After the long trip to Malaysia, which involved all the MotoGP manufacturers for a long time, with three days of Shakedown and the same number of collective tests, the teams of the premier class are preparing to restart their engines in Qatar for the last two days of tests of the Pre -Championship.
Two sessions on the Lusail circuit which will have great value, not only because everyone will have to decide on the final packages in view of the start of the season, but also because the Qatari circuit will host the inaugural round, so we can start to make a idea of the possible values on the field in the first race of the year, scheduled for the weekend of March 10th.
After the great show of strength shown in Malaysia, all eyes will obviously be on Ducati. The Desmosedici GP24 seems to have started perhaps even better than expected, because Pecco Bagnaia lowered the Sepang record by eight tenths, but Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini were in his wake.
It is clear that a confirmation on a circuit that has very different characteristics would be of great value for the men in red, among whom the newcomer to Prima Pramac Racing, Franco Morbidelli, will still be absent. The Italian rider must still be rested after the head injury suffered in Portimao while training on a road Panigale V4. The goal for him is to recover for the first weekend of the year.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
At Ducati, however, Marc Marquez will certainly also be a special observer, as for the moment he is struggling more than one would have thought to get to grips with the GP23. The eight-time world champion, however, shouldn't worry too much, because the same could also apply to Marco Bezzecchi, who shone last year on the GP22. Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio, however, are more comfortable, ready to start again from where he took his first victory in MotoGP last November.
In Malaysia, the first “intruder” among the Ducati patrol was Aleix Espargaro, with an Aprilia that amazed with the innovation of the F1-style diffuser introduced under the tail of the RS-GP24 which was officially presented yesterday. The Noale bike has shown some positive signs with the Granollers rider, while Maverick Vinales and Miguel Oliveira, who will have factory material on the Trackhouse Racing bike this year, probably need a little more time to adapt.
The good news for Aprilia is that Raul Fernandez will also be seen again in Qatar, forced to stop after just one day in Malaysia due to the blows he suffered in a bad highside. The Spaniard will start the season with the 2023 specification of the RS-GP, but a move to the 2024 specification is expected for him during the ongoing championship.
Moving on to KTM, in the first tests we saw a lot of new material, including a new wing mounted on the front mudguard, and Brad Binder managed to find his way into the top positions more often than not. However, it will be especially curious to see if Pedro Acosta will also confirm on another track the good things he showed in Sepang, always placing inside the top 10 and finishing with a time lower than last year's pole. If he is also fast in Lusail, then he will be ready to impress straight away.
Pedro Acosta, Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
At the rear of the group there are always the Japanese manufacturers, who will once again have to try to weigh their progress. At Honda there seems to be enough optimism, because Joan Mir took about 1.2 seconds off the time he set in qualifying in 2023 and even Johann Zarco spoke with great positivity after the presentation of the beautiful Castrol livery of his RC213V. The team manager himself Alberto Puig has made no secret that he hopes to be able to start fighting for the podium after the summer break, also taking advantage of the developments possible thanks to concessions – something that the ever cautious Luca Marini also hopes for.
Yamaha will also try to exploit the concessions, which unlike all the competition will also be able to count on only two riders this season. If nothing else, however, these are two big names like Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins. The 2024 M1 has given encouraging signs regarding the engine, because there is no longer a big gap in terms of top speed, but according to “El Diablo” there is now a need to find a way to get the extra power, rediscovering what was one of the strong points of Iwata's bike.
The teams will have the track at their disposal for seven hours, from 2pm to 9pm local time (from 12pm to 7pm in Italy), both today and tomorrow, and Motorsport.com will obviously provide you with all the updates and comments from the protagonists, as well as show you the most interesting technical innovations.
Luca Marini, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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