World champion Marc Marquez posted the fastest time and emerged as the first rider this week to break through the two-minute barrier on day two Wednesday of the test session in Malaysia.
Repsol Honda Team's Spanish rider Marc Marquez steers his bike during the first MotoGP pre-season testing session at the Sepang circuit outside Kuala Lumpur on February 5, 2014
The Spanish Honda rider who was quickest on Tuesday, finished ahead of compatriot Dani Pedrosa, with Germany's Stefan Bradl third at the Sepang circuit.
Marquez and his teammate Pedrosa, who is seeking to capture an elusive first MotoGP world title after eight years in the premier class, were ahead of rival Yamaha pair Jorge Lorenzo and nine-time Italian world champion Valentino Rossi.
Lorenzo - a two-time MotoGP champion - lost his world crown to Marquez last year.
Marquez, who remains the one to beat, clocked one minute 59.926 seconds in hot temperatures, with Pedrosa 0.410 seconds behind.
Bradl was third, 0.413 seconds off the pace while Rossi was fourth, 0.538 seconds behind Marquez.
Spaniard Lorenzo was sixth, 0.647 seconds behind the newly crowned MotoGP champion.
Marquez, 20, became the youngest MotoGP champion at the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix in November, winning the world title in his rookie year.
"I am happy. The new rear tyre is working well. But I feel a little nervous in the first corner. We need to improve the bike performance on the first corner. We need to be safe," he said.
The Spaniard on Tuesday clocked two minutes 0.286 seconds to finish half a second ahead of Rossi.
Lorenzo complained about the performance of his rear tyres and said he had to improve his physical strength.
"I have a smooth bike in the corners but I am not happy with the tyres," he said adding that the fuel consumption of his Yamaha also needed to be improved.
The track was again hot and dry Wednesday, yielding fast times that enabled the riders to work on improving their bike's performance.
Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Marquez dominated throughout the day on the circuit, which is notoriously tricky partly due to its long straights and tight turns as well as to uncertain weather conditions.
Testing wraps up Thursday, but riders will return to Sepang for another three-day session from February 26.
They will have a further session at Phillip Island in Australia and at the Losail circuit in Qatar, before the new season officially kicks off at Losail on March 23.
Malaysia will host the championship in October.