Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa continued where he left of at Sepang earlier this month by setting the pace on the opening day of the second test at the Malaysian venue. The Spaniard posted a time of 2:01.580 before the rain fell, putting him 0.235 seconds clear Jorge Lorenzo and a further tenth ahead of team-mate Marc Marquez.

With extremely overcast skies greeting the riders at the gates of the Sepang International Circuit this morning, it was only a matter of time before the rain arrived. Prior to this, Pedrosa and Lorenzo sparked another battle for the top spot, with the latter ultimately coming off second best to his compatriot and chief 2012 title rival.

A little further back, Stefan Bradl was the final man to break the 2:02.000 barrier on his LCR Honda, while Valentino Rossi continued his encouraging Yamaha return by finishing the day within half a second of Pedrosa. Britain's Cal Crutchlow wound up sixth after a quiet run on the Tech 3 Yamaha, edging out Gresini's Alvaro Bautista.

Ducati pairing Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden struggled for pace in eighth and ninth respectively, clocking times over a second slower than Pedrosa. British Moto2 graduate Bradley Smith rounded out the top ten on the second Tech 3 machine.