Pecco Bagnaia dominates first day of testing

Francesco Bagnaia reminded everyone at the end of a studious day that he does not wear the number 1 on the fairing of his Ducati by chance.

The actors of the queen category MotoGP are meeting this weekend in Portugal near Portimão to prepare for the first Grand Prix of the season which will be contested in two weeks on this track. After being in second place behind Luca Marini at the end of the morning, Bagnaia got the whole peloton in agreement by signing a best lap in 1'38"771 on the handlebars of his official Ducati. Proof of his diligence in completing this first day at the top of the standings, he signed this best mark in the penultimate of his 78 laps on the track today.

Luca Marini impresses © MotoGP

If the final 8th place of fabio quartararo is not in itself dramatic, the gap of almost 9 tenths on Bagnaia's Ducati risks fueling the fire that smolders in the Yamaha house. It is obvious that the tuning fork brand still cannot find this pure performance on a lap that he sorely misses since the first Sepang tests. As proof, the sad 21st place of a Franco Morbidelli totally out of rhythm.

Luca Marini confirms that he is the strong man at the start of the year by taking second place, 2 tenths behind Bagnaia. The Mooney VR46 Racing Team is already the main challenger to the official Team.

Comfortably installed in third place behind the two leading Ducatis, Maverick Viñales confirmed that the Aprilia RS-GP version 2023 is a formidable machine. After making a mistake this morning, he gives some cheer to the Noale manufacturer who has validated the latest developments of the machine including very innovative air flow guidance under the side fairing.

On the RNF side, Raúl Fernández and Miguel Oliveira continued their adaptation on the RS-GP evolution 2022. The two men ranked fifth and sixth respectively for the day, completing the good performance of the Aprilia clan.

Cautious start for Marc Marquez while Miguel Oliveira shines © MotoGP

13th, Johann Zarco can only console himself with the small gap of 1 tenth of a second which separates him from his new teammate Jorge Martin. Last rider in the second from Bagnaia ahead of the official Honda of Joan Mir, he does not yet seem able to compete for the podium on a regular basis. 

Testing resumes tomorrow at 09:30 a.m. local time (10:30 a.m. French time) for a second crucial day before the launch of a season that promises to be exciting!

First day standings testing MotoGP in Portimao:

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