MotoGP Qatar Test Day Two
Francesco Bagnaia dominated the final two days of pre-season testing at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, finishing first on both days. After leading in yesterday’s initial eight-hour session, the reigning World Champion once again secured the fastest time today, setting a record-breaking lap time of 1:50.952.
Following a first day dedicated to reaffirming the positive feelings he experienced with his Desmosedici GP in 2024 configuration during the first three days of testing at Sepang, Bagnaia focused Tuesday on time attacks and race simulations in preparation for the upcoming Grand Prix season opener, set to take place at Lusail in a few weeks’ time. Benefiting from favourable conditions, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider managed to break the 1:51 barrier, clocking a record-breaking lap time.
Francesco Bagnaia – P1
“I’m extremely pleased with the time I managed to set today. I anticipated we’d be hovering around the low 1:51 mark, but going below that was beyond my expectations. Nonetheless, this is just a test, like Malaysia. Today’s conditions were optimal: the grip was incredible, which we fully capitalized on. Overall, it was another positive day, and we’ve fine-tuned our package in every aspect. The GP24 showed promise right from the Valencia test. At Sepang, we did a great job and completed it here. We’re well-prepared for the upcoming season opener in a few weeks.”
His team-mate Enea Bastianini finished the Qatar test in second place, just over a tenth behind his team-mate. The rider from Rimini thus confirms the promising form he showcased during the previous test in Malaysia.
Enea Bastianini – P2
“The test has been undeniably productive, and I felt at ease with the bike here in Qatar. We encountered minor issues with vibrations and a slight drop in front tyre performance, but once we address these issues, we can certainly make a significant impact. We showcased competitiveness both in time attack and race pace, so I am happy and eager to get back on track for the inaugural race of the season.”
A close challenge on the timesheets came from Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaro too, this time with some Noale factory company nearer the top echelons as well. But in fourth it’s Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) within 0.075 of the #41 Aprilia…
It’s proven an exceptional test for the Bologna bullets, with six of their seven full time riders in Qatar finishing inside the top 10. First Bagnaia, then Bastianini, Marc Marquez in fourth despite a late crash within around 20 minutes of pre-season on the clock, and then Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) picks up the baton in P7.
Marc Marquez – P4
“I felt more comfortable with the bike straight away here, I managed to start using the body more and that’s already an improvement. Instincts are still set on another type of motorcycle, but we’re working on that department and changing my riding style. We did well in the time attack, even though it’s still most difficult area for me. We’re improved our pace on the longer run, we tried many things and push towards the limit – while also finding the first crash (turn four). Are we happy? Yes, even though we’re still far from Bagnaia, Bastianini and Martin.”
Jorge Martin – P7
“In these two days I felt very good with the bike. Today (Tuesday) we had a small problem, we will study the data to understand what happened and look for a solution. I’m very focused on the start of this season.”
At Pertamina Enduro VR46, there were plenty of positives too. Marco Bezzecchi was the first to go under the official lap record, set by then-teammate Luca Marini during the GP last year, and ended the day in P10. Now-teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio continued to shine though, just keeping the edge on the timesheets in P8 at the track he reigned in 2023.
Fabio Di Giannantonio – P8
“A really good test, we did a great job. I managed to be quite strong on the time attack and I’m happy with the Sprint simulation. The balance is positive, but we have not to forget that it is only a test. We bring home good sensations, a good approach with the Team and a group that is growing. It seems that the official riders have something more, but we will give our best to be able to fight in the race and try until the end.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P10
“We close the pre-season with a good balance here in Qatar, I can’t wait to return for the first race. I’m happy, compared to Malaysia, we’ve made a big step forward. I’m not entirely satisfied with the time attack, I’m not able to fully exploit the potential of the bike. On the pace I’m close to the group, I have to say that after Bagnaia, Bastianini and Martin we’re all there. I still need some time to get to know the GP23, make it turn better and take full advantage of the new tyre.”
Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager
“Overall the pre season went quite well for the whole Team. The level is truly very high: compared to 2023, the top riders in the Top10/Top12 are very competitive. I am satisfied with the work of the group and the step forward made here in Qatar. Fabio and Marco are ready for the first race. What can I say, we can’t wait!”
Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) is one looking for more once competition starts under the same floodlights, ending the day in P13.
