VOLUME ISSUE FEBRUARY , P45
Here we assess the fortunes
of the five manufacturers across
three rain-affect days, in the
order of those that can be happi-
est first.
DUCATI
A test from the heavens for
Bologna bosses. Learning from
its mistakes of 2022, Ducati
engineers opted against radical
changes to a bike that ended
its 15-year wait for the MotoGP
title. Factory riders Bagnaia
and Enea Bastianini, as well as
Pramac's Jorge Martin and Jo
-
hann Zarco, were relieved to find
the GP23 is a small evolution on
last year's model.
Development work was split
across the four men, with the
new engine deemed a suc-
cess from the off. Martin, who
topped day two, said he's already
"ready to race." Plus, he could
make fast lap times when riding
"smoothly. I don't have to be
aggressive to be fast." The only
area of mild concern? According
to Bagnaia, "the handling; the
'23 bike is more aggressive and
more nervous. This is something
that we can focus on in Porti-
mao."
Otherwise, Ducati is miles
ahead from this time a year ago.
"From the first exit with the new
bike, I felt great," said the reign-
ing champion, who feels the '23
bike is already at the level of its
predecessor, with more still to
come. Even riders from Mooney
VR46 and Gresini Ducati, riding
year-old GP22s, look capable of
getting in on the act.
APRILIA
Having made major steps
forward with radical changes to
its RS-GP in each of the three
previous years, Aprilia's fine
2022 meant only small evolu-
tions were needed this winter.
Aleix Espargaro was almost
bummed out by this on day one.
"I thought we'd have more to
test," he shrugged. But in reality,
this showed the RS-GP needs
only small tweaks.
All aspects of performance
were touched in a minor way.
"The '23 bike is definitely better
than the '22," said Espargaro,
sixth-fastest overall. "The cool
-
ing is much better. We have
some more revs, the bike is a
bit faster on the straight and its
more narrow, which makes it
easier to change direction. With
the new aero the bike turns bet-
ter. In general we made a very
small step forward in all areas."
Teammate Maverick Vinales
was third fastest. And with
another updated package and
the full '23 engine still to come
at next month's Portimao test,
there's no reason to think the No
-
ale factory's brilliant 2022 was a
flash in the pan.
YAMAHA
Up until
the final hour of the final
day, things were looking rosy for
Marc Marquez
was mad. There's
much work to do
at Repsol Honda.
Minor tweaks for
Maverick Vinales and
Aleix Espargaro mean
the RS-GP for 2023 is
well on track.
