That’s a wrap for the annual MotoGP™ Jerez Test, and ending the day quickest is Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) as the Italian’s 1:36.405 was enough to pip Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) to top honours. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) was third on his GP24, and there were more headlines made as Yamaha roll out their highly-anticipated, fresh-looking YZR-M1.
Here’s a full rundown of what’s been seen in Jerez, factory by factory.
DUCATI LENOVO TEAM
Visibly, there wasn’t too much to report from the Bologna camp. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was trying some different geometry settings, which is normal for test days. With 43 laps under his belt, Pecco clocked by far the least laps – 17 fewer than the next lowest, Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing). Signs of confidence, perhaps? You’d lean towards thinking that given the #1 was P4 and under two tenths away from P1.
Enea Bastianini ended the day in P9, with ‘The Beast’ completing 65 laps in Jerez. There wasn’t much to go off on Bastianini’s side of the garage too, as Ducati worked quietly and away from the spotlight.
Quiet isn’t a word that can be used to describe Jorge Martin’s day. After crashing from the lead on Sunday, one of the #89’s GP24 suffered an issue during the Test. That forced Martin to miss over an hour of action and then towards the end of the day, the Spaniard crashed at Turn 9. He was all OK, but it wasn’t a smooth day at the office. Nevertheless, 71 laps were completed and Martin finished in P10. Better fortunes will be hoped for when the Championship leader lands in Le Mans.
Teammate Morbidelli was busy working on ergonomics as the Italian took part in his first Ducati test since Valencia last year. Unsurprisingly, Morbidelli lapped 82 times as he notched up some crucial Ducati mileage that will now stand him in better stead for the rest of the season. And Morbidelli was quick. P3 signals a job well done.
PERTAMINA ENDURO VR46 RACING TEAM
After Marco Bezzecchi’s Spanish GP P3 and Di Giannantonio topping the Jerez Test timesheets, things are looking much more promising for the riders in the yellow corner.
New parts aren’t going to be landing in the laps of the GP23 riders, so testing is all about trying new settings and playing around to see if gains can be made. P1 for Diggia and P13 for Bezzecchi is how VR46 head home from the Test.
GRESINI RACING MotoGP™
Marc Marquez has 71 more laps of Ducati knowledge under his belt as Sunday’s P2 finisher claimed P5 on Monday, with the eight-time World Champion leaving Jerez a happy rider after the few days he’s had in Andalucia.
The same can be said for Alex Marquez. The #73 clocked an aesthetically pleasing 73 laps while in Test mode, and a P8 to go with it suggests a positive day was had for the two-time World Champion.
APRILIA RACING
Having been given the run-out during the Spanish GP by test rider Savadori, Aleix Espargaro tested the Noale factory’s new ride-height device. On the other side of the box, Maverick Viñales was trying Aprilia’s halfway-house rear tail unit – it has the diffuser like what Espargaro uses, but the top surface of it is rounded like the ’23-spec tail unit that Viñales prefers. It’s a mix of both that Viñales and Espargaro gave a go.
A late time attack – and 80 laps later – saw Viñales propel himself into P2, with Espargaro sitting P7 after a 66-lap stint in Jerez.
TRACKHOUSE RACING
As expected, Raul Fernandez got his leg over Aprilia’s 2024 RS-GP for the first time. The Spaniard’s best time was set on his usual ’23-spec though, a lap that placed him P12 overall.
Following a promising Sunday outing in Jerez, Miguel Oliveira completed 74 laps and ended the Jerez Test in P15. The Portuguese star, like Viñales and Espargaro, was testing Aprilia’s hybrid rear tail unit.
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
One of the notable topics to talk about when it comes to the KTM stable is the updated side fairing aero. Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta at Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 were spotted giving it a go, with the former ending the Test fastest of the Pierer Mobility Group full-time quartet. The South African claimed P6, 0.2s away from the summit following a very late personal best lap.
Jack Miller finished the day in P17 having completed 73 laps, with the Australian admitting that they didn’t fully find a solution to KTM’s chatter/vibration issues. More work to be done in that department for the Austrian factory ahead of Le Mans.
It was good to have Pol Espargaro back on track too as the KTM test rider put in a 68-lap shift for the Austrian marque. The #44 finished P19 on the timesheets as we get set to welcome him to the grid for a wildcard appearance at the Italian GP.
RED BULL GASGAS TECH3
It was an important day for Augusto Fernandez as the Spaniard hunts for a more comfortable base set up on his GASGAS machine. The #37 was P22 at the end of play, but testing is more than setting a quick time. It’s about testing new parts and settings, and Fernandez was seen sporting KTM’s new front fender. A crash in the closing 15 minutes at Turn 7 for Fernandez wasn’t what the doctor ordered, but aside from that, hopefully it was a good day’s work.
On the other side of the box, Acosta finished the Jerez Test in P11, just under half a second shy of Diggia’s fastest time. As well as the aforementioned fairing, Acosta spent a bit of time lapping with the different air intake that we saw Daniel Pedrosa using during the Spanish GP. Between the GASGAS duo, 140 laps were completed. Valuable.
Needless to say, plenty of attention was pinned on the Japanese factory. Yamaha unveiled a sizeable aero update for Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins to put through its paces, which consisted of a triple-element front wing in a similar style to what they have now. New aero on the side fairing was also seen, and as Team Manager Maio Meregalli mentioned in the midday live, a new chassis was part of the plan too.
Rins ended the Test in P14, his best lap coming at the end of his 73-lap outing, with Quartararo notching up 84 laps and finishing in P18. Speaking to motogp.com after the Test, Rins admitted he didn’t feel the new chassis was a step forward as Yamaha’s turning issues remain. Not ideal.
IDEMITSU/CASTROL HONDA LCR
Equally under the attention spotlight were Honda. After witnessing the changes on Stefan Bradl’s RC213V over the Spanish GP, it was the turn of Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda LCR) and Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) to give the new bike a go. The latter only did a handful of laps on the updated spec version in the afternoon before he was back to work on his standard machine.
Nakagami ended the Test as the quickest HRC rider in P16, 0.9s away from Diggia’s pace. While that looks a tad more positive, Nakagami admitted to motogp.com that the new bike “didn’t change much”. Not what Honda wanted to hear.
Zarco was P20 and claimed the accolade of completing the most laps of any rider – 88.
REPSOL HONDA TEAM
Having tried the updated RC213V in a private test in Barcelona prior to the Spanish GP, Joan Mir and Luca Marini focused on other things in the Jerez Test. The latter was busy testing one of the new chassis that Bradl was testing, but Marini was using it with Honda’s standard aero – not the new one. The Italian also changed back to Honda’s lower profile rear wing they were using at the beginning of pre-season testing.
Mir had two standard spec Hondas on his side of the garage and between the factory duo, 134 laps were fulfilled. Mir said they tried a “different concept” of bike, now we’ll see if that’s the direction they’ll take.
So that’s it from Jerez for another year! A phenomenal Grand Prix weekend followed by an intriguing Official Test sets us up very nicely for a trip to another all-time classic venue: Le Mans. See you there!
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