MotoGP Test Valencia LIVE (1/2): 2022 is dead, long live 2023!

The lights for the 2022 season are still lukewarm but we are already warming up the spotlights for the 2023 campaign which will give, this Tuesday in Valencia, a foretaste of what awaits us next year in MotoGP. Here is the first test of the off-season which takes place on the same track which hosted the last Grand Prix of this vintage. With the new World Champion on his Ducati Pecco Bagnaia in the lead, today is already tomorrow, with no less than nine riders who will discover their new mount while on the team side, Aprilia will be honing in on its RNF satellite team and It will now be necessary to identify Hervé Poncharal's men under the red Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing label...

Ducati barely put away the trophy rewarding the Drivers' Champion of the Year MotoGP that it is already coveted by the competition. This Tuesday, it will lift the veil on these new weapons in preparation for the next campaign. It will start in March in Portugal, it will have 21 rounds with two new destinations, and, above all, it will offer sprint races over the middle distance of a Grand Prix, which will be rewarded with half the points of the same races. Which is not nothing in the management of a title race…

The party and the celebrations are therefore over and Davide Tardozzi, the team manager Ducati thus remobilizes its troops: “ starting today, 2023 here on the track. We will see what the rivals can do and what we will do. I know the race, anything can happen from one year to the next, I'm realistic. The opponents are incredibly strong. On Sunday KTM showed significant growth, during the Misano test Fabio Quartararo said he was particularly satisfied with the new Yamaha M1, Honda will do everything to improve, Aprilia was a great protagonist… All four houses will have motorcycles super competitive ».

We can't wait to see them on the Valencia track. Before that, here are the entries with the nine drivers in their new colors with only one rookie: Augusto Fernandez, 2 Moto2022 World Champion!

And we start with the first photos of the new set…

We heat up the mechanics…

The Ducati test rider Michele Pirro opens with the world champion's bike Francesco Bagnaia. We are not yet expecting too many drivers on the track because the temperatures are still very low.

To Alex Marquez, it’s definitely Christmas already…

fabio quartararo is the first regular driver to take to the track. Yamaha brought seven different bikes to the pits for Quartararo and Morbidelli (at least three different specifications for Fabio and Franco), a higher number of motorcycles than usual, a symptom that the Japanese manufacturer must try different configurations to find the best configuration in 2023.

The best at the moment is Quarterly in 1'31.903, followed by Pecco Bagnaia in 1'33.231. While Joan mir begins his career at Honda on the track, alex rins took pictures...

Joan mir et alex rins will not speak to the media today because, although they are testing the bikes for new teams, their contracts with the team Suzuki ends on December 31.

Maio Meregalli (Yamaha) declared on Sky Sport: : " We have a fairly substantial work plan, perhaps we won't be able to try everything: new engine, new frame, new aerodynamic package , we will do our best to try everything, but it is not going to be easy, we are optimistic to have good feedback from the drivers.”

Augusto Fernandez, Moto2 world champion, poses with his new motorcycle: he will race in MotoGP with the KTM of the Tech3 Gas Gas team. Vinales in the lead with 1'31.144. Quartararo, Martin, Bastianini, Bagnaia, Mir and Morbidelli follow.

Gino Borsoi new team manager of the team Ducati Prima Pramac.

Marc Marquez in second position. TOP 10: Viñales, M. Marquez, Martin, Quartararo, Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio, Pirro, Bagnaia and Mir.

La Honda sports substantial rear fins…

Augusto Fernandez, Moto2 World Champion and only rookie of the 2023 season, is now riding a MotoGP for the first time. Naturally, he is careful about his GasGas.

Here is the ranking after an hour of exercise in Valencia:

Pol Espargaro also seems happy to no longer ride on a Honda...

Marini climbs to third position. TOP 10: zarco, Viñales, Marini, Espargaró, Marc Marquez, Martin, Quartararo, Binder, Nakagami and Di Giannantonio. Alex Marquez says he feels good on the Ducati, especially when braking he found stability.

