Cycle News Staff | February 8, 2024
Day Three
Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia claimed the bragging rights on the final day of the Sepang Test, and in some style too, obliterating the outright lap record. The reigning World Champion fired in a 1:56.682 during a blistering opening hour of action to better 2023 rival Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), as last year’s gripping rivalry was renewed early in 2024.
Bagnaia blasted his way to P1 on the final day at Sepang.
Having finished fastest yesterday, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) was forced to settle for third but once again proved he’s back to his best – something his team boss, Davide Tardozzi, also wanted to stress. Fourth and the final rider to have broken new ground by posting a 1:56.938 was Gresini Racing’s Alex Marquez.
Ducati Lenovo, Prima Pramac, Pertamina Enduro VR46 & Gresini
There were yet more reasons to smile down at Ducati with their three 2024 machines occupying the top three places, and six of their seven full-time riders sitting in the top eight.
Marc Marquez threw some soft rubber at his Gresini Racing machine on Thursday and he closed out the test within touching distance of the top spots. A 1:57.270 sees the #93 just over half a second behind Bagnaia, but Marquez was still concentrating on “laps, laps, laps” to get to know the bike.
Sixth for Marc Marquez was a good sign of things to come.
Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team’s Fabio Di Giannantonio was eighth over one lap, but his pace was nothing short of phenomenal. Nine riders did Sprint simulations today and Diggia was the fastest of the lot, ahead of Bastianini and Martin. In terms of the simulations, fifth of the nine Ducati riders, and only a couple of seconds away, came Marc Marquez.
Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi has had some struggles in Sepang. A third crash in three days wasn’t ideal as he was just unable to improve on his lap from yesterday and, as a result, finished 15th on the combined standings.
Aprilia & Trackhouse Racing
There were headlines made off-track on Thursday morning with a new signing for the Trackhouse Racing squad – and it’s a familiar face as Davide Brivio returns to the paddock to take the reigns at the American team.
Still, it was another day of two halves for Aprilia. On one side, Aleix Espargaro hailed it “the best test” he’s ever had with the Noale factory, and you can understand why. The #41 claimed the final spot inside the top after punching in a 1:57.091, and his pace wasn’t bad either. He was fourth of the Sprint simulations and only a second away from 2023’s Sprint King, Martin.
Oliveira wasn’t happy with the rear grip of the RS-GP24.
Meanwhile on the other side, after complaining of a lack of rear grip yesterday, no many in-roads were made today. Maverick Viñales closed out the three days in 12th and is looking for more, whilst Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) was 18th. Still, there are two days left in Qatar.
Red Bull KTM & Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
Another day were all of the headlines coming out of the Austrian camp and down to the remarkable efforts of Pedro Acosta. Although Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished ahead of him on the combined standings, Acosta closed the gap down to just 0.058 seconds to the orange army’s star man.
Miller was over a second off the pace but that didn’t seem to worry the Aussie after a mammoth amount of aero testing work in Malaysia.
The rookie’s Sprint simulation is also worthy of a mention. Faster over 9 laps than Bagnaia and less than a second adrift of the incredibly experienced Marc Marquez and Aleix Espargaro. A reminder: today was just day seven on a MotoGP™ machine.
Aussie Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) rounds out the three days 1.1 seconds adrift of top spot in 14th, whilst there’s work to do for Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) who finished 21st and over two seconds behind.
Repsol Honda & CASTROL/IDEMITSU Honda LCR
Repsol Honda’s Joan Mir closed out the Sepang Test inside the top ten after going under the pole position lap from last year – positive signs for the Japanese factory. But despite Mir’s 1.1 second improvement over one lap, he wanted to stress the need for further work over a longer distance. Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) fired in a 1:57.765 to end 13th, ahead of Johann Zarco and Luca Marini in 17th and 19th, but Marini was also confident of more to come in the Qatar Test.
It didn’t look good on paper for Marini but there’s still the Qatar test to come.
Monster Energy Yamaha
There are clear signs of progress at Yamaha too, but one search remains: that of one-lap pace. It’s something already mentioned on Day 2 and the mission continued, and will continue in Qatar.
