Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Ducati rider, emerged as the fastest rider during the official MotoGP test in Jerez. This came after a weekend of mixed results for Di Giannantonio, where he only scored nine points. However, during the test, he managed to set a lap time of 1m36.405s, which was four tenths slower than the track record.
Ducati’s dominance was briefly interrupted by Maverick Vinales of Aprilia, who set a time within a tenth of Di Giannantonio’s time. As a result, Franco Morbidelli, Pecco Bagnaia, and Marc Marquez all dropped a position in the top five.
Bagnaia, in particular, had the fewest number of laps, with only 44. Brad Binder led the KTM group in sixth place, trailing Di Giannantonio by just 0.234s. Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro finished in seventh place, and he and Vinales focused on adjusting their seating positions throughout the day.
Jorge Martin, who dropped from the lead during the Spanish GP, suffered another fall at Turn 9 during the test. Marco Bezzecchi and Augusto Fernandez also had falls in the final minutes.
Johann Zarco of LCR Honda recorded the highest number of laps, with 89, closely followed by Fabio Quartararo with 85. Quartararo’s Yamaha team tested a new chassis and a triple wing aerodynamic setup, hoping to gain approval for use in races soon.
As a KTM test rider, Pol Espargaro finished 19th in the test. His teammate Dani Pedrosa raced during the weekend, and Espargaro himself will have a wildcard appearance at Mugello.
Honda rider Stefan Bradl’s test bike from the Spanish GP was made available to regular riders, but the satellite LCR team tested it instead of the main team. Joan Mir revealed that he had already tested the bike privately and did not consider it the right direction.
Instead, Mir discovered something during the test that he believed was a step in the right direction, especially in terms of the motor concept. However, it was not a completely new engine.
