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2024 Sepang MotoGP Test Preview: What All Five Factories Have To Work On In Malaysia
By
David Emmett | Mon, 05/02/2024 - 16:51
This year's official IRTA MotoGP test at Sepang feels a little different. That is in no small part down to the new system of concessions, which gives Honda and Yamaha more freedom to test. As manufacturers in Rank D (having scored less than 35% of the total points on offer in 2023) Yamaha's and Honda's contracted riders have already been on track at the shakedown test, the three-day test traditionally reserved for the test riders to make sure everything is working for when the factory riders arrive. And as rookies are also allowed to test, Pedro Acosta has also already spent three days on track.
The shakedown test has had more attention paid to it than ever before. That is hardly a surprise, given that it featured the 2020 and 2021 world champions on track, as well as the most highly anticipated rookie since Marc Marquez. Instead of just an appetizer ahead of the main IRTA test course, the shakedown test has almost risen to the level of full test in its own right.
With aerodynamics, there is something for everyone. The changes are immediately obvious, and rarely subtle. The limited surface area offered by a motorcycle fairing means you need wings, strakes, pods, plates, and airfoils large enough to be visible even to a relative ingenue of the sport. That in itself increases interest.
Warming up