Marini led the timesheets after three days of testing at the Sepang circuit ending today. He was 1/10th of a second from breaking the lap record. Of course, Marini was aboard a Ducati representing Valentino’s VR46 Racing Team.
Indeed, the Ducatis appear as solid as ever atop the pecking order of prototype machines contesting the MotoGP championship. With 7 Ducati riders finishing the test in the top 10 lap times, we might be poised for a repeat of the second half of the championship series in 2022, where Ducatis largely competed with each other for podiums and wins.
Interestingly, another Italian manufacturer now looks like a primary competitor for Ducati. Aprilia took the 3rd and 6th positions in combined lap times with factory riders Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró. The Aprilias looked fast, consistent and competitive throughout the test. This includes the new Aprilia satellite RNF Team riders, including rookie Raul Fernandez and former KTM Factory rider Miguel Oliveira.
Yamaha is still on the back foot with Fabio Quartararo finishing with the 17th quickest time and openly complaining that his single lap qualifying speed is a “disaster.” Qualifying will be more important than ever with two race grids forming each weekend, including for the new sprint race on Saturday.
Multi-time champ Marc Marquez (Honda) finished with the 10th quickest lap time … just slower than his younger brother Alex, who is now on a Ducati.
Take a look here for combined times for the three-day practice at Sepang. The next, and final pre-season test will be held at Portimao beginning on March 10. The first race is also at Portimao on March 26.
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