MotoGP: Marc Marquez fastest during opening Sepang test

World champion Marc Marquez finished ahead of his rivals during the first MotoGP pre-season test at Sepang.

The Spaniard, 20, posted a fastest lap of one minute 59.533 seconds on his Repsol Honda - 0.194 quicker than six-time champion Valentino Rossi, with two-time winner Jorge Lorenzo in third.

England's Bradley Smith was 11th on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and compatriot Cal Crutchlow was 12th on his Ducati.

The second Sepang test will take place later in February.

Marquez became the youngest MotoGP champion at the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix in November, winning the world title in his rookie year.

His test time in session three on Thursday beat the previous best mark of 1:59.607, set by former world champion Casey Stoner on the Honda prototype, in 2012.

Official Test Sepang - Session 3

1. Marc Marquez (Spa) Repsol Honda 1:59.533

2. Valentino Rossi (Ita) Yamaha +0.194

3. Jorge Lorenzo (Spa) Yamaha +0.333

4. Aleix Espargaro (Spa) NGM Mobile Forward Racing +0.465

5. Stefan Bradl (Ger) LCR Honda +0.579

6. Dani Pedrosa (Spa) Repsol Honda +0.690

7. Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Ducati +0.837

8. Pol Espargaro (Spa) Tech 3 Yamaha +1.122

9. Andrea Iannone (Ita) Pramac Ducati +1.192

10. Alvaro Bautista (Spa) Honda Gresini +1.255