The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Francesco Bagnaia of the Ducati Lenovo Team took the top spot on the first day of the 2024 Qatar MotoGP Test at the Lusail International Circuit yesterday registering a time of 1:52.040.
Close behind was Jorge Martin of Prima Pramac Racing, trailing by just 0.220 seconds, while Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro secured the third position, keeping up with the pace set by the leading GP24s.
The opening day at Lusail International Circuit took a while to get going, with less-than-ideal desert conditions hampering proceedings. Wind played a significant role while it also took some time to put rubber down on a freshly resurfaced track, however, once the sun began to set, we saw a flurry of time attacks come in. Bagnaia led the charge though he still has a ways to go if he wants to reach 1:51:762; Luca Marini’s all time lap record set during QP at the 2023 Qatar GP.
Ducati’s momentum from Sepang seems unabated, with a focused testing regime centered on refining the new engine and evaluating different fairings and exhaust setups. Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) both left it late until they went out on the full-spec 2024 machine, and found immediate improvements in their one lap pace.
Fabio Di Giannantonio’s (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) hugely encouraging pre-season continues as he took P5 to help back up his Sepang performance, while Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) finds himself outside the top 10 once again in P11. At Gresini Racing, Alex Marquez claimed seventh on the timesheets with Marc Marquez in P16. The eight-time World Champion recorded 58 laps yesterday, meaning he has now clocked over 280 laps aboard the Desmosedici without crashing.
Aprilia showcased their new 2024 livery and demonstrated their competitive potential, with Maverick Viñales initially leading the pack before ending the day in sixth. The team’s performance, particularly Aleix Espargaro’s third place, indicates a strong start to their 2024 campaign.
There’s plenty of encouragement on the timesheets for the RC16s with Binder taking third, while Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) both in the 1:52s, while the latter spun the most laps of anyone with 73. Augusto Fernandez’ (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) pre-season frustrations have continued though, with the 2022 Moto2 World Champion placing P20 while also suffering a crash in addition to some technical issues earlier in the day.
There are plenty of reasons to smile for Honda fans, as it seems they have found several improvements to the RC213V which have made an early impact. Johann Zarco (Castrol LCR Honda) is their top rider in P9, but he did his time attack on the new aero and wings they brought to Qatar. Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) requested improved downforce and the team have responded quickly. It also seems the Japanese brand have settled on their new engine while all four riders used the new, internally constructed swingarm.
Having claimed an opening day top 10, today will be an intense day according to Fabio Quartararo as the Yamaha star looks to find a way to make the M1 smoother and improve their grip on time attacks. That is the major issue facing the Iwata factory, and the 2021 World Champion believes they still have a lot of work to do to achieve that next step.