Marc Márquez takes a step forward and finishes fourth despite crashing
MADRID, 20 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) swept this Tuesday on the second day of the MotoGP preseason test in Qatar, in which he became the first rider in history to go under 1:51 at the Losail International Circuit , and has sent a strong message to his rivals for the championship.
The current world champion, who already dominated the first day on the Asian track, clocked an extraordinary 1:50.952, the first lap under 1:51 ever recorded on two wheels in Losail, to top the time table ahead. of his teammate and compatriot Enea Bastianini (Ducati) and the Spanish Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia), who remained in the ‘Top 3’ three tenths behind ‘Pecco’.
Meanwhile, the eight-time champion Marc Márquez (Ducati) improved his performance compared to Monday and also placed fourth, three tenths behind the two-time world champion, all despite suffering his first fall as a Gresini rider with just over 20 minutes remaining. of the session.
Up to six Borgo Panigale motorcycles were placed in the ‘Top’, with three Aprilias and a KTM also among the best in the desert. Raúl Fernández and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) confirmed, together with Aleix, the good feelings of the Noale factory, called to be the great rival of Ducati in 2024; The Madrid native was fifth, while the Catalan finished in sixth position.
The runner-up in the world, Jorge Martín (Ducati), fell from second place on Monday to seventh, just ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio and the only KTM in the top ten, that of South African Brad Binder, and Marco Bezzecchi finished tenth.
For his part, Alex Márquez (Ducati) concluded the test in thirteenth place; Rookie Pedro Acosta (KTM) took 15th position and Alex Rins (Yamaha) was sixteenth.
In Honda, the two motorcycles of Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami surpassed the official Repsol Honda duo, the one formed by Joan Mir and Luca Marini, nineteenth and twentieth, respectively; Both had health problems in Qatar, although the Spaniard was able to reduce his 2023 qualifying lap by 1.1 seconds.
In this way, the preseason concludes and everything is seen for sentencing. The action will begin on March 10 with Sunday’s race of the Qatar Grand Prix, which will kick off the 2024 World Championship.
2024-02-20 19:39:13
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