The lack of grip on the Barcelona asphalt is behind us for the MotoGP protagonists and, once they return to more normal conditions, the Ducatis are also back to making their voices heard at Misano. The Desmosedici GPs monopolized the top four positions in the inaugural free practice session of the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix, but the curious thing is that the fastest was Michele Pirro.
To tell the truth, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer’s test rider, who sports the Aruba.it colours, had the opportunity to lap on the Romagna track a couple of weeks ago to prepare for the GP, so this morning he took advantage of the experience gained to be the He was the only one capable of breaking the 1’32” barrier with his 1’31″909, but also using the soft tire on the rear. Among other things, he brought new aerodynamics to the debut: it is an evolution of the concept with the step that had been used by Prima Pramac Racing in the first part of the season.
Behind Pirro, Luca Marini hoisted himself up freshly from his contract renewal with Mooney VR46, who closed 115 thousandths from the top, but showed a decidedly interesting pace. Third and fourth position for Pecco Bagnaia’s two pursuers in the world rankings, namely Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi, who finished 157 and 181 thousandths respectively from the top. Unfortunately, the Rimini native is still sore in his left hand, the one hit in the crash at the start of Barcelona.
Speaking instead of the World Championship leader, who returned to the saddle just 5 days after the terrible accident in Barcelona, his approach was very cautious. Pecco put together 18 laps, constantly lowering his times, but paying more attention to evaluating his conditions than looking for performance. In the end he finished 20th, trailing by just under seven tenths, but he tried not to take too many risks because his right leg hurts quite a bit when he has to negotiate right-hand corners.
Even if Misano is not the most suitable track for the RS-GPs, the Aprilias didn’t fare too badly either. Raul Fernandez surprised everyone in fifth position with the RNF Racing bike, while the two official bikes of Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro finished in seventh and ninth position with a gap of three and four tenths.
However, many eyes were on Dani Pedrosa and the KTM. The Spanish veteran is on his second wild card of the season and he, like Pirro, had the opportunity to prepare for the GP two weeks ago. But the most important news was under the fairings of his RC16, because he mounts a carbon frame, as also admitted by team manager Francesco Guidotti, who spoke of “unconventional” materials.
In the top 10 there is also room for the other two Ducatis of Johann Zarco and Alex Marquez, eighth and tenth, while Brad Binder’s official KTM had to settle for 11th place, just under half a second away. Once again, Franco Morbidelli managed to take the prize as the best Japanese motorcycle rider, even though he only finished 12th with his Yamaha.
However, he fares better than teammate Fabio Quartararo, 15th, and the entire Honda contingent, which is led by test driver Stefan Bradl behind him. If we want to look at the glass half full, at least his bike is the basis of the 2024 version that the two official riders will test in Monday’s test. It is notable for the box present under the tail and for a different aerodynamics in the lower part of the fairing. But more generally, it seems like a longer and lower bike than the current RC213V, therefore more in line with the current trend.
Remaining at Honda, it was yet another session of suffering for Marc Marquez, who finds himself 20th at seven tenths, while Joan Mir finds himself 22nd at 1″3. Also behind Augusto Fernandez, who is the only to have had a crash in this round, fortunately without consequences, at turn 14.
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