Novelties aplenty & Bezzecchi back on top!

Did you miss us? We know, we know, it’s barely been a day. But when the action is as good as it was at the Spanish GP, withdrawal symptoms are natural. Luckily, we have a few tidbits to share from the official one-day test that saw the MotoGP™ riders head back out on Monday, with plenty of novelties up and down pitlane… and a familiar name back on top: Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team).

Mooney VR46, Gresini, Ducati Lenovo & Prima Pramac

As can be expected, there wasn’t anything new for the 2022 Ducatis but that didn’t stop Mooney VR46 Racing Team from making it a 1-2. Luca Marini was just a tenth off Bezzecchi, who in turn was about four-tenths off the all-time lap record from last season.

At Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™, there were two different chassis for Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli. Pitlane reporter Simon Crafar was confident he’s seen the “different” one before, as it gets tested, tested again and then shelved. Quartararo also rode the weekend with the newer swingarm – and has that at the test on both machines – having previously gone back to a previous version.

The sole novelty at Ducati, the home of novelty – a moniker now seemingly under threat from KTM – was a new belly pan on Johann Zarco’s Prima Pramac racing bike, with a small inlet on the bottom.

Monster Energy Yamaha

At Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™, there were two different chassis for Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli. Pitlane reporter Simon Crafar was confident he’s seen the “different” one before, as it gets tested, tested again and then shelved. Quartararo also rode the weekend with the newer swingarm – and has that at the test on both machines – having previously gone back to a previous version.

Some interesting wings also sprouted on Morbidelli’s machine, and the sidepods were bigger. Meanwhile, Quartararo tested the new exhaust in the afternoon, taking it out on a couple of runs. El Diablo was third overall and top until the latter stages, with Morbidelli down in P16.

Aprilia & CryptoData RNF

At Aprilia Racing, it looked like the focus was more on fine-tuning what they have and working with setup. It also looked like both sides of the garage were more than a little preoccupied with practice starts. Maverick Viñales especially was taking every chance to try a launch, and teammate Aleix Espargaro put in a fair few after he also lost out at Turn 1 four times in a row this weekend. Viñales was fifth, and Espargaro seventh.

At CryptoData RNF MotoGP™ Team, Lorenzo Savadori stepped in for the sidelined Miguel Oliveira, and was unfortunately one of the few crashers on the day. Still, he put in nearly half a century of laps for some more information. Raul Fernandez, meanwhile, did over 70, and ended the day in P11.

Red Bull KTM & GASGAS Tech3

Headlines during the race weekend weren’t enough for the Austrian factory, so they thought they’d make a few more on Monday. Some of the new aero first seen in the hands of Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) over the weekend was put through its paces by Brad Binder and Jack Miller, and our reporters spotted a sidepod that’s more an extra, vertical panel all the way to the bottom of the fairing.

Our eagle eyes also saw a new chassis for Pedrosa. Oh, and someone from Red Bull Advanced Technologies was spotted in the box…

Binder ended the day in eighth, Miller in P14 and Pedrosa near the back of the order, slacking off on the time attack heroics he very much proved he was still capable of during the weekend.

GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3’s Augusto Fernandez took the opportunity to put in 69 laps as he continues to adapt to MotoGP™, and he had the new aero, without the side addition, that was raced by Pedrosa. His temporary teammate – test rider Jonas Folger – did 63.

Repsol Honda & LCR Honda Castrol/Idemitsu

Our eyebrows were raised at Honda, as pitlane reporters Simon Crafar and Jack Gorst spotted the long-awaited Kalex chassis in the hands of HRC test rider Stefan Bradl. Repsol Honda Team Manager Alberto Puig said initial signs were good.

Bad luck hit when Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) was attempting to head out on it though, with a technical problem seeing the 2020 World Champion manage only five corners of his out lap. Mir also crashed earlier in the session before that, rider ok, but completed 67 laps for P15.

The number 36 had two of his normal chassis this morning but then had one of the chassis teammate Marc Marquez had been using. Mir also tried the small aero update that Bradl had throughout the race weekend, as well as new downwash ducts.

Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) was seen with a chassis used previously by Mir, as well as the downwash ducts. Honda also had a new “winglet” on the swingarm. Rins did 82 laps and was P17, suffering a crash at the end but rider ok. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Castrol) was top Honda in P12 after 70 laps.

Now it’s time to pack up the paddock for the premier class in Jerez, although we’ll see the Moto2™ and Moto3™ fields back out on Tuesday. For MotoGP™ it’s next stop: #GP1000 at Le Mans, with more history waiting to be made just around the corner!

The top ten:

1. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – 1:36.574
2. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – +0.104
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) – +0.151
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) – +0.389
5. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) – +0.390
6. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – +0.450
7. Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia Racing) – +0.486
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – +0.494
9. Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac Racing) – +0.515
10. Alex Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) – +0.615