Francesco Bagnaia ended up being fastest from his VR46 stablemate Franco Morbidelli in the one-day MotoGP Misano Test, with Enea Bastianini in third.
The annual Misano MotoGP Official Test has concluded, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) bagging top honours at the end of proceedings, with the Italian entering the 1:30 bracket. It was a red-hot pace on a crucial day for some manufacturers, as the #1 set an encouraging 1:30.619 to finish ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), who rounded out the top three spots. After an interesting day, check out the full rundown of everything that happened in Misano, starting with Ducati!
Ducati Lenovo Team, Prima Pramac Racing, Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team & Gresini Racing
Although Ducati continues to reign supreme, there is no rest of the Italian factory as Bagnaia worked hard throughout the day, with some new parts to try as they rolled out a new chassis for Pecco to try. On the other side of the box, Bastianini completed a great day in third. However, there were no major new parts for the #23, who will leave the factory at the end of the season. There were very few changes to see at Pramac, with Morbidelli completing over 40 laps in the afternoon session, taking a late second place. Meanwhile, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), wouldn’t have much to try, ending the test in a rock-solid P6.
There weren’t many new parts to see for Bezzecchi, who had a solid day of running – placing eighth. The Italian was the sole Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team machine on track after Fabio Di Giannantonio decided to focus on his left shoulder recovery. At Gresini Racing MotoGP, work continued for Marc Marquez, who claimed seventh position and ended proceedings ahead of Alex Marquez in 12th, with the #73 continuing to work hard away from the spotlight.
Aprilia Racing & Trackhouse Racing
It was a busy down at Aprilia, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), spending the day trying to find improvements with their set-up and ergonomics as the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix nears. Viñales took ninth as Espargaro placed 14th, with both riders leaving the Noale factory at the end of the season, leaving Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing) to do a large chunk of the development on the 2025 package.
Over at Trackhouse Racing, Raul Fernandez put in the miles, with the #25 having both an RS-GP23 and an RS-GP24 in his box and some parts to test during the day. Raul Fernandez claimed 11th, while Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing), completed a solid number of laps, placing P17 at the end of the day as the #88 tried to refine his current package.
Red Bull KTM Factory & Racing Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had an experimental machine to try today, which we have previously seen in the hands of Pol Espargaro. The experimental machine had a different engine, different aero and exhaust, with the South African eventually ending the test in 11th. Meanwhile, Daniel Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took over Miller’s side of the garage today, as the #26 returned to track and finished in 13th. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took part in just the afternoon session – ending the Misano Test in 15th.
Over at Tech3, there were some new parts to see for Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), who showed pace throughout the day – finishing in fourth. One of the #31’s machines was spotted with a different tail unit and a new top exhaust, Acosta also had one of the experimental machines to try – just like Binder. Meanwhile, Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) only took part in the morning session, sharing the day with Miller and finishing 20th.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team
Yamaha worked hard during the test, bringing new parts to Misano, including a new engine and chassis. The Iwata factory had already tested many parts in private tests throughout the year, taking full advantage of their concessions. This allowed the Japanese manufacturer to do some back-to-back runs to confirm where the improvements were.
Then in the afternoon, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team’s Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins began to show good pace. Quartararo ended the day in fifth after improving in the final hour, while Rins was “satisfied” with the parts that were tried on Monday, finishing in P16.
Repsol Honda Team & LCR Honda
A lot of today’s attention was surrounding HRC, Repsol Honda Team’s Joan Mir and Luca Marini returning to action after suffering from illnesses during the San Marino GP weekend. Mir had three bikes on his side of the garage, and was 22nd at the end of the day, finishing behind Marini in 21st.
At LCR Honda, Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) ended the day in P18 after the Frenchman trialled a new side fairing, using it first during the morning session. Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) was 19th, with the Japanese start aiming to end the 2024 season on a high before becoming a HRC Development rider next year.
The biggest difference that we saw from Honda was on Stefan Bradl’s (HRC Test Team) machine, with a brand new swingarm. Bradl was 24th and did not take part in the afternoon session and only worked with one bike throughout the day as his other machine was in Mir’s garage.
Here’s photos: https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2024/09/09/gallery-enjoy-the-best-images-from-the-misano-test/508059
[Note: The story is as per press release]