we've made, the front was feeling
good."
Aprilia
The Noale factory was celebrat-
ing even before the test got
underway. Marco Bezzecchi's
two-year renewal for 2027 and
'28 was celebrated in a wedding
mock-up in which the Italian mar-
ried his RS-GP.
The joy sadly didn't extend
to the Italian's media dealings
when he was at his impertinent
best, keen to give little away.
Yet that was a contrast to his
speed on track. This year's bike
features heavily modified aero,
with a halo-like shape on the tail
unit. Electronics have also been
revised. And Bezzecchi was the
only non-Ducati in the top four.
There were positives to be
found in Marc Marquez's recov-
ery from a serious injury to his
right shoulder blade.
"I noticed, especially on [Thurs-
day] afternoon, my position on
the bike was not the best one,
but this will help me for the Thai
GP," Marquez said.
The GP26 can boast of better
top speed than last year, with
four bikes topping the top speed
charts on Thursday afternoon.
Plus, the fortunes of Bagnaia
and Di Giannantonio—regular
strugglers on the GP25—were
drastically improved.
"From the first lap on day
one, I felt better," said a quietly
confident Bagnaia. "The big-
gest issue [last year] was to find
consistency in feeling from the
front. And here, with all the 'tries'
Marco Bezzecchi
and his ultra-wing
Aprilia were the
only duo to trouble
the Ducatis.
Marc Marquez
topped day one but
couldn't do anything
about brother Alex
as the test wore on.
VOLUME ISSUE FEBRUARY , P95
