Francesco Bagnaia repeated in Losail what he had done in Sepang, leading the MotoGP tests with a lap below the official circuit record. The champion of the last two years is satisfied and confident, but also has some caution in interpreting the competitive hierarchy before the actual start of the competition.
After the last day of testing in Qatar, the Ducati rider referred to the press that not only did he do all the planned work, but he also had good sensations: ‘Obviously, I start by saying that I am happy. I think we have completed 100 percent of the work we had to do. We have decided on everything and with what to start the season, and I am very happy with the feeling – more than the lap times, because when you feel so good with the bike it is normal for the lap times to come and the conditions in these five days of testing in Malaysia and here were perfect. We will see in the race in 15 days, but right now I am very happy. We finished everything and at the moment I have nothing else to say’.
According to Bagnaia, the Ducati Desmosedici GP24 has improved in all aspects, combining the strengths of its two predecessors: ‘The feeling at the moment is incredible. I believe that the [bike] of 2024 is better in all areas compared to the one from 2023. It is a mix of the good things from 2022 and the good things from 2023. So, for now, it is working perfectly, but we know very well that everything can change during a competition weekend. At the moment, the feeling is positive and it seems that all the bikes from 2024 are quite fast – also Enea [Bastianini] and Jorge [Martín] – so we can be proud’.
