After being quickest at the last practice in Sepang, two-time defending champion Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) again recorded the fastest lap time at the Qatar test that has just been completed. Factory Ducati teammate Enea Bastianini was 2nd quickest.
Aprilia has emerged as a challenger to Ducati with Aleix Espargaro, Raul Fernandez and Maverick Vinales taking three of the top six spots at the test. KTM and GASGAS also looked strong, but Yamaha and Honda continue to struggle with Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) the quickest of the Japanese team riders in 14th. The opening round of the 2024 MotoGP championship is coming up at the same Lusail circuit in Qatar beginning with the Sprint race on Saturday, March 9.
You can see full results of the final day of practice here.
I have to admire loyalty that Fabs has toward Yamaha. Yamaha is the designer of many wonderful engines. Fabs did set high top speed on day one. The engine seems to have power.
I saw an interview with Casey Stoner who, like me, feels that the non-engine and chassis elements of MotoGP have gone too far. And that the racers can’t race against each other properly. Look no further than the lap times of the entire pack for clues. No group of guys are that close that often. The bikes do that. One insight he had that I found interesting is that not all the riders are training on dirt track. He said that Bagnaia does train extensively on dirt track which gives him his edge.
I hear that sentiment sometimes, that the riders can’t “race” each other but it doesn’t square with the fact that the racing has been unquestionably closer and more competitive than at any time in the history of the sport. When everyone is closely matched, of course it’s going to be hard to pass.
Everyone is running the same electronic nanny package. The European manufacturers seem to be doing a bit better job of tailoring their bikes to those packages. But the riders all get the same benefits and suffer the same limitations.
Casey Stoner’s answer to poor front grip on some corners was to slide the rear tire in those corners to improve his front grip. Riders don’t do that sort of thing anymore because the nannies won’t let them.
The riders aren’t as closely matched as you might think. The bikes are. The manufacturers are stuck with aero packages and smooth power deliveries to keep the nannies on as short a leash as possible. Winning is about giving the rider the control of his bike. It would be interesting to see the logs of nannies as they intervene from one manufacturer to the next. Perhaps the Europeans look at them very closely while the Japanese do not for instance. They might tell some interesting stories.
I suppose the fans really like the close racing. For me it’s just watching the corpse of road racing rot in new and interesting ways.
I can’t see Fabio staying at Yamaha beyond his current contract, a bit like Marc Marquez with Honda he’s given them plenty of time to deliver and may be just mentally checked out by now. I hope Yamaha can turn it around but it may be too little too late for Fabio
Pecco is very cool.
Somehow I wish MM93 to be the one.