Alex Marquez – P13
“Compared to November, the feeling has improved a lot; we had suffered a lot last year here. It must be said that the Losail track changes dramatically between one run and the other and it’s hard to have a smooth progression, but we’re getting there step by step. We’re preparing mostly for the race, so the single-lap performance is not as important. We tried many things even though yesterday’s crash cost us a rear tyre, and that affected our testing programme. We completed a 20-lap long run and we encountered some issues that we’ll need to analyse in the coming two weeks.”
As pre-season concludes, the closest challengers to Ducati on the timesheets were Aprilia, and flying much more in formation. After Espargaro had found pace where others kept looking for it in Sepang, Day 2 in Qatar saw the #41 end the test quickest Aprilia in P3 but with Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) shining in P5 and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) taking P6, both shooting up the order. Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) also made a leap up the timesheets to P12. One thing of note on the tech side was the different tail units being used in the Noale camp, with Viñales and Oliveira taking the previous out for a spin.
Aleix Espargaro – P3
“They always say that testing is not racing, but being fast in pre-season is still an important confidence boost. I have to give kudos to all of Aprilia Racing, the RS-GP24 is the best bike I have ever ridden. On the fast lap we still lack some power to take full advantage of the grip from the soft rear, while the pace was great. Too bad about the crash during today’s simulation, where I was consistently lapping in 1’52. Nothing serious though, I’m definitely ready to start this season.”
Raul Fernandez – P5
“We didn’t really focus on a fast lap, we just tried the soft tyre. The key for this test was not to create any dangerous situations, so when I used the soft tyre, it was not in order to try to push, but to understand it because I never used this kind of compound before on this bike. So, this was important for us. Anyway, I still didn’t want to focus on a single fast lap. I’m just happy about the work we did. The pace was very good, especially when working with the used tyre. For us it was great, also seeing that I don’t feel 100% fit yet, which hopefully is going to improve for the GP.“
Maverick Vinales – P6
“I would have liked to have had a little more time to work on the bike, because I still don’t feel 100 percent. However, the situation is positive, especially because we have improved in the fastest sectors where I was struggling last year. I’m still not completely happy with the engine brake, especially in the long runs, but it’s something that is solved with the setup and we can work on it during the race weekend.“
Miguel Oliveira – P12
“It was a better day. I’m not fully satisfied, but at least we took a good step forward. It’s just a shame that we got to a good feeling too late. Finally, it was four days with the same bad feeling and today with a slightly different bike, I could finally start to make some steps and be competitive. I couldn’t make the best of the whole bike because your braking points, the way you ride, if you get a good bike day by day, you can fine-tune those points. Also, during today, we were building up a good speed, then lost some time with one bike, but then with the time-attacks everything worked, more or less, ok.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Manager
“The final day of testing is in the books. I think we can be quite proud of what we have achieved so far, it was not easy for the whole team going through the entire process from changing name and continuing and having the riders in the right mojo. Of course, Miguel came out of injury from here in Qatar last year, chasing the lap record at this point is a very good and positive result, even though we want more. Raul did a fantastic job, also having the discomfort from the Sepang test, coming here, being calm and committed. He didn’t overshoot, but already did a very good lap time, ending in fifth position. I believe we are ready to race – in a very short period of time, the whole team already achieved a lot.”
It looks like a satisfactory test for KTM in Qatar, with both Brad Binder and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Jack Miller going under the previous lap record. Binder also finished inside the top 10. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however, with Binder stopping on his longer run with an issue while Miller crashed, rider ok.
Whether the full potential isn’t yet unleashed or their cards are close to their chest we’ll likely find out during the GP… last season after what seemed like a more muted pre-season, the Austrian factory came out swinging and then kept swinging pretty consistently for the top five and the podium.
Brad Binder – P9
“Today was pretty cool. We managed to squash everything in and tried a few settings as well as a full race simulation. I was unlucky to have two yellow flags on my time attack lap but other than that I was happy! I think our bike is working really well and we made a step from last season: we’ll see where we really are when we go again in two weeks.”
Jack Miller – P11
“The team and I put our KTM RC16 through its paces in Qatar, with myself logging 112 laps around the Losail circuit to validate the conceptual changes that we took away from Malaysia a couple of weeks back.
“Although the conditions were a lot different here – being in the desert there’s a lot of grit and sand on the asphalt – once we cleaned that up after a few runs on Monday we got comfortable on the motorcycle.
“It’s just one of those necessary evils around here, and the conditions were the same for everyone – the graining on the front tyres after the first five laps was huge, but all you can do is just get out there and clean it. The track came around after a while which was good, although any small mistake and you were on the dirty stuff again which would ruin your lap.
