MotoGP Test Jerez Live 2: KTM, Aprilia, Yamaha, Honda speak out!

After a quick snack, often taken between the trucks due to hospitality during dismantling, the drivers now begin the second part of the test. MotoGP on the Jerez – Angel Nieto circuit.

This morning, during a first session from 10:00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m., Marc Marquez, Fabio Quartararo et Johann zarco climbed onto the virtual podium, taking advantage of a relative coolness conducive to good times (See details here).

The Spaniard, who has clearly become number 1 at Ducati, achieved 1'36.184, compared to the circuit record set last Saturday by fabio quartararo, 1'35.610. Another half-second that shouldn't be gained immediately, the track being a little warm for that now, at 39°. On the other hand, at the end of the afternoon, with lower temperatures and a more rubbery surface, nothing is impossible...

The LCR team has just announced that Somkiat Chantra will take part in the test this afternoon but has missed the morning after suffering from compartment syndrome during Sunday's race.

Conversely, the Pertamina enduro VR46 Racing Team has made official the withdrawal of Franco Morbidelli to these tests, due to a neck contusion suffered during the fall of number 21 during the Grand Prix.

Midday Cutoff Test Results:

When the track opened, only Maverick Vinales decides to ride on the overheated asphalt. There are no major new features to try at KTM, but the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 rider's recent performances have his marquee teammates retrying the chassis that Top Gun adopted this year and which they had rejected.

The two chassis models are really very similar and moreover Maverick Vinales will also try that of his colleagues from Mattighofen.

Aki Ajo returns to the state of the official team, a little in wooden language mode on the microphone of the site MotoGP.com…

“It was a positive weekend for us, and I would especially like to see it continue in the same vein as the last two races. Since Austin, let's say, I feel like we've started to find a bit of direction. The competition is always very intense in MotoGP, everyone is constantly improving. The winter was really difficult for all the testing, all the development, and sometimes when you test small upgrades and the riders have to focus on the race weekend at the same time, it happens that we are forced to test during the weekends themselves. So it's not an easy task. That's why today's test is very important: let's say it's a bit of a 'clean slate,' simplifying things and checking some elements that we had already tested before. Of course, there are also some new parts, but a lot of what we are testing today is also about preparing for the future.” It's not necessarily about finding immediate solutions, but rather about gathering more information to keep us on the right track, so to speak."

Pedro Acosta, largely surpassed by Maverick Vinales currently, suffered a fall this morning at turn 10…

“Pedro is fine, that’s the most important thing. But of course, a crash during a test never helps the program, even if it happens sometimes. The conditions today are a bit windy, which doesn’t make things any easier, and it also doesn’t allow for a good comparison with yesterday. However, we have a long list of things to test and still a lot of time ahead of us today. So we can continue to move forward on many points, even if, as always, we won’t be able to test everything. You have to know how to prioritize. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of information we need, not only for the short term, but also for long-term development. On the other hand, the goal is also to “clean the slate” to make future race weekends simpler, with, let’s say, a stronger package.”

Bound

At Aprilia, Paolo Bonora announces on the official website that we will be testing many aerodynamic elements this afternoon, some visible, others not, with Marco Bezzecchi et Ai Ogura. He also returns to the very contrasting performance of Marco Bezzecchi race…

"Yesterday was a black and white Sunday, because after analyzing the race, we saw a very good pace in the race. So we are particularly disappointed with what happened, but that's racing. The pace was really good, especially in the last part, during the last five laps, which shows a very, very high potential.

Yes, a bit of bad luck: he probably pushed a bit too hard going into the corner and went into the gravel. He found himself last at the end of the second lap, but he managed to come back and maintain a very solid pace.

During this test, we're fully focused on performance. We're testing a lot of aerodynamic-related parts, including something you can see at the rear: it's designed to improve performance, that's for sure.

Regarding the rear wing, we'll be testing it this afternoon with Bezzecchi and Ogura. The test program was already defined last night because there were a lot of elements to evaluate. We divided the different parts to be tested among our four drivers.

