After a damp morning at the 2021 Official Misano MotoGP™ Test, conditions improved as a busy and intriguing afternoon of testing got underway. San Marino GP winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) finished fastest from Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), but Day 1 was much more than just the lap times.
DUCATI:
Jack Miller and teammate Bagnaia were both testing some new aero on the front of their Ducatis in the afternoon when the riders were able to get some valuable track time in. The Italian suffered a crash at Turn 10 while sporting the new aero, however Pecco was uninjured and came back out, setting the fastest time of the opening day.
Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) also completed some laps with the new aero package, with Ducati in fact having two new aero designs – the second one splits one part of the aero design into two elements. Martin’s Pramac teammate Johann Zarco had a new chassis to test, the Frenchman has already headed home and will be replaced by test rider Michele Pirro on Wednesday, as Zarco undergoes arm pump surgery.
After a crash early at Turn 6 in the afternoon session, San Marino GP podium finisher Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) ended his day early having completed just 11 laps. Teammate Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) managed to set a 1:31.998 to grab P7, that time is a couple of tenths quicker than the Italian set in Q1 last weekend.
HONDA:
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) described the Misano Test as “very important” for HRC, as we witnessed test rider Stefan Bradl head on track with a 2022-spec RC213V. Eight-time World Champion Marquez – like a lot of riders – understandably waited until the afternoon to get some laps in, with the number 93 making the most of the better conditions to get some laps on the new bike on the board.
The differences that can be clearly seen on the new Honda is the updated shape of the air intake at the front, the tail unit and exhaust. It’s a very different Honda than what we’ve become accustomed to seeing in MotoGP™, a sign that HRC are pulling out all the stops to bring a much-improved package to the table in 2022.
Marc Marquez completed 46 laps in the afternoon and finished P15, with Pol Espargaro and fourth place Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) setting their fastest laps of the day on their 63rd and 57th laps respectively. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) got 55 laps in his pocket, finishing 17th.
SUZUKI:
Over at Team Suzuki Ecstar, both Joan Mir and Alex Rins had the 2022-spec engine to test again – like we saw at the pre-season Qatar Tests. In addition, the Spaniards were testing some set-up and electronic improvements that are meant to go hand in hand with the new engine, with Mir and Rins also doing some work to gear up for the second race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli this season.
Mir claimed P5 after setting his best lap on his 59th outing, 0.4s off Bagnaia’s best, while Rins notched up the most laps of anyone on Day 1 – 71. The number 42 was 14th quickest.
APRILIA:
The big news over in the Aprilia garage was the 2022 aero that test rider Lorenzo Savadori was seen testing. It’s a smaller, thinner aero package than the one being used this year. Meanwhile, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was continuing his adaptation to the RS-GP, but a crash at Turn 15 while on a personal best lap hampered his afternoon running. Aleix Espargaro finished P3 on the opening day after accomplishing 51 laps in the dry afternoon session.
YAMAHA:
After a bit of early morning operating in the damp conditions, World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was lapping on a new Yamaha chassis in the afternoon. The Frenchman also had a new tail unit to try for the 2022 campaign, with teammate Franco Morbidelli mainly focussing on working his way back to full fitness and getting to grips with the 2021 machine.
Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was another rider who was able to go faster than he did in qualifying at the San Marino GP, The Doctor finished 11th with a 1:32.170. New teammate Andrea Dovizioso continued to get to grips with the YZR-M1 after his debut weekend at Misano, the experienced Italian ended the day 19th, 1.1s shy of Bagnaia. An important and – from the outside – successful day for Dovizioso, who needs as much track time as possible on his new toy.
KTM:
On track for KTM was test rider Dani Pedrosa, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager Mike Leitner explaining to motogp.com’s Jack Appleyard that the MotoGP™ Legend was testing some future ideas. Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Miguel Oliveira and Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona were working on the current bike’s problems.
Tomorrow is a big day for KTM and their new 2022 recruits. Moto2™ World Championship leader Remy Gardner and Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Raul Fernandez will be getting their first taste of a MotoGP™ machine, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for their eagerly anticipated debuts.
The green flag will wave at the start of Day 2 on Wednesday morning at 09:30 local time (GMT+2) as the riders and teams continue their vital testing schedules. Highlights, reports, interviews, a Facebook Live (13:30 local time) and more will be online throughout the day, so don’t miss any of the action!
Top 10:
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) - 1:31.524
2. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.107
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 0.319
4. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) + 0.389
5. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.403
6. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.456
7. Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) + 0.474
8. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.520
9. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) + 0.611
10. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.645