March 23 to 25.

The opening round of the MotoGP world championship will be in Qatar on April 7. Malaysia will host round 15 on October 13. —AFP