Ducati lived up to their role as favorites at the MotoGP test in Sepang (Malaysia). Seven of the eight Ducati riders made it into the top 9. The two Ducati factory riders took positions two and four.
World Champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia was 0.080 seconds behind, just missing the fastest time set by brand colleague Luca Marini (VR46). Teammate Enea Bastianini was 0.260 seconds behind.
“I’m very happy and proud of the work done,” said Bagnaia, who looked very relieved. The 2023 Ducati has already reached the level of the fully developed 2022 Ducati. “I drove incredibly fast with used tires. The hunt for the times also went very well,” says Bagnaia happily.
“I’m pretty happy with the result because it was the first time I drove under 1:58 minutes here on this track,” says Bagnaia, who is convinced that Ducati will start the 2023 MotoGP season as a favorite. “I think so. We already had a good base because last year’s bike was very competitive,” notes the Italian.
Last year Ducati found itself in trouble when the new bike didn’t start the season as well as last year’s machine. The Italians do not want to repeat this mistake. Therefore, the changes from the 2022 Desmosedici to the 2023 version were comparatively small.
Ducati has already found important answers with the 2023 machine
There are, however, subtle differences between the two bikes. “Compared to the GP22, we’re still missing something in terms of handling, because the bike tends to get a bit nervous on corner exit. But we’ve already been able to improve that,” says Bagnaia happily.
“At the end of the test we were on the same level as with the 2022 machine. I’m very happy about it and can be relaxed now. I was a bit afraid that we wouldn’t be at the same level,” admits the Ducati factory pilot .
Bagnaia drove the number 1 test for the first time. “That was something I didn’t think about. It was more important to me to finish the test happy. It was great that we fixed the problems so well and in such a short time could”, he praises the work of the engineers.
Francesco Bagnaia is counting on Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi
The sprint races are new compared to last year. Bagnaia could not drive a simulation. Brand colleague Marini, who set the best time, delivered a convincing sprint race simulation.
“The two VR46 riders will be strong because they have a very competitive bike. They have the best bike of the past season,” notes Bagnaia. “It will be difficult for us, just like last year with Enea. They will certainly fight for the top 5 in every race.”
Bagnaia can still leave Sepang with peace of mind. The Portimao test is only about a few details and further comparison tests. “We will also have a 2022 machine available. But I think that in Portimao we will concentrate fully on the 2023 version,” said the defending champion.
Enea Bastianini experienced the most busy test of his career
Fourth place Enea Bastianini also made a very strong impression. The newcomer to the works team experienced busy days in Sepang. “I’m happy with these three days. We worked very hard. I’ve never worked that much before,” he admits.
“At the beginning it was difficult for me to attack with the new bike. But by the end we were able to fix a lot of problems. I worked very well with Pecco. My comments were very similar to his comments,” said Bastianini happily.
Last year Bastianini rode the 2021 Ducati. With the 2022 model, he only worked on the tests. “The new bike is quite different. You have to understand the advantages. I managed that in the afternoon. Now it’s very close to the old model,” he says.
“It has strengths in direction changes and on the brakes. The feel on corner entry, that’s actually my strength, but it wasn’t perfect yet. But we still have a test in Portimao. I expect that we’ll get new parts to make the bike better to understand,” explains Bastianini.
“We had reached the limit with the old motorcycle. We still have to understand this motorcycle properly. At the moment we have understood it maybe 70 or 75 percent,” reports the newcomer to the Ducati factory team.
Ducati wants to provide solutions to the open problems in Portimao
The Ducati engineers still have just under four weeks until the final pre-season test in Portimao. But the defending champions can be very satisfied with the result of the Sepang test. “Some things went well, others didn’t. That’s normal during the first test here in Sepang. We’re satisfied with the general performance of the Ducati pilots,” sums up team director Davide Tardozzi.
“Pecco has told us that the 2023 bike has some strengths. However, there is one major weakness compared to the 2022 version that we still need to work on. We don’t have much time. He would like to see this weakness in Portimao is fixed. We have to deliver what the world champion wants,” said Tardozzi. “Enea made the exact same comments,” notes the Ducati team director.