“I would be lying if I said otherwise.” Michele Masini was not afraid to be honest when he was called to comment on Marc Marquez’s debut on the Gresini Racing Ducati in the collective MotoGP tests in Valencia. In fact, the team manager of the Faenza team responded like this when asked if the objective for 2024 will be to fight for the title or at least for the top positions with the eight-time world champion.
And after what he showed today it’s even hard to blame him. Despite having completed less than 50 laps aboard the Desmosedici GP23, a bike that just 48 hours ago won the title with Pecco Bagnaia and which he will have at his disposal next season, the #93 was immediately able to align himself with the fastest, finishing with the fourth fastest time of the day after also leading the standings in some sections.
The contractual constraints still in place with Honda prevented the Cervera rider from giving his first impressions to the journalists, so Masini did so, but in turn Marc was partially tight-lipped on the subject. Even without wanting to risk violating the agreements, he gave us some nuances about how things went today.
“The day was incredible. The feeling was there, the atmosphere too. Obviously we are very tired after such a long season, but we can’t wait to start the next one. I can’t say much, but I think today the clock spoke for itself Marc,” he explained.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
“Today I think we did a great job on both sides of the garage. We weren’t able to do as many laps as we would have liked due to the bad weather conditions. But in the end we managed to get a great result,” he added.
When asked if Marc’s imprint can already be seen inside the garage, he explained: “Unfortunately I can’t say too much, but when we made this decision I was certain that it would allow us to raise the level as a team. The approach was great and gave us a brilliant start to this new chapter.”
Finally, on the possibility of fighting on equal terms against the GP24s also with the GP23, he concluded: “I can’t know this, but we must try to do the best with the package we have. We will certainly have a year’s worth of data available to study However, for us it will be crucial to arrive at the first match already at our maximum.”
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