“One thing I was really pleased with was how well the aero worked here in those tricky conditions with the wind – we’re pretty exposed around here, so to have that ticked off the list is a huge positive.
“These testing events are a ballpark thing and I’m confident we’re in the right spot, now the mission becomes achieving those little tweaks to dial in the setup and get everything where we need it to be, come the opening round.
“All-in-all, the pre-season has been really good to us, and the team has done a fantastic job throughout the winter with the improvements that have been made, and I think we have a really competitive bike on our hands to enter into the 2024 season.
“With testing done, we’re now just over two weeks away from getting back here and doing it for real. The passion for racing runs deep in my blood, so for me, I’m always ready to go by the time the lights go out.”
Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“The riders were happy. We made a forward step compared to the last time we were here and that was clear with the lap-times. We still need a bit more though, but we are on the way. We are working and we can see the improvements. It’s been a good pre-season and the general pace has been under the lap record both times and we are also right there. We will be ready, and we have to deliver.”
Sebastian Risse – Red Bull KTM Technical Manager MotoGP
“We concluded our winter test program and we’re really happy with how it went. There was a lot of refining and confirming the conceptual work we did in Sepang. As usual here the conditions were tricky in the beginning because the track is dirty and the grip is low but having this test load in front of us was decent for us because we could keep calm and get through what we needed to. We are happy and confident with our package and then we had time to do some tuning and setup work with each rider and focus on race simulations and time attacks and so on. Looking back already, we had a good time here and we are confident for the first race now.”
Meanwhile over at Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, rookie wonder Pedro Acosta claimed P15 in just his third MotoGP Test this year, while he also put in a convincing longer run where he lapped in the 1:52s. Teammate Augusto Fernandez, meanwhile, will be a looking for a bit more as racing starts, further down the order.
Pedro Acosta – P15
“We are feeling really happy with this Qatar Test, and I would say that we have only learned 10% of MotoGP, so there is much more to discover during the race weekends. We did our first full race simulation which was positive overall. The lap times could have been slightly better, but we know that it is not my strongest point, however, we have been making big steps over the last two days, and we ended 0.3 seconds from Miller, and 0.4 seconds from Binder, in addition to being 0.7 seconds faster than the best Pierer Mobility bike in qualifying at the last Grand Prix of Qatar, so not bad. We are coming!”
Augusto Fernandez – P21
“It has been a rather tough preseason for us, and we did not quite expect it to go that way to be honest. However, I have to say that the Qatar Test went much better for us, we worked better all together. I understood more things even if I am still a bit far from the rest of the Pierer Mobility bikes, but we will continue working hard and I am sure that it will pay off. We will go racing now, and I can not wait!“
Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 Team Manager
“We feel ready and we’re looking forward to the first race. Both riders completed a massive amount of work and Pedro shined in the light of Qatar. He keeps impressing with the lap-times and ticked all the boxes for the material to try. He also did a full race simulation, which was decent for a 19-year-old rookie. On the other side of the garage Augusto’s target was to regain some confidence and I feel this was mission accomplished for him. He found some good directions, especially with the new aero package that gave him some extra feeling. He is on the road to making progress. We’re looking forward to coming back here in two weeks!”
Sebastian Risse – GASGAS Technical Manager
“Today was our last test day with GASGAS. We did a lot of work with both riders, sharing ideas from Sepang and confirming them. We found a good common direction and with Pedro again we had a huge and fast learning curve. He was competitive both days. With Augusto we found some improvements and therefore some confidence and we’re ready for the start of the season now.”
The progress of the M1 has been real during pre-season, but the search for one-lap pace continues, and that for rear grip. Both Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and team manager Massimo Meregalli want more, more, more, too. A longer exhaust was one approach being tested out to smooth out the power, with a view to that one-lap pace. But remember – concessions mean Yamaha, and Honda, can keep testing if they so wish. By the end of the Qatar Test though, Quartararo is P14 and new teammate Alex Rins P16 for now.
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“We were able to confirm here what we saw in Malaysia. The improvements we made there also worked here, including a small improvement in top speed. In a way we are satisfied, because all the new materials we introduced this year gave us a boost in performance. Most of the time the comments of our two riders matched, and it’s fundamental to have them work in the same direction. But we still have work to do. The gap to our competitors is still important, and I had hoped to be closer. I didn’t expect it, because in Sepang we improved our best lap by 0.5s and here by even more. But, as I said, it’s not enough, so we will keep working. Our pace is not bad – not top 3 yet, but not bad – but the time attack remains our main area of improvement because good starting positions are a big advantage.”
