What we learnt from the final motogp pre-season test!
The MotoGP season is upon us and with the first round less than two weeks away, it’s time to take a look at what we’ve learnt from the final pre-season test in Portimão.
Image via MotoGP.com
Ducati are the clear favourites going into 2023.
Unsurprisingly, the reigning champions are going into the 2023 season as the title favourites. With eight bikes on the grid and positive noise coming from all riders, it’s looking to be a successful season for the Italian factory.
Ducati’s top man does remain to be Francesco Bagnaia as he finished both days on top. Bagnaia made the whole test look rather easy with fast pace for normal outings, sprint simulations and time attacks. He also managed to obliterate the all-time lap record with relative ease.
Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini made a significant step on Sunday after a tough day on Saturday with technical problems and a small crash. He finished the day on Sunday in P6, only 0.405s off Bagnaia’s lap time.
There was a lot of positive news coming from the satellite Ducati teams as well with VR46 riders, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi finishing Sunday 4th and 5th respectively. The Pramac Ducati men also showed themselves with Jorge Martin having a stellar race run and Johann Zarco was much more in the mix as he finished Sunday in P3.
The Gresini Ducati team had a test of two halves with Fabio Di Giannantonio suffering a crash on Saturday that declared him unfit for the remainder of the test. Diggia’s teammate Alex Marquez was the talk of the paddock after looking strong throughout the test and noticeably happier with how things have been going for him this pre-season after a tough three years with Honda.
There’s a light at the end of the tunnel for Yamaha.
For the most part of the pre-season, 2021 World Champion Fabio Quartararo has been extremely frustrated with the 2023 Yamaha package. It seemed they’d been able to find the horsepower that was their biggest woe in 2022 but their soft tyre pace was nowhere to be seen.
During Saturday’s testing these issues remained prominent in the Monster Energy Yamaha garage but during the final hours of Sunday’s action, a step backwards helped Quartararo claim P3 on the timesheets. Using the 2021 set-up with the 2023 bike seems to be the solution for Yamaha’s problems and Quartararo was able to be among the best with his sprint simulation times.
Image via MotoGP.com
Image via MotoGP.com
Aprilia look as though they could pose a real threat.
Despite Aprilia’s Captain, Aleix Espargaro, crashing on Saturday resulting in a hurt ankle and suffering a great deal with arm pump throughout the weekend, there was a lot of positive noise radiating from the Noale factory.
Maverick Vinales was a constant threat at the front and was very happy with how things have gone during his pre-season. The RNF Aprillia duo Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez also remained happy with their test with Fernandez claiming that riding the Aprillia made him the happiest he’s been since stepping off his Moto2 bike in 2021.
The results for Aprilia probably don’t reflect where they will be in 2023 and it would not be a surprise to see the Noale quartet fighting at the front on a consistent basis.
Things are beginning to click for KTM.
Image via MotoGP.com
KTM had a less than successful Sepang Test last month so the aim for the Portimão Test was to put the pieces together to find that pathway to success. Nothing new was brought to the table and the sole focus was on the riders making what they had work.
It looks like things have started to work out just in time for the Austrian factory with Brad Binder finishing the test in P9 and teammate Jack Miller finishing in P17. Jack Miller seemed fairly upbeat with his test as he felt they were really starting to get there with the package.
There’s still a lot of work to do over at Honda.
Image via @HRC_MotoGP on Twitter
Similarly, to Yamaha, the Portimão Test was the last chance for Honda to turn up with something that they can use to get back to fighting for World Championships. The timesheets don’t exactly suggest that Honda are getting back to their former glory with Joan Mir in P13 as top Honda and Marc Marquez following closely behind in P14.
Marquez did say that this weekend had been the happiest he’s felt all pre-season and commented on the fact that him and teammate Joan Mir are pulling in the same direction. The sprint simulation done by Marquez did go well which does suggest that while Honda still has a lot of work to do, they’re not a million miles away.
Another hint that it’s not all doom and gloom in the Honda garages is that all four riders were within a second of the all-time lap record.
