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It is very early in the season to make predictions on a winner but one thing was clear this weekend, Jorge Lorenzo has his game face on this year and has developed as a rider with Ducati over the past season.
Always a contender for the podium Lorenzo has gotten used to the Ducati and is starting to show that same consistency he had with Yamaha over the years.
We have him as a serious contender for the 2018 title. The last time we saw him as focussed and looking as comfortable was in an pre-season interview we had with him in 2015 at a Yamaha event in Dubai. As we all know he went on to the win the title that year and 2018 may just see him rise to that platform again.
But, let's be sure of something here. This is racing and this is MotoGP, the pinnacle of the sport. No one is going to make it easy for him, not even his own team mate, Andrea Dovizioso. After an impressive 2017 season Dovizioso is also hunting down that title for Ducati and will fight hard to get it.
And let's not lose sight of the Honda's and Yamaha's. Defending champion Marx Marquez and team mate Dani Pedrosa are also showing impressive form. Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi may have lost some of their form last year due to bike issues but 2018 could change that. Whilst they both noted some issues with grip on the final day they ended Sepang showing more confidence in the bike and happier overall.
Those are just the top teams. Let's see how KTM's, Aprilia's, and Suzuki's get on this year. With such small differences in lap times it's winding up to be an incredible season of racing.
Now the waiting begins for the next test. MotoGP field will be back on track from 16th to 18th February in the second official test session of 2018, for the first time in Thailand, at the Buriram circuit. Let's see how things change there and who is showing championship winning form.