Davide Tardozzi comments: “lThe shakedown was carried out by Pirro with the new bikes that Pecco and Enea will use today. They will come out first with 2022 then we will move on to 2023 to understand what adjustments to make. Gresini and Mooney have 2022 versions with the same configurations"

The former world champion fabio quartararo wants to regain the title in 2023 and is working hard for it. He has already completed 22 laps. Yamaha is serious since his teammate Franco Morbidelli is second in this ranking with 18 rounds. Both pilots have 3 motorcycles at their disposal.

The ranking at 11:00 a.m.: zarco (1:30.626), Viñales, Marini, Aleix Espargaró, Marc Marquez, Bastianini, Martin, Quartararo, Brad Binder and Nakagami. Eleventh Bagnaia in front: Oliveira, Di Giannantonio, Morbidelli, Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez, Pol Espargaró, Mir, Miller, Pirro, Raul Fernandez and Rins.

Jack Miller and his chief engineer fit in well with KTM...

After two hours, Jorge Martin goes to the front. THEThe Spaniard signs a good 1'30.576 (the Ducari Pramac team rider took pole for the Valencia GP with 1:29.621). The sporting director of Michelin, Piero Taramasso, commented : " the same tire compounds are used in this test as were on the bikes last weekend. The reason is clear: teams want useful comparison values. New tires would have disrupted their data collections"

Joan mir has at his disposal the 2022 bike (used by Pol Espargaró) and a Honda evolution 2023, the same as Marc Marquez currently using on the track.

In the new aerodynamics of Yamaha, the two lateral wings which function as flow diverters appear more accentuated in the belly of the motorcycle.

Casa Particular in Viñales lowers his time to 1'30.325. Marc Marquez moved into the top 5. The hardest working man is always fabio quartararo : he has already completed 39 laps in Valencia.

Test start in the pitlane Marc Marquez: we are testing a new clutch.

Here are the V.max in Valencia: 

1. Bagnaia 333.7km/h

2. Bastianini / Marc Marquez 332.1

4. Zarco 330.5

5. Alex Marquez 330.5

6. Bezzecchi 328.9

7. Marini / Quartararo / Binder / Oliveira / Martin 327.4

12. Viñales / Pol Espargaró / di Giannantonio 325.8

At Ducati we are testing a new fairing: 

The RNF team will compete for the first time with Aprilia and with the pilots Miguel Oliveira et Raul fernandez. Olive tree seems to be enjoying himself since he is sixth, the fastest of the drivers who have changed. The boss of Aprilia, Massimo rivola, is enthusiastic about his newcomers: “ having four drivers will allow us to improve both technically and in terms of driving. Miguel and Raul's approach is fantastic. They report a good feeling on the bike. We have some aerodynamic components, but we are not going to try them at the moment. Now that we've tried chassis components , we have very good feelings » »

Technical problem for Bezzecchi, who went long into the first corner and then stopped with the bike off.

Ranking 12:30 p.m.: the two Aprilias lead in Valencia.

Michele Pirro , Ducati test rider comments on Sky: “ we are satisfied. There will be no revolutions, but we will certainly be ready for February. The 2023 bike represents an evolution for the moment, but it is not the last , the new complete Ducati, we will see it next year at the Sepang tests "

fabio quartararo et Franco Morbidelli ride lap after lap. The Frenchman has already exceeded the bar 50 turns. His teammate also has more than 40 laps on the clock. Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis is enthusiastic about his hard-working star rider: “ nWe have seen it many times. If he experiences a disappointment, he quickly gets over it and returns to his work. The most important thing now is to test the engine. This should be a step forward« .

Quarterly enters the track with a tail characterized by the stegosaurus “fins” introduced by Ducati then taken over by other manufacturers like Honda.

Wilco Zeelenberg, team manager of RNF, is extremely satisfied with the work of his team: “ Stopping Yamaha on Sunday and starting now with Aprilia was a difficult task. We had to return the equipment to Yamaha and receive the new Aprilia parts on Monday. We did a good job, a lot of people were involved. » However, the new riders have the comparison with the KTM and not with the Yamaha. Zeelenberg states: “ the bike is very comfortable it is easy to ride. » Lunch break for the pilots.

Thus ends the first part of this test in Valencia. See you at 13:30 p.m. with the 2/2! 

Credit classification motogp.com