We're focusing on the corner entry phase with Bezzecchi: we need to improve the bike's stability to also optimize the acceleration phase. We're also working on engine management and electronic tuning to give him more comfort in managing the rear tire and the bike's overall behavior.

We are also working a lot on the start phase: it seems that we have improved over the last two or three races, but we must continue to improve in this area.

With Lorenzo we are testing some things that are not possible to try during a race weekend due to lack of time, and we are particularly focusing on chassis adjustment.

The team manager also gives news of George Martin...

“Of course, we spoke with him. First of all, we must thank Dorna, the FIM and IRTA, as well as Dr. Charte and Dr. Filippo, because we received a lot of support from them, and we thank them very much for their help. It wasn't easy to repatriate him to Spain, but in the end it was possible, and he is now in Madrid.

Dr. Charte said yesterday that he saw a better situation than he expected, and that makes us very happy. But, to be honest with you, at the moment, we have no expectations for the rest of the season. We just want to make sure he's in very good condition, because that's necessary to get a world champion back on track in his best shape and in the best possible condition."

A little before 14 p.m., fabio quartararo entered the track to do three timed laps, including the best in 1'36.489, very close to her morning time.

Paolo Pavesio, the replacement of Lin Jarvis, takes stock of the situation at Yamaha…

“We’re satisfied, of course. As we said at the beginning of the season, our goal was to fight in the top five. And we know that when you’re in the top five, other things can happen. It happened, to be very honest, maybe even faster than we could have hoped, and we’re super happy about it. The most important thing is that it came at the end of a very solid weekend. Fabio was consistently fast throughout the weekend, right from FP5, and that’s important. Important for him, of course, but also for the program, for everyone who works with us. It gives energy, momentum, and that’s exactly why we’re here: to experience these kinds of special emotions more and more often, and, ultimately, to make it normal again.”

Regarding yesterday's tests, Massimo Meregalli confirmed that there will be an engine upgrade today at the Jerez test...

"Yes, we've tried it and we're quite happy with the progress. Of course, these are small developments, it's not a revolution, but it's definitely a step forward. Perhaps Jerez isn't the best circuit to fully evaluate an engine in terms of power, top speed and performance, but the drivers' feelings are already positive."

Regarding the engine characteristics, the objective is to increase power in the high revs, to improve top speed...

"Yes, I think it's quite visible. When you analyze the speed data, it's clearly an area where we need to improve, and we're working to improve, yes."

We cannot forget the latest news regarding the V4 project, but Augusto Fernández, who has already tested it, is not present today with him on the track...

“No, no. The V4 continues to be developed in private tests. Until we feel ready to prepare a wild card, you won't see the bike on track. But as soon as it's ready, we'll decide internally when the time is right. In the meantime, we're continuing to work on improving the M1, which is why we're testing today. At the same time, the new engine, which is part of the development of the new bike, continues to evolve. And as soon as this new bike is faster or at least on par with the current bike, then it will be time to take the next step.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio fell at turn 13, without serious injury.

Ranking at 14:00 p.m.:

In the wake, Fermin Aldeguer reached 4/10 of the French.

At 14:17 p.m., Alex Marquez displays 1'36.907 then, a few minutes later, Marco Bezzecchi is close to 16/100 ofThe Devil, after having declared:

"I liked the new swingarm. Now we need to cover a few kilometers. We have a clear idea of the areas we need to work on. Our critical areas are stability, both under braking and acceleration. We need to calm the bike down a bit, and we're working on that."

Roman Albesian takes stock of the progress of Honda...

(Laughs) Of course, it's not entirely the result of my work alone; it's everyone, all the people at Honda who work very hard. I've done my part, of course, since I joined this company. But yes, the start of the season has been positive, I would even say it surprised me.

To be honest, what surprised me most was that, from my first interview with the riders, the bike's qualities were quite clear. There were some issues to resolve, which we are currently working on, but the base of the bike, inherited from the end of the 2024 season, was not that bad. So, having some continuity with this base has brought us results."

