Maverick Vinales was fastest on his Aprilia RS-GP at the post-season MotoGP test Tuesday at Circuito Ricardo Tormo, near Valencia, Spain. Vinales’ 1:29.253 was slower than the All-Time Lap Record he set in qualifying on Saturday, but weather conditions on Tuesday were significantly worse than on race weekend. The ground temperature never got over 67 degrees Fahrenheit, and strong winds prevented accurate back-to-back comparisons with race weekend performance.
Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi were second and third, respectively, and fourth on his Ducati debut was Marc Marquez. Marquez’s 1:29.424 best lap on a 2023 Gresini Racing Ducati Desmosedici was less than two-tenths slower than his qualifying lap on Saturday on his Repsol Honda RC213V.
Two-time World Champion Francesco Bagnaia finished 11th on his Lenovo Ducati, and 2023 title challenger and runner-up Jorge Martin crashed early and could manage only 15th on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.
Bagnaia, Binder and Bezzecchi tied for the highest top speed at 337 kph (209.402 mph), with Binder’s KTM the only non-Ducati of the fastest six machines.
Among the other riders who switched to new motorcycles Tuesday:
Luca Marini, Marquez’s replacement at Repsol Honda, finished 10th with a 1:29.956 on his new RC213V.
Franco Morbidelli was 16th with a 1:30.206 on his new Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.
Johann Zarco ranked 17th with a 1:30.283 on his new LCR Honda.
2023 Moto2 World Champion Pedro Acosta was 18th with a 1:30.476 in his debut ride on his new GASGAS machine.
And Alex Rins ended the day 19th with a 1:30.564 on his ex-Morbidelli Monster Energy Yamaha YZR-M1, which was only half a second slower than his new teammate Fabio Quartararo’s 12th-quickest 1:30.022.