Fabio Quartararo – P14
“We didn’t make much progress, but the track conditions were better today. I was riding behind a rival, and I got some great information for us from that as well. We have a margin for improvement, but we need to find more grip and lessen the tyre degradation. We are improving, but the others improved too. We will have to see at the first GP, but hopefully we are in a better position than we were last year. I think we need more time and more tests to see the full potential of our bike. But I believe a lot in this project. I feel that Yamaha is doing their best. I’m not thinking too much about the future – I am focusing on improving our bike.”
Alex Rins – P16
“Well, overall, I think Yamaha has improved the engine. On the straight we were quite strong, so they did a good job during the winter break. Today, we focused more on improving our set-up, trying to put the bike higher, lower, longer, shorter, to understand where we can improve, if there is a margin or not. And, honestly, I made a step forward compared to yesterday, Day 1 in Qatar. We’re still quite far from the top. I’m doing 1’52s, and Fabio is also 1s from the fastest rider, so we still have to work a lot to reduce this gap. If we want to fight for the victory, we need to work even harder. But I think our way of working is the correct one, so we are ready to start.”
Repsol Honda’s Joan Mir spent the final day battling illness, sapping his strength and limiting his time on the Repsol Honda Team RC213V machine. Completing 32 laps, Mir ends the Qatar Test in 19th. His best time, a 1’52.457 set on the second day, was 1.1 seconds faster than his Qualifying time from the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix just three months ago. Had his condition been better, Mir feels he could have lapped in the 1’51s. A fall at Turn 13 late in the evening ended Mir’s test somewhat prematurely but he was unharmed in the fall. Having made impressive progress already, the #36 was left somewhat disappointed at being unable to fully capitalise on the available time to find the remaining tenths. He will now return home to begin his final preparations for the start of the season.
Joan Mir – P19
“Today I woke up feeling very tired and in general not feeling great. After the first exit I was feeling really unwell and had to stop to try and recover some strength. I was able to rest and go back out on track but my condition was not 100% so we could only do a few things. Then on the last exit I had a fast crash which meant we couldn’t do the practice starts, so it was quite a complicated day. It would have been good to have this final day at our best, but we have been able to make good progress over the course of these tests. Now we turn our attention to the race and trying to take the maximum result from it.”
Having recovered from his illness on Monday, Marini was back to pretty much full fitness and the final day of testing was another productive affair for Luca Marini as he completed 60 laps to bring his total from the two days in Qatar to 111 laps. Ending with a best time of 1’52.677, Marini ended the night just behind his teammate. Continuing to work through a number of items for HRC, Marini was left content with what he and the team achieved despite a truncated start to the second day. He remains focused on the work that still remains before the start of the season. Just days now separate the #10 from his first race as a factory Honda rider.
Luca Marini – P20
“This test has allowed us to understand many things and we were able to try everything that was on the list for us and for HRC. We made a big change on the bike today which lost us some time in the first hour. Even like this, we have been able to get a lot of data and we can prepare well for the GP. Each day I have been able to improve my feeling with the bike but we still need to do a bit of work to improve our performance over one lap.”
Castrol Honda LCR’s Johann Zarco and Idemitsu Honda LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami were both just ahead of the Repsol Honda riders.
Johann Zarco – P17
“The position doesn’t reflect our real potential, but it’s been an interesting test. We’ve tried many items, and I’ve enjoyed the laps on the bike, which is important. These days have been useful to see which areas need to improve, and I like how Honda is working so far. Finally, I want to thank the team for their job”.
Takaaki Nakagami – P18
“We’ve made a significant step forward, and compared to the last time we were here, some months ago, the gap is crucial. However, the rest of the factories have improved too, so we need to keep working, as the position doesn’t reflect our potential. Overall, the situation is favourable to do a good job“.
From a technical perspective, there is plenty of optimism, however, particularly surrounding the new engine and the new double-stacked rear aero aimed at planting the rear tyre, for grip and stability. The search for rear grip continues but Honda, like Yamaha, have those concessions. The book of 2024 testing is unlikely to close now for them and be left unread until the post-Jerez test.
The MotoGP paddock returns to Lusail International Circuit for the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar from the 8th to the 10th of March.
