Qatar MotoGP Test Concludes
P
ecco Bagnaia capped a near-
perfect preseason by topping
the two-day test in Qatar, Febru-
ary 19-20, as Ducati, once again,
posted an awesome show of
strength that will have MotoGP's
four other factories more than
slightly concerned.
After an exhaustive three days
in Malaysia in early February, the
Lusail International Circuit was
the last chance for the five fac-
tories to assess new parts and
combinations ahead of the Qatar
Grand Prix, which kicks the 2024
season off on March 9-10.
And Bagnaia topped both eve-
nings of running, blitzing the lap
record from last November on
the final night by an astonishing
0.81 of a second. His 1 minute,
50.952 seconds was enough to
top the test by 0.12 of a second,
with teammate Enea Bastianini
second place, making it a factory
Ducati 1-2.
Asked to rate how prepared he
feels from one to 10 when test-
ing in Qatar, Bagnaia said, "Eight
out of 10. In Malaysia we were
seven, and I wasn't expecting
to go this fast without pushing
this much to arrive at this level.
So, this is great, but I want to
take care about everything, keep
calm."
Preseason testing was a
dream, and Bagnaia feels com-
pletely at home with Ducati's
Desmosedici GP24. He used
the two days to work on engine-
mapping settings, as well as
further back-to-back tests with a
new aerodynamics package. "We
did a good step in front, in terms
of braking and corner speed," he
said.
The speed of Ducati's fac-
tory men wasn't the only thing
that caught the eye here. Like
WIND
IN THE
P36
Catch me if you can. Pecco Bagnaia
has had preseason testing on lock on
the new Ducati.
PHOTOS: GOLD & GOOSE
