Francesco Bagnaia began his preparations for the 2024 MotoGP season on Tuesday, where he will aim for his third consecutive title. The Ducati rider focused on testing the 2023 and 2024 specifications of the bike, finding positive aspects in the new engine… due to its impact on braking.
The Italian told journalists: ‘Today we were very focused on two specifications, 2023 and 2024. I’m glad that in the last run I decided to continue with the 2024 one because I think it has good potential – especially in braking, but we are also fine-tuning the power delivery and I’m happy with that. I tried the longer fork like the one other Ducati riders used last year and it feels good, but the sensation is not the same as the shorter one. So, we still have something to improve. But honestly, considering the day and the number of laps I did, I’m overall very happy.’
When asked if the differences between the 2023 and 2024 bikes also lie in the frame, Bagnaia explained: ‘The frame, but also the way they position the engine is a bit different. So, the weight is slightly different. What I prefer is the braking and that’s something I understood in Valencia. But the acceleration, the power delivery, is different – it’s more nervous. So we are being careful with this and I think we took a good step forward considering that today the best lap was with used tires. That was good and we are improving the sensation a lot.’
About the new engine, the #1 also explained: ‘Right now, I like it more for braking because I need to brake more and it’s a good step forward. The top speed is very similar, but I believe that during the day we improved a lot and during the day the wind was increasing on the opposite side of the straight. So, it was difficult to understand if we were improving the acceleration a lot. But the feeling was good.’
