Ducati emerged from the three-day MotoGP winter test in Sepang (Malaysia) with three daily best times. After Pramac driver Jorge Martin on Tuesday, it was the factory drivers Enea Bastianini and Francesco Bagnaia who led the classification on Wednesday and Thursday. In the overall ranking of the Sepang test, which almost completely coincides with the result of the final day, there are four Ducati riders in the first four positions.
The fastest overall was world champion “Pecco” Bagnaia with his amazing time of 1:56.682 minutes on Thursday. Martin, Bastianini and Gresini driver Alex Marquez also broke the 1:57 mark on the final day. In terms of lap times, Ducati has increased significantly compared to the Sepang race weekend in November 2023. But this also applies to the other four manufacturers.
In the Ducati camp, the factory team and the Pramac team are relying on the brand new Desmosedici GP24 this year. The innovations compared to the GP23 concern the engine on the one hand, the aerodynamics on the other and specifically the fairing.
Bagnaia and Bastianini were mostly positive about both areas – engine and fairing – this week, but Martin still had doubts about the fairing on Wednesday. These doubts have now almost been dispelled for him.
Bagnaia: Braking phase the greatest progress compared to 2023
World champion Bagnaia made it clear after his best test time: “Sure, I’m happy. But I’m someone for whom consistency is more important than a fast lap during test drives. The conditions were perfect, but it was simply a test.”
Nevertheless: Compared to the Sepang test exactly a year ago, “I have a very good feeling this time,” says Bagnaia. The penultimate winter test in 2024 did not go completely smoothly for the two-time and reigning MotoGP champion. “On my long run I had a problem with the motorcycle. That meant I lost some speed. But I still completed the long run,” he says, without going into details.
As an overall conclusion after the three days of testing in Malaysia, Bagnaia sees himself and the Ducati factory team “at 80 percent. That means we are traveling to Qatar in good shape.” When asked which aspect of the Ducati GP24 he sees as the greatest improvement compared to the GP23, the defending champion answers: “The braking phase. We have improved significantly there.”
On the to-do list for the upcoming Qatar test, Bagnaia and the team now have “evaluating different mappings for the engine’s power development.” Both the final winter test and the season opener will take place in Qatar at the Lusail International Circuit.
Martin: Ducati gave him an ultimatum for the aero decision
Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin also achieved a daily best time in the three-day test this week, in his case on Tuesday. On Thursday he also moved into the 1:56 range and says: “It was a nice feeling to see a 1:56 on the dashboard, no question.”
“But the most important thing,” Martin continued, “was to understand which aero package we will use in the 2024 season. In this regard, we finally understood today that the 2024 aero has a little more potential. It generates more downforce. And if you know how to use that downforce, it can help you go faster.”
After making direct comparisons between the 2024 and 2023 specifications again on the final day because he used both bikes on the track, Martin concludes: “Yesterday I still had doubts, but it’s probably just a question getting used to it. It takes a slightly different driving style.”
“Because the new motorcycle is a bit more stable and helps me to ride faster, we will compete with it,” Martin now says and reveals: “They gave me an ultimatum. Today was the day on which I decided “It was really important that I had such a good feeling today. Otherwise I would probably have chosen the old costume.”
In this context, Martin explains: “Today we tried a different set-up, not my basic set-up. We wanted to find out whether we could use it to make the new fairing work. I have to say that I feel a bit more comfortable today than on the old motorcycle. Now we just have to decide whether we should continue on this path or go back to my basic setup.”
In summary, the reigning vice world champion said after the 2024 Sepang test: “Overall, I feel a little better prepared now than I did a year ago. That was our main goal for this test here and we achieved it.”
Bastianini: New aero of the GP24 must be verified in Qatar
Enea Bastianini also did well in the Sepang test. “Pecco” Bagnaia’s teammate in the Ducati factory team achieved his only win of the season in 2023 on the circuit in Malaysia. Now, three months later, “Bestia” has the test with a daily best time (Wednesday) and with P3 in the combined timesheets for all three days completed.
“Those were three good days for me. In terms of lap time, I improved compared to last year,” says Bastianini. He admits: “When we arrived here, I wouldn’t have thought a 1:56 time was possible. But we did it. That’s certainly good.”
Does Bastianini feel ready not only for the qualifyings but also for the races of the 2024 season? “Yes, we are ready, but,” he says and adds: “We still want to test a few other solutions in Qatar. It will also be important there to see how the motorcycle performs on a route with different characteristics [als Sepang] behaves.”
“For now I think the new aerodynamics are an improvement, but we still have to verify that,” said Bastianini about the 2024 fairing. Apart from that, he sees “there is still a little room for improvement in the area of engine braking” with the GP24. But I have to say that it has already gotten better than last year.
Michele Pirro was the fourth Ducati rider with a GP24 alongside Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin in action this week. The official Ducati test rider stepped in for Franco Morbidelli in the Pramac team because the Ducati newcomer is currently not allowed to ride due to his crash in Portimao (with a Ducati Panigale). Morbidelli therefore has to miss the upcoming Qatar test.