Assignment pending for Portimao MotoGP test

Saturday and Sunday’s action returns to the track for MotoGP riders with the second and final pre-season test taking place at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, the same where the curtain rises on the season from March 24 to 26 including the Portuguese GP.

Almost a month has passed since the main players of MotoGP finished the first test of 2023 in Sepang, but the intense frenzy was experienced in the factories, in particular, of the two Japanese manufacturers Honda and Yamaha in clear inferiority compared to Ducati after seen. in the test. Aprilia’s progress compared to them is also remarkable, especially in terms of aerodynamics, with KTM’s fifth brand also showing insufficient behavior on the track to enter the winning bandwagon.

There will be some unknowns to be clarified: Will Ducati continue to show such great hegemony in a new circuit and where it has never won races? Will the Yamaha have enough hp to try to deal with them without constantly losing effectiveness in the field in which it has been Unbeatable, cornering? Can Honda get a competitive bike for Marc Márquez and Joan Mir? Could Aprilia be Ducati’s great rival?

To all this we need to add two regulatory changes which affects the mandatory tire pressures (penalties for anyone who drops below 1.9 bar at the front and 1.7 bar at the rear) and the prohibition of the dynamic holeshot at the front (allowed only at the start). And the implementation of updating the MotoGP electronic control unit on official teams only and how that will affect client teams that will remain at ECU for the 2018-2022 season.

THIS IS HONDA

Sepang was particularly beneficial for Honda to work under the style of new technical director Ken Kawauchi, who is well known to Joan Mir and Alex Rins as all three come from Suzuki. And they left Sepang having already chosen a motorcycle with the two Repsol Honda riders reaching the same conclusion. But this month they had to work gradually in Asaka, the HRC headquarters, because that bike was not a winner, according to eight-time world champion Marc Márquez.

“I will do the bike analysis on the last day of the preseason, but we have to work because we are far from the fastest. This is not the bike I need to win the championship, we need another step, but it is important. to have clear basis and forget the rest. It’s really very similar to the bike from the Valencia test, the concept is similar and has the same problems. Now is the time to solve those problems”, Marc Márquez analysis, again in the ship’s helm, his physical problems were forgotten. Tester Bradl came from working three days in Jerez with the news.

DUCATI IS LIKE THIS

Unlike Honda, Ducati was in its element at a circuit like Sepang and signed a double at the head of the combined GP22 driven by Luca Marini and the GP23 of defending champion Pecco Bagnaia. Seven of the eight Ducati riders -all but Johann Zarco- made it into the top-9 of the test.

If in the second half of the 2022 championship Ducati and Bagnaia are a step ahead of their rivals, the distance still widens in respect to the Japanese. They make the difference at the exit of the curve and the acceleration in the first meters and in Portimao they have to confirm again. And beware that they come with the 2023 engine update.

THIS IS HOW YAMAHA CAME

Fabio Quartararo’s disappointing remarks on Sunday when leaving Sepang speak for themselves and now only two drivers remain at the helm of development, the Frenchman and Franco Morbidelli after losing the customer team. They didn’t work the fastest laps, sometimes a plus for them, nor was their speed a big deal. They gained top speed, as Quartararo claimed, but at the expense of losing steam in other areas where they made a difference. They have to balance and they are running out of time.

THIS IS HOW APRILIA CAME

Seeing Maverick Viñales at the front of a test or in the top-3 is something that has been happening since his Suzuki days and that has not lost his devilish dry turn speed over the years. Although they still have to compete in the ‘Ducati Cup’, they have taken a step forward, their chassis are by far the best, they have good cornering. They lack that last click in terms of engine -a new 2023 specification premiere in Portimao-, but they have the weapons to fight as shown by the fact that their four drivers were outstanding in Sepang.

THIS IS HOW THE KTM CAME

As in the case of Honda, Sepang is also not a favorable circuit for KTM, so they will do all their tricks in Portimao where they have won twice with Oliveira. In principle, this new engine, with a different firing sequence, should help them in dry cornering, in overtaking more easily and in front wheel management, but they should improve aerodynamics. Pol Espargaró from the customer team GasGas Factory Tech3 was their best man in Sepang.