Champion setting a 1:58.189 on
the final day to lead Pol Espar-
garo (Red Bull KTM Factory Rac-
ing) by 0.066 of a second, with
Castrol Honda LCR's new recruit
Johann Zarco completing the
top three.
In just his second outing on a
MotoGP machine, Acosta put in
a time that would have put him
fifth overall in 2023's Sepang
test timesheets and indicat
-
ing KTM's new great hope has
already got to grips with the
GasGas-branded RC16.
Zarco hailed a heavily revised
Honda RC213V in Malaysia as
the Frenchman swaps from the
dominating Ducati to Honda for
2024. Zarco believes the differ
-
ence between the 2023 Honda
and the 2024 edition could be up
to 0.7 of a second per lap.
"At least 7/10th! Which in
Valencia is quite good," Zarco
smiled as he spoke to crash.net.
"I did only two runs on the old
[2023] bike, but that's why we
moved straight away to the new
one.
"I have again big admiration
for what Marc [Marquez] did
[with the old bike] last year."
Fourth, on the final day of the
first half of the test, Monster En
-
ergy Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo
was ahead of Red Bull KTM Fac-
tory test rider Dani Pedrosa.
The factories have gone hard
on aero changes for 2024, with
KTM sporting a new front-fender
wing, the Aprilia of Lorenzo
Savadori employing a "batmo
-
bile" rear wing, Honda a new rear
wing dubbed the "stegosaurs"
and Ducati employing additional
ground effect side-panel fairing
updates.
On day three, Takaaki Na
-
kagami (Idemitsu Honda LCR)
was spotted testing a different
swingarm, while Yamaha Test
Rider Cal Crutchlow ventured out
with a new, longer exhaust and
an updated aero body.
2024 MotoGP Sepang Test Results
1. Pedro Acosta (GasGas) 1:58.189
2. Pol Espargaro (KTM) + 0.066
3. Johann Zarco (Honda) + 0.211
4. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) + 0.249
5. Dani Pedrosa (KTM) + 0.289
VOLUME ISSUE FEBRUARY , P37
(Left) Acosta has more weight on
his rookie shoulders than anyone
has had in a long time and the
Spaniard is living up to the hype.
But it's still very early days yet.
(Below) Has Johann Zarco arrived
at Honda at the right time? He
seems to think so, as the new
RC213V is showing real promise.
(Bottom right) Lorenzo Savadori
put many miles in on the revised
Aprilia. Note the "batmobile" rear
seat wings.
