World Champion Francesco Bagnaia sets the best time on his Ducati at the MotoGP test in Portimao on Saturday. Aprilia shows new aerodynamic details, Honda and Yamaha are still doing a lot of basic work – and KTM is behind.
The second MotoGP preparatory test for the 2023 season began on Saturday. The venue is the Portimao circuit in Portugal for two days. Half an hour before the end of the test, world champion Francesco Bagnaia set the fastest time. The Ducati rider was timed at 1:38.771 minutes, just a few hundredths of a second off the course record.
The weather conditions were generally good on Saturday with blue skies and a little over 20 degrees Celsius, but it was very windy at times. Once there was a red flag because a billboard had been blown onto the track. Rain is not an issue in this test.
In principle, the teams worked on the set-up in the morning. Because the track characteristics are very special, the basic set-up will have to be optimized for the first races. In the afternoon some drivers tried a simulation of the sprint race.
Yamaha tests different aerodynamic configurations
Portimao is also not said to be the best track for aerodynamic testing. Nevertheless, there were still some comparisons and new air guide elements to see, because the areas defined in the regulations per aerobody have to be homologated before the first race.
Compared to Ducati and Aprilia in particular, the impression was given that Yamaha and Honda had not yet sorted out their overall package. Basic comparative work was still to be seen in both Japanese boxes, while the rest focused on the set-up for the first race.
Yamaha experimented with different fairing parts. Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli also showed different aerodynamic configurations. For example, there were two new air deflectors on the left and right behind the front winglets.
Once again they were satisfied with the new engine. Yamaha has also made a commitment to the chassis. You drive with a similar variant as in the previous year. However, as in Sepang, it turned out that there was a lack of time on the one fast lap in qualifying.
In the final hour, Quartararo moved into the top 10. But in eighth, he was just over eight-tenths of a second down. Teammate Morbidelli covered the most kilometers of any driver on Saturday with 95 laps.
Honda compares two chassis variants
In the factory Honda team, Marc Márquez and Joan Mir had two different bikes at their disposal. One RC213V each was built with a chassis from the Sepang test. The other was a modified chassis that Stefan Bradl recently tested in Jerez.
The cladding of the pulpit also differed. One Honda was in full sponsor design and the other had the front section in black carbon. In the afternoon, Marc Márquez had a harmless slip at Turn 14.
The satellite team LCR has not yet received all the new parts. For example, at the Sepang test, Alex Rins didn’t yet have the chassis of Márquez and Mir. The latest version was not visible in the LCR box today either.
Eleventh, Rins was the best Honda rider. His deficit was almost nine tenths of a second. Mir was 14th and Marc Márquez was 19th. Bradl was also in action with the test team. The German completed 72 laps today.
Aprilia with new aerodynamic innovations
The visually most interesting motorcycle was the Aprilia RS-GP. There were some new aerodynamic parts that the team deliberately withheld from the Sepang test so the competition couldn’t copy the ideas. Two air guide elements were new, which were mounted behind the large front wing on the left and right of the front fork. In addition, in the center of the swing arm, a lateral guide element was visible that was bent downwards.
In addition, a small rear wing was mounted on the hump behind the seat. Aprilia experimented with it during test drives last year, but never used this small Formula 1 wing in a race.
Maverick Vinales crashed in the morning and was down to one bike for the rest of the day. Aleix Espargaro complained of pain in one foot after a fall. Only Espargaro drove with the new aero package in the afternoon. Otherwise, Aprilia continued the evaluation of electronics and a new engine expansion stage. The RS-GP was fast. At the end of the home straight, Aleix Espargaro was clocked at 338.5 km/h, which was a remarkable record.
Overall, Aprilia described the advances in aerodynamics and engine compared to last year as a “small” step but a “definitive” step forward. In principle, Aprilia presented itself as competitive. Vinales was third, the first Ducati pursuer. Although Raul Fernandez had a crash in the morning, he was fifth fastest in the late afternoon. His RNF teammate Miguel Oliveira was also up there in sixth place. The satellite team has no new developments.