Qatar MotoGP Test
Day Two Times
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Francesco BAGNAIA | DUCATI | 1m50.952 |
| 2 | Enea BASTIANINI | DUCATI | +0.120 |
| 3 | Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | +0.308 |
| 4 | Marc MARQUEZ | DUCATI | +0.383 |
| 5 | Raul FERNANDEZ | APRILIA | +0.389 |
| 6 | Maverick VIÑALES | APRILIA | +0.435 |
| 7 | Jorge MARTIN | DUCATI | +0.514 |
| 8 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | DUCATI | +0.537 |
| 9 | Brad BINDER | KTM | +0.631 |
| 10 | Marco BEZZECCHI | DUCATI | +0.726 |
| 11 | Jack MILLER | KTM | +0.768 |
| 12 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | APRILIA | +0.884 |
| 13 | Alex MARQUEZ | DUCATI | +0.992 |
| 14 | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | +1.013 |
| 15 | Pedro ACOSTA | KTM | +1.094 |
| 16 | Alex RINS | YAMAHA | +1.151 |
| 17 | Johann ZARCO | HONDA | +1.210 |
| 18 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | HONDA | +1.432 |
| 19 | Joan MIR | HONDA | +1.505 |
| 20 | Luca MARINI | HONDA | +1.725 |
| 21 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | KTM | +1.818 |
| 22 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | YAMAHA | +2.060 |
| 23 | Michele PIRRO | DUCATI | +2.703 |
| 24 | Lorenzo SAVADORI | APRILIA | +10.448 |
MotoGP Qatar Day Two Top Speeds
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Speed |
| 1 | Francesco BAGNAIA | DUCATI | 351.7 |
| 2 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | DUCATI | 350.6 |
| 3 | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | 349.5 |
| 4 | Pedro ACOSTA | KTM | 349.5 |
| 5 | Alex RINS | YAMAHA | 348.3 |
| 6 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | APRILIA | 347.2 |
| 7 | Jorge MARTIN | DUCATI | 347.2 |
| 8 | Enea BASTIANINI | DUCATI | 346.1 |
| 9 | Raul FERNANDEZ | APRILIA | 346.1 |
| 10 | Brad BINDER | KTM | 346.1 |
| 11 | Marco BEZZECCHI | DUCATI | 346.1 |
| 12 | Alex MARQUEZ | DUCATI | 346.1 |
| 13 | Johann ZARCO | HONDA | 345.0 |
| 14 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | YAMAHA | 345.0 |
| 15 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | KTM | 345.0 |
| 16 | Marc MARQUEZ | DUCATI | 345.0 |
| 17 | Luca MARINI | HONDA | 343.9 |
| 18 | Jack MILLER | KTM | 343.9 |
| 19 | Maverick VIÑALES | APRILIA | 342.8 |
| 20 | Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | 342.8 |
| 21 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | HONDA | 340.6 |
| 22 | Joan MIR | HONDA | 340.6 |
| 23 | Michele PIRRO | DUCATI | 340.6 |
| 24 | Lorenzo SAVADORI | APRILIA | 338.5 |
Provisional 2024 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar (Updated)
| Rnd | Date | Location |
| 1 | 10 March | Qatar Lusail International Circuit |
| 2 | 24 March | Portugal Autódromo Internacional do Algarve |
| 4 | 14 April | Americas Circuit of The Americas |
| 5 | 28 April | Spain Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto |
| 6 | 12 May | France Le Mans |
| 7 | 26 May | Catalunya Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya |
| 8 | 02 June | Italy Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello |
| 9 | 16 June | Kazakhstan Sokol International Racetrack |
| 10 | 30 June | Netherlands TT Circuit Assen |
| 11 | 07 July | Germany Sachsenring |
| 12 | 04 August | Great Britain Silverstone Circuit |
| 13 | 18 August | Austria Red Bull Ring-Spielberg |
| 14 | 01 September | Aragon MotorLand Aragón |
| 15 | 08 September | San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Misano |
| 16 | 22 September | India Buddh International Circuit |
| 17 | 29 September | Indonesia Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit |
| 18 | 06 October | Japan Mobility Resort Motegi |
| 19 | 20 October | Australia Phillip Island |
| 20 | 27 October | Thailand Chang International Circuit |
| 21 | 03 November | Malaysia Sepang International Circuit |
| 22 | 17 November | Comunitat Valenciana Circuit Ricardo Tormo |
Reserve Event: Hungary – Balaton Park Circuit.
Portugal & India remain subject to contract.
Kazakhstan is subject to contract and homologation.
