[roadracingworld.com] - MotoGP: Bagnaia Quickest On Day One Of Qatar Test

[Ninjette Newsbot]

MotoGP World Champion Francesco Bagnaia left it late in the day to put Ducati’s latest technical innovations to the test, but when he did, he was fastest on Day One […]

The post MotoGP: Bagnaia Quickest On Day One Of Qatar Test appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.



MotoGP World Champion Francesco Bagnaia left it late in the day to put Ducati’s latest technical innovations to the test, but when he did, he was fastest on Day One of the final pre-season test.

Bagnaia turned a 1:52.040 on the 36th lap of the 51 he put in at Lusail International Circuit, where MotoGP teams are testing before they return for the 2024 season-opening race. Bagnaia’s time was well under the race record of 1:52.978, set last year by factory Ducati rider and teammate Enea Bastianini, but shy of the outright best lap of 1:51.762 set by Luca Marini in qualifying last year.

Last year’s bitter title rival Jorge Martin was again Bagnaia’s closest challenger. Martin did 58 laps with a best of 1:52.260 on his Prima Pramac Ducati, just ahead of Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, whose 1:52.332 edged factory KTM rider Brad Binder by 0.004 seconds.

MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta continued his steady progression, finishing the test 15th, 0.898 seconds off of Bagnaia’s time. The American-based Trackhouse Racing team continued to come to terms with their new satellite Aprilia RS-GP machines, a 2024-spec for Miguel Oliveira and a 2023-spec for Raul Fernandez. Fernandez will race the 2023 bike until a second factory specification machine is available for him.

Jorge Martin (89) continued his pursuit of Francesco Bagnaia, turning the second-fastest lap on Day One of the final MotoGP pre-season test.Moto2 World Champion Pedro Acosta (31) continued his adaptation to his Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 MotoGP machine, finishing less than nine-tenths of a second off the best time on Day One of the test at Qatar.Trackhouse Racing’s Miguel Oliveira (88) struggled on the first day at Qatar, finishing 21st.Trackhouse Racing’s Raul Fernandez (25) was 12th quickest on his 2023 Aprilia RS-GP at Qatar.Session for QA1 MotoGP FP1
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