KTM is not among the leaders
For the first time, KTM put together the complete package for all four drivers. Dani Pedrosa recently tested it in Jerez. Brad Binder and Jack Miller each had a sponsor-designed bike and one with a black carbon bodywork, with a step on the side panels.
In principle, for KTM on these two days it’s about the riders optimizing their individual set-up. Newcomer Miller wasn’t quite happy yet because he couldn’t get everything out of the bike yet.
In the GasGas team, Pol Espargaro suffered a crash at Turn 5. Rookie Augusto Fernandez has also received the new package after riding last year’s material at Sepang to get a taste of MotoGP.
For a long time, all four KTM riders were in the last places. In the last half hour, Binder and Miller improved to positions 14 and 15. The gap to the leaders was a little more than a second.
Ducati closed strong again
The day did not start as planned for the world champion team Ducati, because Enea Bastianini rolled out in turn 4 with a technical problem in the morning. But apart from that, Ducati was again very competitive.
It was interesting that the factory team and Pramac relied on two different aerodynamic configurations. Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco have opted for the new side paneling with the distinctive step. They also want to homologate these for the season.
World champions Bagnaia and Bastianini drove an Evolution from 2022, where there are the well-known guiding elements on the front underside that direct air towards the ground. Only in the afternoon was the cladding with the step screwed to Bagnaias Desmosedici.
But he set the best time with the standard fairing. Ducati was also supported by test rider Michele Pirro, who was also there with two motorcycles. In the afternoon, Pirro also went out on one of Martin’s bikes to check something.
Zarco, di Giannantonio and Bastianini fall
Zarco crashed at Turn 13 in the morning and Fabio di Giannantonio damaged his bike quite badly in a crash. It had to be completely rebuilt. In the afternoon both had a second crash. The Giannantonio had to go to the hospital for checks.
Bastianini also fell in the afternoon. But all in all, the eight Ducati riders again presented themselves very competitively. In second place, Luca Marini continued his strong test winter so far. There were six Desmosedici in the top 10.
As in the Sepang test, all drivers had a Michelin front tire with a new compound. This has the grip of a medium tire but offers the stability of a hard front tire. This tire will be used for seven or eight races.
The second and last day of testing will take place in Portimao on Sunday. It will also be the last day of testing before the start of the season at the same location on the last weekend in March. The track will also be available to the teams tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. local time.
The test times from Portimao on Saturday:
01. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) – 1:38.771 minutes (78 laps) 02. Luca Marini (VR46-Ducati) +0.234 seconds (65) 03. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +0.254 (88) 04. Alex Márquez (Gresini- Ducati) +0.565 (65) 05 Raul Fernandez (RNF-Aprilia) +0.689 (64) 06. Miguel Oliveira (RNF-Aprilia) +0.695 (75) 07. Marco Bezzecchi (VR46-Ducati) +0.837 (76) 08 .Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) +0.843 (90) 09 Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini-Ducati) +0.870 (50) 10. Jorge Martin (Pramac-Ducati) +0.872 (63) 11. Alex Rins (LCR-Honda) + 0.875 (77) 12 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.877 (60) 13 Johann Zarco (Pramac-Ducati) +0.945 (57) 14 Joan Mir (Honda) +1.005 (74) 15 Brad Binder (KTM) + 1.152 (69) 16 Jack Miller (KTM) +1.216 (58) 17 Enea Bastianini (Ducati) +1.238 (52) 18 Stefan Bradl (Honda) +1.391 (72) 19 Marc Marquez (Honda) +1.399 ( 78) 20th Michele Pirro (Ducati) +1.565 (70) 21st Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha) +1.643 (95) 22nd Pol Espargaro (GasGas) +1.736 (64) 23rd Takaaki Nakagami (LCR-Honda) +1.871 ( 74) August 24th Fernandez (GasGas) +2,000 (72)