MotoGP ended on Friday in Jerez, where the riders took to the track for the first two test sessions of the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix. The fastest was Pecco Bagnaia, who overtook Vinales and M. Marquez in the final. All the Ducatisti in the Top10, except Morbidelli who is twelfth, while Acosta is still the only KTM rider to gain direct access to Q2. Laboratory motorcycle, very different on an aerodynamic level, for Bradl.
MotoGP morning free practice in Jerez ended with a nice one-two for the Gresini teamthanks to the Marquez brothers riding the Desmosedici GP23s. Alex had the best time in FP1who at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto clocked a good 1’36”630 and He trails his brother Marc by half a second, second. In this session the #73 also managed to come very close to the absolute record of the Spanish track, the 1’36″160 set by Bagnaia in the 2022 qualifying sessions. Third time for Vinales followed by his teammate Espargaro: very close to each other, the two Aprilia riders finished six tenths behind the youngest of the Marquez brothers. Encouraging start for Bezzecchi and especially Morbidelli, both in a very virtual second row. But these are only the first free runs.
Looking at the testers, good start for Pedrosa, seventh and capable of reaching 300 km/h at the speed trap in the first free practice sessionswhile Savadori and Bradl finished the first round at the back, ahead of only Marini. The three test drivers, wild cards, brought some innovations to the track which the official drivers will then be able to test on Monday during the official tests.
The bike with the most innovations is certainly Bradl’s. Honda’s German test rider took to the track in Jerez with a heavily evolved RC213V under each area. The front aerodynamic package has undergone a major restyling with in particular larger and more elaborately designed sidepods, while the bellies focus on greater downwashing. The tail, more hollowed out on the upper sides, and its wing have also been updated. The new rear wing is much higher than the one currently in use, still remaining biplane. They can also be seen from the side an additional exhaust air intake from the radiator in the lower part of the side fairing, to improve the efficiency of the radiator, while the chassis appears to have only had detail updates. The exhaust and the air intake on the fairing remain unchanged, a sign of an overall unchanged engine.
In official testing in the afternoon, the fastest in Jerez was Francesco Bagnaia at the end of a session characterized by numerous falls. Fortunately, all without consequences for the pilots. Bagnaia did the best time in 1’36”025, beating the previous record by almost a tenth and a half, which already belonged to him. During the session, the #1 worked a lot with the Soft on the rear, to evaluate its validity for Sunday’s race.
Second half for Maverick Vinaleswhich pays a tenth to the reigning World Champion but thanks to an excellent fourth sector, two tenths better than anyone else. Third time and virtual front row for Marc Marquez who pays less than a tenth and a half, below the previous record, but suffers tremendously in the fourth sector unlike Vinales.
From a competition perspective, Bagnaia and Vinales ran similar times on used tyres albeit with two different options: Soft for Pecco and Medium for BatMav. Martin also did well with used tyreshowever working with Medium unlike its brand partner.
Very positive day in Jerez for Marco Bezzecchi, revived thanks to the fourth time in the MotoGP Tests although more than three tenths behind brand and training partner Bagnaia. For #72 it’s still one a performance worth its weight in gold given the difficulties in interpreting the GP23 in the first three GPs of the season. They positioned themselves behind him Martin and Acosta. Aleix Espargaro and Enea Bastianini also remain under half a second behind, seventh and eighth respectively, while Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez close the Top10 and grab the last places valid for direct access to Q2. 11th Binder, who crashed in turn 7 three minutes from the end while he was looking for the record time to grab the direct passage to Q2. The South African from KTM will have to go through Q1 and will find himself in good company: with him, above all, Morbidelli, his teammate Miller and Pedrosa.
