Early signs are good. "When
I pushed, the speed was there,"
he said.
Marquez aside, the continued
growth of Aprilia was one of the
test's big takeaways. Not only
was Espargaro second aboard
the new, thinner RS-GP, but
Maverick Vinales was an able
back-up, ending Sunday with the
fifth-fastest time. Due to Aprilia's
concessions, both men had
taken part at the shakedown test
at the same track, along with
class rookies and test riders,
a few days before. But Espar-
garo noted the bike's improved
handling and agility. Top speed
wasn't far off the Ducatis, either.
And what of Ducati? Its all-new
GP22 took some time to dial in.
At present, power delivery is too
aggressive on the first touch of
throttle. But Pecco Bagnaia and
Jack Miller were convinced of
the new bike's potential. Also
of interest were refinements
to Ducati's ride-height device,
which, to trackside observers,
lowered the front of the bike on
corner exit, as well as the back.
Despite teething issues, the
GP22s were well represented at
the front: Jorge Martin was third,
Bagnaia sixth.
There were improvements
for Suzuki, too. Keen to keep
hold of prized asset Joan Mir for
2023, the factory brought an all-
new bike featuring an improved
engine. Times were promising
for Alex Rins, fourth, while Mir
was "satisfied" with the bike's
higher top speed and improved
ride-height device.
As for those with work to do,
reigning champions Yamaha ap-
peared to have stood still. Fabio
Quartararo "expected much
more from this test" with new
aero and chassis. Top speed
was a real concern, as was the
speed of teammate Franco Mor-
bidelli, 24th.
Likewise, KTM faces a race
against time. Opting for a new
testing strategy that placed prior-
ity on reassessing parts used last
year and fine tuning the '21 bike
over a slew of new components,
factory riders Brad Binder and
Miguel Oliveira were 15th and
18th, while still complaining of a
lack of traction.
As for the much-anticipated
batch of 2022 rookies, Marco
Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Rac-
ing Team) was the fastest in 16th
place, Raul Fernandez (Tech3
KTM) was 19th, and Fabio Di
Giannantonio (Gresini Ducati)
was 20th. Remy Gardner (Tech3
KTM) finished the test 23rd while
nursing a broken wrist and Dar-
ryn Binder (WithU Yamaha) was
25th.
Neil Morrison
2022 Sepang MotoGP Test
Combined Times
1. Enea Bastianini (Ducati) 1:58.131
2. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.026
3. Jorge Martin (Ducati) +0.112
4. Alex Rins (Suzuki) +0.130
5. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +0.130
Fabio Quartararo is
lamenting he still doesn't have
the horsepower he needs to
fight off the Ducatis.
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 8, 2022 P37
