The MotoGP Sepang Shakedown is a test aimed at the less interesting riders. Think of it as the kind of test that Ralf Schumacher would attend whilst his brother Michael stayed at home planning his next winter sports adventure holiday.
The Shakedown gives us fans the first taste of MotoGP this year in a watered down, bland manner. But given that there’s sod all else to entertain us we at MGPNews have given you a breakdown of every rider attending the test and what to expect should you be bored enough to be bothered.
The test can be broken down into four main categories of riders:
- Test riders
- Rookies
- Riders on rubbish bikes
- Rookies on rubbish bikes
Test Riders
Michele Pirro (Ducati)
Dishevelled Michele was legally owned by Ducati in 2007 claiming all parental rights. Since then he’s been kept in a cage and only allowed out by his masters to test their bike. It’s estimated that poor Pirro has done the equivalent testing miles for Ducati to ride to the moon and back whilst calling off at TRAPPIST-1 on the way home.
Dani Pedrosa (KTM)
KTM’s sub-atomic test rider has helped transform the Austrian team into the semi-success they are today. It’s just a shame Dani didn’t also pitch in with some of the accountancy tasks too. Expect Pedrosa to be very fast whilst giving KTM the valuable feedback on how to improve the bike – all of which will be ignored as they can’t afford to change anything.
Pol Espargaro (KTM)
Pol will be out to prove his credentials as a top test rider given he’s likely to be made redundant in a few weeks.
Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia)
No idea who or what this is.
Andrea Dovizioso (Yamaha)
Probably the most intriguing test rider at the shakedown. All eyes will be on the Italian to see if he will be testing the famed Yamaha V4…or if it was all a cunning lie to get Quartararararo to re-sign his career away.
Augusto Fernandez (Yamaha)
Probably won’t be given a bike as a cost cutting measure. No great loss.
Aleix Espargaro (Honda)
The most inexperienced experienced MotoGP rider finally hung up his race helmet at the end of last season and switched to being a Honda test rider to pass on his years of experience of doing inexperienced stuff. Will probably be in for a shock.
Takaaki Nakagami (Honda)
Not even the evil Honda could just ditch Token Nakagami after his many seasons service of sub-standard results. Instead HRC have given Nakagami, who amassed zero wins and zero podiums in MotoGP throughout his long and drawn-out career, a plum testing roll where his questionable race-skills are no longer needed.
Rookies
Fermin Aldeguer (Ducati)
Having a sensational end of season in 2023 Aldeguer was snapped up by Ducati to ride for them in 2025. The Italian firm’s lawyers then spent most of 2024 trying to wriggle out of the contract…but ultimately failed.
This means Fermin, whose name sounds like a chemical turf enhancer, has somehow landed himself a sought-after Ducati ride and therefore is favourite for top rookie.
Ai Ogura (Aprilia)
The Moto2 champion, who still receives death threats from Joe Roberts, steps up to the premier class in a completely unknown capacity. Will he be brilliant? Will he be awful? No one’s quite sure – but it’s more than likely somewhere forgettable between. However Ai, who now uses Deepseek, will be an interesting one to watch in the test…comparatively speaking.
Rubbish bikes (i.e Japanese)
Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
Quartararo will be as eager as any rider to try out the all new 2025 Yamaha. Hopefully someone with a camera will capture his ‘crushed-soul’ expression when he returns to the pits realising Yamaha have just given him last year’s bike…which was the same bike as the one in 2023.
Alex Rins (Yamaha)
Chances are he’ll miss the test due to an injury picked up in the airport involving the luggage carousel.
Jack Miller (Yamaha)
Expect to see the smooth-brained Australian opting for longer runs to help understand the correct methodology to use up all his rear tyre’s grip in the first half of a race. Will probably concentrate on falling off on the second day.
Miguel Oliveira (Yamaha)
Miguel the Random Number Generator (MRNG) will be teaching the frustrated Yamaha engineers the skill of throwing dice to determine his feedback.
Luca Marini (Honda)
‘Intelligent’ Luca will no doubt be giving plenty of feedback to his engineers in how to push the Honda project forward. Sadly all this will be ignored as Zarco will be continuously 1.5 seconds faster than him.
Joan Mir (Honda)
Gravel hermit Mir will be straight to work understanding the best way to fall off HRC’s latest steaming heap. The COVID-champion will undoubtably take time to understand the best bones to break that will take the longest to heal ensuring he spends the least amount of time having to race on his way to retiring at the end of the season.
Johann Zarco (Honda)
All the top woks at HRC will be keen to follow Johann’s direction given the way he comfortably outperformed the other Honda riders. However because of the general laughingstock state of the RC213V expect little gains.
Rookies on rubbish bikes
Somkiat Chantra (Honda)
Poor Chantra’s not very good. And to make matters worse he’s a rookie saddled unceremoniously to the worst bike on the grid. The odds on Somkiat winning the title are now so long that a successful five euro bet on him would land you with enough cash to buy a social media platform and a modest space exploration programme. Expect very little…and still to be disappointed.
