Double world champion Francesco Bagnaia sent an ominous warning to any rival for the new season that he and his Ducati will take some beating when he dominated the tests at Qatar.
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On the Lusail circuit that hosts the world championships opening GP in two weeks time the 27-year-old Italian repeated the form he showed at Sepang, Malaysia, 10 days ago.
After a tentative start in windy conditions Bagnaia edged out his Ducati teammate Enea Bastianini by 0.120sec to show the bike itself with a new engine they used to full advantage as the session drew to a close.
Wrapping up testing in style 🔝@PeccoBagnaia sprints into the new season with the fastest-ever laptime around Lusail 🔥⚡️#QatarTest ⏱️ pic.twitter.com/5FnFDRmjqO
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) February 20, 2024
The Turin-born champion was a full 0.308sec faster than third placed Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia while former champion Mark Marquez sprung a surprise at new team Ducati-Gresini timing fourth at 0.383.
The opening GP at Lusail takes place March 10 with 21 dates on the calendar with each of the last two seasons going right down to the wire.
Preseason finished!
— Everything Moto Racing (@everythingmrace) February 20, 2024
Francesco Bagnaia sends out a clear warning to his opposition today, leading the test with a new lap record within the 1’50’s!
He led teammate Enea Bastianini then Aleix Espargaro
📸 Ducati#MotoGP pic.twitter.com/UxQk8AhnL4
LUSAIL TEST TIMES ON TUESDAY (5.38km)
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 1min 50.952sec
2. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati) at 0.120sec
3. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) 0.308
4. Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 0.383
5. Raul Fernandez (ESP/Aprilia-Trackhouse) 0.389
6. Maverick Viñales (ESP/Aprilia) 0.435
7. Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) 0.514
8. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.537
9. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 0.631
10. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.726