Francesco Bagnaia finished the last season with a bang aboard a Ducati which is now causing panic among the competition. We were then with the GP21 and, during these two days of testing in Jerez, the manufacturers lifted the veil on their 2022 models. And guess what: Ducati seems to have further increased its lead...
The winter is likely to be long for the five opposing brands of Ducati in MotoGP. The warning on the level reached by the Desmosedici had been given free of charge during a last Grand Prix in Valencia that they had dominated qualifying for the race by monopolizing the leading trio. In these two days of tests in Jerez, we went to the warning shot with the same Pecco Bagnaia vice-world champion who set a best time in 1'36.872 which makes you think. It is certainly a performance in a test, but it was signed in special circumstances which make it intimidating.
The official Ducati describes it like this, not without showing his surprise to already be riding at such a level... “ I did this with a new medium tire, a full tank of gas and the wind. It's incredible ". The gap with his closest pursuer, the World Champion fabio quartararo on the Yamaha is just as much: almost half a second… “ I'm happy, we still have a lot of work to do but I feel good » adds Pecco. “ Besides, Jack and I have more or less the same ideas on developments and I think Ducati is already the perfect bike ».
A last sentence that could depress the troops Yamaha apparently anchored in 2021, which is greatly regretted fabio quartararo who opened the file of his future within the Iwata brand… Especially since… “ I tried several things, with Ducati it's normal and I'm not surprised because they still work a lot at the factory. It makes me happy to have driven faster than the Grand Prix qualifying, only working on small things. It's not the worst track for us, already with the old bike I felt good ».
Inexhaustible, he adds: “ it was nice to see the progress made over this year, both mine and the bike's ". The final blow comes like this: “ I think the old bike was already perfect and we made it even better, that's what's amazing. Also in the Sepang tests in February we will have other new features ».
Bagnaia: “ this is the perfect bike for me«
While the World Champion filed down the track with a Yamaha known since the Misano tests, bagnaia was working on a new fairing, a new engine and even new exhausts… Let’s start with the aerodynamic part: “ there is still work to be done because this represents a big change from the one we used this year and we have to determine whether it is better or not. I like it because it's more beautiful, but it will be important to choose after doing more tricks. For the moment, the positives are more than negative, it helps in the corners, but we lose something in the straight line and in the reduction of wheelie. We're not quite convinced yet because it's so different ».
Let’s move on to the 2022 engine: “ it has a completely different character and when you try something so new you have to understand it first. They worked on the acceleration, we are already at the level of the previous engine, but it's only the second day so there is room for improvement. Ducati has all my confidence ". Finally arrives the exhaust line: “ the new exhaust offers more or less the same sensations as the old one, now they will analyze the data ».
bagnaia ends his assessment thus: “ this is the perfect bike for me ". We will recall that he won four of the last six races of the 2021 season, events in which he started from pole position five times, having only missed the controls of the starting grid at the end of Valencia , from where he still started from the second plot.
MotoGP Tests Jerez J2: times
Credit classification motogp.com