Regarding the tested items…

“Yes, of course. As I said before, there are some points we need to correct, and we are testing new parts, a new swingarm, which you have probably seen, as well as other elements that you cannot see, but which are very important, especially in terms of electronics and the engine. It is a very important day for us. I must say that the morning went very positively and we are happy: we also overcame some set-up limitations that we had encountered during the weekend and which had not allowed us to have a good race. So we are also satisfied on this point.”

Marc Márquez is back on track, setting the third fastest time of the session so far. Unlike his teammate Francis Bagnaia who prefers to concentrate on solving the problems of his GP 24.5 in qualifying and during the Sprint, the Catalan takes advantage of this day to try the new 2025 frame. As a reminder, the GP 24.5, currently used by the two official riders and Fabio DiGiannantonio, have exactly the same frame as the GP 24.

Ranking at 15:00 p.m.:

2 Yamahas in the lead, how long has it been since we saw that?

Just because it's Monday, doesn't mean you take a break from going faaaaaaast 🔥#JerezTest pic.twitter.com/XuhQl3Iiw6

- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) April 28, 2025

In any case, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team has announced that its riders will hold their debriefings between 16:10 PM and 16:40 PM, which could mean that they have already finished their tests...

It is the same case for Fermin AldeguerThe Italian rookie from the BK8 Gresini Racing Team has shown some very good things recently, certainly on a Ducati. In his fight with Ai Ogura for the Rookie of the Year title, he nevertheless concedes 12 points to the Japanese on his Aprilia. Logically, this gap should narrow over time, the Desmosedici having largely proven its advantage.

As 16:00 p.m. approaches, only three motorcycles are on the track.

Ranking at 16:00 p.m.:

There's been a resurgence of activity less than two hours before the checkered flag. Currently, nine motorcycles are on the track: Marc Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Ai Ogura, Raul Fernandez, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Augusto Fernandez, Brad Binder, Somkiat Chantra and Takaaki Nakagami.

Currently, Spain is paralyzed by a massive power outage that is also affecting Portugal and a small part of France. The power outage has shut down Wi-Fi networks and affected Spanish airports, as well as city traffic, with traffic lights out of service. Rail traffic is interrupted throughout Spain, gas stations are no longer working, and there is a bit of panic. Andalusia is also affected at times, but the Jerez circuit has its own emergency generators, and for now, all the facilities are working, from the trackside lighting panels to the timing system. For now...

On the track, Fabio Quartararo finished his practice after improving his morning time to 1'36.353. Second in the combined standings behind Marc Marquez, he showed himself satisfied with the new engine tested, at the microphone of Sky Sports.

“There’s still work to be done, but I think we can be satisfied. It seems like the engine is a tiny bit faster without really changing the agility, so that’s quite positive, and we hope to continue in that direction. The goal was mainly to have more power, but keeping the agility. As I said, the agility remains similar to what we have now, which is quite good, and it seems we’ve achieved that. But it’s a very, very small step forward. We know we’re still missing quite a few things, but managing to take a first step in that direction is already positive.”

Just before the start of the last hour, Marc Marquez achieves a splendid 1'35.876, best time of the day!

Ranking at 17:00 p.m.:

For the final hour of testing, the track temperature dropped back down to 41°, which, despite the significant wind but combined with a temperature of 25° and a rubberized surface, provided very good conditions for a timed lap. Unfortunately, the tire identification system is not activated during testing and it is impossible for us to know when a driver goes out with new tires. We'll see...

Ai Ogura is currently one of the few riders on track, and is just progressing to seventh position. Yesterday, he finished eighth in the Grand Prix after a weekend that started in a mixed way. He is undoubtedly the only real satisfaction for Aprilia, which is lacking George Martin, even if Marco Bezzecchi does not fall short in its unexpected role as leader.

At the start of the last half hour, Maverick Vinales jumped to 2nd place, 3 tenths behind Marc Marquez. As much as last year Peter Acosta carried all of KTM's hopes, but it may be necessary to reconsider the situation this year...

Marc Marquez takes the track again, while the most assiduous is Marco Bezzecchi, with 47 laps completed this afternoon, ahead of Maverick Vinales, author of 20 loops.