The race pace is good on the Yamaha but one lap pace is missing.
On the timesheets, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) was 11th, hoping for a further step next time out in Qatar, and Alex Rins was 16th and 1.1 seconds away from Bagnaia’s record-breaking lap.
2024 Sepang MotoGP Test Results—Day Three
| 1 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
Ducati Lenovo |
1m 56.682s |
| 2 |
Jorge Martin |
Pramac Ducati |
+0.172s |
| 3 |
Enea Bastianini |
Ducati Lenovo |
+0.233s |
| 4 |
Alex Marquez |
Gresini Ducati |
+0.256s |
| 5 |
Aleix Espargaro |
Aprilia Racing |
+0.409s |
| 6 |
Marc Marquez |
Gresini Ducati |
+0.588s |
| 7 |
Brad Binder |
Red Bull KTM |
+0.625s |
| 8 |
Fabio Di Giannantonio |
VR46 Ducati |
+0.661s |
| 9 |
Pedro Acosta |
Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 |
+0.683s |
| 10 |
Joan Mir |
Repsol Honda |
+0.692s |
Day Two
Ducati Lenovo Team’s Enea Bastianini produced late brilliance on Day 2 of the Sepang Test, claiming top spot thanks to a new, albeit unofficial, outright lap record. Five riders all bettered 2023 Champion Pecco Bagnaia’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) pole position lap from late last year, with The Beast firing in a historic 1:57.134 to once again prove his pace in Malaysia.
Bastianini smashed the lap record to go fastest on Day Two at Sepang.
Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin had to settle for second in the end after leading the pack for the vast majority of the day. The Spaniard finished 0.139 seconds adrift of 2023 Malaysian Grand Prix winner Bastianini. KTM and Aprilia were hot on the heels of the Ducati duo too, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completing the top three ahead of Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing).
After an under-the-radar opening day in Sepang, 2023 World Champion Bagnaia also joined the party, claiming the final spot inside the top five with a 1:57.469, leaving him just over three tenths behind his teammate.
Ducati Lenovo, Prima Pramac, Pertamina Enduro VR46 & Gresini
Bastianini, Martin and Bagnaia all put themselves under the lap record on Wednesday, with all three doing their laps with the Bologna factory’s much-improved new engine. The bulk of their work was focused on aerodynamics, however, with a united consensus yet to be reached. Michele Pirro was also back out subbing for Franco Morbidelli.
Alex Marquez went seventh on the Gresini Ducati.
A late tumble for Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) couldn’t dampen what was otherwise another positive day for The Doctor’s squad. The #72 rounded out Day 2 in ninth place, and ahead of one name he had his eye on, whilst Fabio Di Giannantonio continued to impress. The Italian was one of the riders on top form in the second half of 2023, and he’s carried that momentum into 2024 despite the team switch.
Nobody did more laps than Gresini Racing’s Marc Marquez as he looked to make up for some lost time yesterday after a couple of small issues. The eight-time World Champion clocked 72 laps in total, 10 of which were an impressive Tissot Sprint simulation alongside his teammate. The #93 was just over 2 seconds quicker than the Sprint-winning time in 2023. But Alex Marquez on the #73 was a further two seconds quicker again…
Red Bull KTM & Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
Binder led the charge on Wednesday, but superstar rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) found yet another step forward, posting a 1:57.726 – a lap good enough for the middle of the second row of the grid in 2023. Big smiles for his side of the box! It was a tougher day on the other side, however, with Augusto Fernandez frustrated at his lack of progress after a couple of issues lost him some time. Steps forward, he reported, but not fast enough yet.
More aero changes were in stall for Binder and the KTM hordes.
On the orange side, Jack Miller joined Binder in working their way through KTM’s various aerodynamic upgrades. The Australian finished 15th as the two take up the workload first refined by test riders Dani Pedrosa and Pol Espargaro in the Shakedown.
