The work of Fabio DiGiannantonio et Marco Bezzecchi continued at Sepang on the intermediate test day MotoGP, the two drivers finishing in the same order as the day before.
On the one hand, this is of little importance because the primary objective of the two Italians is to discover all the subtleties of their Ducati GP23, new to them after spending the last season on the GP22 model. The development of the bikes is therefore essential, with the attack on the clock taking second place.
But on the other hand, it really confirms that Fabio DiGiannantonio experienced a real breakthrough last year, at the right time to stay in MotoGP, and at the start of the season maintains the level then displayed. This is good news for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team of Valentino Rossi who can therefore count on two sizes at the start of this 2024 season.
The second day of official testing in Malaysia was productive for the transalpine team, with both drivers falling below the 1'58 mark and ranking respectively in sixth and ninth position in the day's standings.
Able to carry out a time attack in the morning in his second run, Fabio DiGiannantonio established an excellent 1'57.619, a time which means a gap of only four tenths with the provisional P1 (Enea Bastianini, 1'57.134). The number 49 was then able to complete 9 more runs, experiencing a problem in the 6th but completing a total of 54 laps there on the eve of the last day of work, which begins tomorrow from 10:00 a.m. local time.
First to get back on the track this morning, Marco Bezzecchi also took advantage of the slightest morning heat to tease the time, in his third run and for the first time this year. His time of 1'57.867 finally placed him 9th at the end of the 53 laps completed, the last ending with a minor fall in the last minutes of the session at turn 7, while the Rimini driver had just completed his two best firsts. sectors.
Fabio Di Giannantonio: “I’m surprised, but in a positive way obviously. In the morning we had a bit of trouble, I tried two front tires and I wasn't completely comfortable driving. We were a little behind plan, but in the afternoon we tried a change that allowed us to take a big step forward, also in terms of quality. We went very quickly, we worked well and we went in the direction we wanted. Regarding the lap time, we may be missing something, but I'm not worried. I'm really happy with the pace and tomorrow we might try to simulate a sprint race. »
Marco Bezzecchi: “I'm sorry about the ending, the fall wasn't necessary. I'm happy with the work done, we tried different things and collected a lot of information. I'm not completely satisfied yet, because I can still take a step forward in driving. I'm not 100%, but we already have some ideas for tomorrow. For now, if things stay as they are, I don't think we'll do a race simulation. I prefer to focus on the settings, but we do not rule out the possibility of finding good solutions tomorrow and thus changing our plan. »
Results of the second day of testing at Sepang:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
