Until now, Marc Marquez had two road Hondas in his garage, a CBR 600RR and a CBR 1000RR. The latter is very similar to the bike with which the HRC team races in the Superbike world championship. However, with the move to the Gresini team, the rider from Cervera now has a 240HP Ducati Panigale V4R, which he will debut with in a few days on the Portimao track.
From January 27th to 30th, the Kawasaki Superike team has rented the Algarve track to organize a private test in which most of the championship teams will take part, with Honda and Ducati among others. Furthermore, on Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 January, Ducati will extend the tests to its MotoGP riders, including Pecco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, Franco Morbidelli and Enea Bastianini, together with the teams of the other satellite teams who want to take part in the tests. Among these Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez, together with his brother Marc.
The only objective of these two days of testing with series-derived bikes is to prepare physically and recover the feeling of speed in view of the start of the season. The difference between the MotoGP prototype and the Panigale is so large that it just helps to regain confidence. However, riding on the track, even with a “road” motorcycle, is always a good workout.
Last weekend, some Ducati riders such as tester Michele Pirro and Superbike riders Nicolò Bulega and Andrea Iannone (who is back in action after a four-year disqualification) have already lapped in Portimao. Bastianini was supposed to be there too, but at the last minute he decided not to go. Also on track was Miguel Oliveira, who rode with the Aprilia RSV4 Factory and other riders from different championships.
During the testing days, which were organized by Promoracing, an Italian events and testing company, some drivers published photos on their social channels. There, in the background, you could see the two Gresini blue Ducati Panigale V4s, one with Alex Marquez's number 73 and the other without a number, waiting for Marc to attach his 93 to it and take to the track on the 29th. and January 30th.
Ducati, which will bring staff and logistics to the Algarve, is thus offering its riders the opportunity to shake off some of the winter rust. Furthermore, with the current regulation which has revised the concessions, the Honda and Yamaha regular riders will be able to ride from 1st to 3rd February in Sepang for the shakedown, before they all arrive on the Malaysian track for the official pre-season tests of 2024 These will be held from 6 to 8 February and all the riders from the MotoGP grid will be present.
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