Aprilia & Trackhouse Racing
There were some contrasting emotions in the factory Aprilia box with Aleix Espargaro taking that impressive fourth, whilst Maverick Viñales was struggling with rear grip and, as a result, didn’t push for a time attack. But he reported the aim, regardless, is to be fast all year, not just one lap. The Spaniard was 18th today, one place and one tenth ahead of a similarly frustrated Miguel Oliveira. Trackhouse Racing’s Oliveira, still, said Espargaro’s fast lap was good to see for the whole squad as each work on their own programs.
Espargaro put in a flyer to take fourth.
The trio also lapped together in the midday sun, ostensibly to check out the effect of the slipstream and potentially to put the machine through its paces in the heat, something that was tricky for the factory at times in 2023. Lorenzo Savadori, meanwhile, is the replacement for Raul Fernandez at Trackhouse for the rest of this test as Fernandez recovers from a crash on Day 1, with nothing broken but precaution the name of the game.
Repsol Honda & CASTROL/IDEMITSU Honda LCR
Repsol Honda’s Luca Marini and Idemitsu LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami put together the longest runs of anyone on Wednesday: 13 consecutive laps apiece. 10 of Marini’s laps were in the 1:59s, compared to only two 1:59s between all four Honda riders in last year’s Sprint and Grand Prix.
Mir and the new Honda are gelling well by the looks of it.
Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) was also able to put in a headline laptime, taking the final spot in top ten. The 2020 World Champion was six tenths quicker than his Q1 performance last year, but reiterated that a lot of work is still to be done. Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR), meanwhile, was another tenth and a half off Mir – but he’s been the Honda rider most praising the leap already made.
Monster Energy Yamaha
Electronics was the key focus for Yamaha, but Fabio Quartararo was left wanting a little more. The Frenchman managed to improve on his best lap from last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix but he was still three quarters of a second adrift of top spot. He said they’re still suffering a lack of pace during time attacks, something they’ll continue working on. The 2021 World Champion could only manage 11th today, with his new teammate Alex Rins a quarter of a second further back in 13th. But on the speed trap, there was a big ray of light for the Iwata marque as Quartararo was the outright quickest.
Same old story for Quartararo and the Yamaha.
2024 Sepang MotoGP Test Results—Day Two
| 1 |
Enea Bastianini |
Ducati Lenovo |
1m 57.134s |
| 2 |
Jorge Martin |
Prima Pramac Ducati |
+0.139s |
| 3 |
Brad Binder |
Red Bull KTM |
+0.193s |
| 4 |
Aleix Espargaro |
Aprilia Racing |
+0.312s |
| 5 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
Ducati Lenovo |
+0.335s |
| 6 |
Fabio Di Giannantonio |
VR46 Ducati |
+0.485s |
| 7 |
Alex Marquez |
Gresini Ducati |
+0.538s |
| 8 |
Pedro Acosta |
Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 |
+0.592s |
| 9 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
VR46 Ducati |
+0.733s |
| 10 |
Joan Mir |
Repsol Honda |
+0.738s |
Day One
Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin seemed out to lay down a marker on Day 1 of official MotoGP track action at the Sepang Test, and that he did. The Spaniard fired in an impressive 1:57.951 after only two hours of running on Tuesday morning, which is only half a second adrift of the fastest-ever lap of Sepang. It remained untouched for the remainder of the day.
In hot pursuit came another headline-maker of late: Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Pedro Acosta. The rookie all-but matched his best lap from the Shakedown to take second overall, continuing to impress. Only 0.008 of a second behind Acosta comes 2021 Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) in third, finishing the first day of the test only two tenths adrift of his best lap from the 2023 Malaysian Grand Prix – promising early signs as the Japanese factory look to make leaps forward in 2024.
Martin is determined to go one better in 2024 and started out with P1 on Day One at Sepang.
It was a tougher day for two riders likely to be key title rivals in 2024: reigning World Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™). Pecco crashed out at Turn 11 on his very first lap of the day, whilst Marquez had to contend with some small technical issues. The #1 ended up 16th and the #93 found a late lap to finish ninth. Still, it’s Day 1 and their focus remains far from time attacks thus far…
Ducati Lenovo, Prima Pramac, Pertamina Enduro VR46 & Gresini
Seven of Ducati’s eight full-time riders hit the track on Tuesday as Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) continues his recovery from a training crash at Portimao, sitting it out until the first race weekend of the year as a precaution. He was replaced by Michele Pirro.
