The new MotoGP season will begin in less than a month and a half, on March 10 at the Lusail circuit in Qatar. But the MotoGP atmosphere is starting to intensify, with a Monday that saw eight riders on the track for a training session and the presentation of the Tech3 GASGAS team. All the Ducati riders rode in Portimao, with the exception of Jorge Martin. The Bolognese brand organized this session to allow its riders to regain confidence with the track, albeit with the road Panigale S, a week after the Sepang tests. Two guests also joined: Luca Marini, who obviously rode with the Honda, and Valentino Rossi who got back on the Yamaha R1. All the riders present mounted the transponder, with the exception of Marc Marquez who rode his new Panigale V4 S for the first time.
A day of MotoGP-SBK hybrid testing
In the Superbike K test in Portimao, Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi shared the Portuguese circuit, in a session organized by the Aruba.it Ducati WorldSBK team. The brothers Marc and Alex Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio di Giannantonio, Enea Bastianini, Luca Marini of Repsol Honda were present. The Marquez brothers preferred not to install the transponder on their Panigale, so their test times were not officially recorded. The choice to keep the times confidential could be a way to create a certain mystery in view of the official debut with Ducati in the MotoGP championship.
This morning the Portimao track will host another eight hours of testing, but some riders such as Luca Marini will not be present, as he will travel to Malaysia to participate in the MotoGP Shakedown, scheduled for 1 to 3 February in Sepang. On the first day of testing on Iberian soil, the fastest was the reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia with a time of 1’43″090. With the road V4, therefore, the MotoGP World champion took just three seconds from the Superbike test leader Nicolò Bulega (here are the times). Not bad for the legend Valentino Rossi, among other things the owner of the VR46 team, who went into action with the Yamaha R1 GYTR VR46 Tribute, the same one that the Iwata company gave him at the end of 2021. The Doctor recorded a total of 50 laps with a gap of 1.7 seconds from his pupil Bagnaia.
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MotoGP Portimao training: times for 29 January 2024
– Marc Marquez, Ducati, no transponder
– Alex Marquez, Ducati, senza transponder
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