Ducati enjoyed the first day of testing in Malaysia where Bezzecchi set the fastest time and placed seven bikes in the top nine
At 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. in the Iberian Peninsula), the traffic light in the paddock of the Sepang circuit turned green and the 2023 pre-season officially started. Three months after the last time MotoGP was held on got going the track, this year’s movie seems to follow the same plot as last year. And it is that Ducati marked the ground from the first minute and took the first positions in the schedule. This Friday was just a test, okay. And it was only the first day of the three planned days in Malaysia. But it implies that the Italian bikes will be the rivals to beat for another year.
The best time of the day was recorded by young pilot Marco Bezzecchi. His time (1:58.470), almost set in the final minutes of the session, is still a long way from last year’s pole position for Jorge Martín (1:57.790), who is the benchmark of the test and is likely to be exceeded in this trial. The only one to slip into the red festival was Maverick Viñales, who also climbed into second place in the closing minutes, just 130 thousandths behind the Italian’s time. Without the Aprilia rider, the pre-season would have started with four Ducatis ahead, as Enea Bastianini, Jorge Martín and champion Pecco Bagnaia also finished in the top five. And sixth by the way is Aleix Espargaró, who also does not lose sight of the red engines.
No good news has been seen in Ducati. Not even on the aerodynamic front, an aspect in which they have always been at the forefront. Maybe because they don’t need them. It is enough for them to maintain the status quo and the times of the first day of 2023 suggest that the shots are headed in that direction. Seven of the eight riders finished in the top 10. Even the only rider to debut on the Italian bike, Álex Márquez, was very fast, ninth this Friday and who ended the day with a big smile despite not being able to squeeze everything yet. the Ducati potential. Álex’s new life contrasts with that of his brother Marc, who has started the pre-season without too much noise.
While Ducati and Aprilia are still in a state of grace. At Honda and Yamaha they have a lot of work to do. Fabio Quartararo demanded more power from the factory to cope with the Italian bikes, and looking at the speed limits set this Friday it seems the Frenchman has been listened to as his Yamaha was only 2 in the straight km/h slower than the Ducati faster. We’ll see if what he’s gained on the bike he doesn’t lose in another area, as the 2021 world champion could only finish 11th on Friday.
Marc Márquez, who had four different engines in his box, qualified one place behind. Three new prototypes with different configurations and a bike from last year to compare. The Spanish driver completed a total of 58 laps, with a best time of 1:59.424, almost a second less than the best time of the day. “From the start on the first day we are a long way off, but there are still days left and I prefer to evaluate my pre-season at the end,” Márquez himself explained as soon as he got off the bike. Honda still has a lot of work to do. And not just with Marc, because things didn’t go so well with his brand colleagues either. Joan Mir and Álex Rins finished 17th and 18th on the day, although in their case they still have miles to go on a bike that is new to them.
The only consolation that Márquez has at the moment is that his body reacted better than expected on this first day of training: “What I am most happy about is that I felt much better physically and it was mainly what I was looking for for this first time.” bye”. The Cervera rider had physically crushed himself this winter to be prepared for the start of the World Cup, and he says he has done his bit. What needs to work now is the technical part, although that no longer depends on him off.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