Bagnaia finished a lowly 16th on day one.
Ducati occupied seven places in the top ten on a positive opening day for the Bologna factory. For Martin, Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), work continued on their 2024 engine, which received rave reviews at the Valencia Test in late November. No sign for the moment of the wildly new aerodynamics package that Gigi Dall’Igna teased at their Official Launch, however, only the updated side fairings seen at the Shakedown.
Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing’s Fabio Di Giannatonio closed out the opening day in fourth, with now-teammate Marco Bezzecchi in eighth despite a late crash at Turn 4 with half an hour left on the clock. Gresini Racing’s Alex Marquez was just over half a second adrift in seventh. They’re all focused on adapting to the new-to-them 2023 machine.
Red Bull KTM & Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
As Acosta continued to grab headlines at the sharp end of the timesheets, both Brad Binder and Jack Miller went to work for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing squad, after Dani Pedrosa reportedly did a first run through to wean out the best new parts at the Shakedown. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was also out on track for the first time in 2024.
This kid is hot to trot right now. Acosta went second the GasGas RC16.
Nobody did more laps on Tuesday than Miller, who totaled a dizzying 69. The Austrian factory focused their attentions on electronics and a new exhaust system, as well as some aerodynamic and engine updates as they look to close that gap to Ducati – a smaller task than anyone else as of the end of 2023.
Aprilia & Trackhouse Racing
After not bringing much outwardly new to the Valencia Test, the Noale squad have been busy over the winter with new aero, engine, swingarms and chassis all on show on Tuesday. Maverick Viñales was fastest of the lot with a 1:58.470 to leave himself sixth on Day 1, with Aleix Espargaro P13 and Trackhouse Racing’s Miguel Oliveira in P15.
Vinales was ecstatic with the new Aprilia RS-GP.
Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) only managed 21 laps in the end after a highside in the opening 15 minutes of the day. He did get back out on track but then headed for further checks at local hospital.
Monster Energy Yamaha
It’s still learning time for Rins on his new Yamaha. The Spaniard finished 11th.
We saw a few updates from Yamaha at the Shakedown, and they will be pleased to see Quartararo sitting third on the timesheets and new recruit Alex Rins just outside the top ten in 11th after Day 1 of the Sepang Test proper. The Iwata factory’s main focus on the opening day was aero, as well as fine-tuning their new and improved engine. There was also a new tail unit in use, and the marque had Cal Crutchlow joining test duty once again.
Repsol Honda & CASTROL/IDEMITSU Honda LCR
Zarco was happy with the performance gain of the RC213V.
There was a lot going on down at HRC on Tuesday. Brand new swingarms, aero, engines and chassis are just the start of a totally revamped RC213V. And the early signs are positive with Johann Zarco (CSATROL Honda LCR) claiming the final spot inside the top ten on the timesheets. For a completely new bike – with Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) confirming they’d not even brought the 2023 machine to Malaysia – that’s a positive first day. Mir was P14, new teammate Luca Marini P17 and Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) P20.
2024 Sepang MotoGP Test Results—Day One
| 1 |
Jorge Martin |
Prima Pramac Ducati |
1:57.951s |
| 2 |
Pedro Acosta |
Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 |
+0.269s |
| 3 |
Fabio Quartararo |
Monster Yamaha |
+0.277s |
| 4 |
Fabio Di Giannantonio |
VR46 Ducati |
+0.374s |
| 5 |
Enea Bastianini |
Ducati Lenovo |
+0.406s |
| 6 |
Maverick Viñales |
Aprilia Racing |
+0.519s |
| 7 |
Alex Marquez |
Gresini Ducati |
+0.591s |
| 8 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
VR46 Ducati |
+0.654s |
| 9 |
Marc Marquez |
Gresini Ducati |
+0.670s |
| 10 |
Johann Zarco |
LCR Honda |
+0.719s |
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