Two days after the last Grand Prix of the season which saw the coronation of Francesco Bagnaia, MotoGP returned to Valencia on Tuesday, in its 2024 version. The official tests allowed the teams to start breaking in their machines. Although we should not draw a definitive judgment, certain trends have already emerged, starting with the level of Marc Marquez, who rode his Ducati Gresini for the first time, after eleven years spent with Honda.
The Spaniard was discovering his machine and he was perfectly at ease. After two hours, he was already the best Ducati rider on the track, second in the time rankings behind Maverick Vinales (Aprilia). At 5 p.m., when the session concluded, he was still in 4th place. The Spaniard clocked 1’29”424, just 17 hundredths behind Vinales, who remained leader after 86 laps.
Bagnaia 11e, Zarco 17e
However, the times are not the determining criterion for a day of testing. As the Championship resumes on March 8 in Qatar, the teams are testing new parts, refining aerodynamics and gauging their new engine. This was the case for LCR Honda, Johann Zarco’s new team, which has just left Ducati Pramac. The Frenchman ranked 17th (at 1”030), a result to be put into perspective since a fall in the afternoon disrupted his program.
Fabio Quartararo set the 12th time (at 0”769), while his new teammate at Yamaha, Alex Rins, finished with the 19th mark (at 1”311). Francesco Bagnaia, the reigning world champion, finished 11th (at 0”717). For his first with a MotoGP in his hands, Pedro Acosta, the Moto2 world champion, showed potential (18th at 1”223) on his KTM-GasGas-Tech3. Behind Vinales, Brad Binder (KTM) and Marco Bezzecchi (VR46) took 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
