It was the older generation Ducatis that dictated the law on the MotoGP collective test day held today in Jerez de la Frontera, the day after the Spanish Grand Prix. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, because there was a lot of meat in the fire in the factory team pits for only being the fourth race of the season, so it’s normal that those who had to mainly do set-up work could have benefited.
Back from a complicated weekend, former world leader Marco Bezzecchi seems to have found some good answers, because he was the one who set the best time in 1’36″574. The Mooney VR46 rider got the better of his teammate Luca Marini, preceding him by 104 thousandths.Fabio Di Giannantonio was also among the best, author of the fourth time in 1’36″963 for the colors of Gresini Racing.
Fabio Quartararo slipped into the middle of the Ducatis, who from the outside may have given the sensation of having taken a step forward compared to a complicated weekend, but at the end of the day he spoke of a music that hasn’t changed, with an M1 that continues to don’t digest the time attack, despite the fact that today he had many things to try (as demonstrated by the 88 laps completed): an aerodynamic package that doesn’t seem to have satisfied him too much, but also a frame and the double exhaust terminal that instead could deserve a re-evaluation at Le Mans.
Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
In the very first positions we also find the Aprilias of Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro, who are respectively in fifth and seventh place, separated by three and four tenths. The Noale-based manufacturer introduced a new swingarm, but also tested two different configurations of the RS-GP exhaust terminal, and the riders’ sensations seem to have been quite positive, also as regards the starting tests. Among other things, Espargaro was together with Quartararo and Jonas Folger among the riders who tested a radio communication system with Race Direction for the first time today.
Between the two Spaniards we find the world leader Pecco Bagnaia, who spent the day mainly working on the setting of his Desmosedici GP, but also tested a new fork. Solution that he found interesting, but which according to him needs a bit of work, so it could be good again for next season. On the other side of the Rosso box, however, Enea Bastianini was absent, who stopped over the weekend as he was still too sore after the injury to his right shoulder blade in Portimao.
Eighth time for another of the great protagonists of the weekend, Brad Binder. The KTM rider, who closed just under half a second, today focused on comparative tests between the standard aerodynamic package and the one brought to the race by test rider Dani Pedrosa, both as regards the lower part of the fairing that the wing on the codon. His teammate Jack Miller, 14th, was more delayed, and he didn’t disdain the idea of taking a nap between one run and another.
Dani Pedrosa, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The Honda riders are not in the top positions, because the best of the RC213Vs is only 12th with Takaaki Nakagami, but the work has been intense for the Japanese manufacturer: test rider Stefan Bradl has finally brought the eagerly awaited chassis made by Kalex to its debut , which today should have been tested by the absent Marc Marquez. The German finished 19th over 1″2, but also ran into a crash.
Joan Mir and Alex Rins (15th and 17th) also crashed, but today they had the opportunity to evaluate the aerodynamic package that Bradl had started using during the weekend. Rins also tested the frame of his Majorcan colleague. The 2020 champion would also have had an opportunity with the Kalex specimen, but it was thwarted by an electrical problem that stopped his RC213V after just one lap.
A crash without consequences also for Lorenzo Savadori, who arrived in a hurry at Jerez to ride with the RNF Racing Aprilia, left without Miguel Oliveira, who was injured yesterday. Among other things, the picture of the Portuguese has worsened: it seemed to be only a dislocation of the left shoulder, but today a small fracture of the humerus also emerged.
Repsol Honda Team RC213V, detail of Joan Mir’s bike
Photo by: German Garcia
MotoGP | Jerez test: times at the end of the day
pos | Pilot | Team | Time | Gap | Turns |
1 | Marco Bezzecchi | VR46 Racing Team | 1:36,574 | 64 | |
2 | Luca Marini | VR46 Racing Team | 1:36,678 | +0.104s | 81 |
3 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | 1:36,725 | +0.151s | 88 |
4 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Gresini Racing | 1:36,963 | +0.389s | 63 |
5 | Maverick Vinales | Aprilia | 1:36,964 | +0.390s | 94 |
6 | Francis Bagnaia | Ducati | 1:37.024 | +0.450s | 44 |
7 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1:37.060 | +0.486s | 79 |
8 | Brad Binder | KTM | 1:37.068 | +0.494s | 73 |
9 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | 1:37.089 | +0.515s | 52 |
10 | Alex Marquez | Gresini Racing | 1:37,189 | +0.615s | 77 |
11 | Raul Fernandez | RNF extension | 1:37,285 | +0.711s | 71 |
12 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda | 1:37,314 | +0.740s | 70 |
13 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | 1:37,326 | +0.752s | 60 |
14 | Jack Miller | KTM | 1:37,431 | +0.857s | 67 |
15 | Joan Mir | Repsol Honda | 1:37,516 | +0.942s | 67 |
16 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha | 1:37,543 | +0.969s | 80 |
17 | Alex Rins | LCR Honda | 1:37,722 | +1.148s | 82 |
18 | Augusto Fernandez | Tech3 | 1:37,739 | +1.165s | 69 |
19 | Stefan Bradl | Repsol Honda | 1:37,782 | +1.208s | 54 |
20 | Dani Pedrosa | KTM | 1:38,397 | +1.823s | 35 |
21 | Jonas Folger | Tech3 | 1:38,542 | +1.968s | 63 |
22 | Lorenzo Savadori | RNF extension | 1:38,558 | +1.984s | 45 |
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