Blistering long runs at Buriram: Aprilia hammers, Ducati shows flashes, KTM and Honda seek consistency

Last day of testing with race simulations for all MotoGP riders, how did it go? Here’s what we saw.

All the winter tests are now in the books, but it’s interesting to take a look at the race pace shown today in the various simulations, with the Aprilia riders (remember, a record day today with Bezzecchi) and Ducati particularly standing out. MotoGP kicks off next week right here at Buriram, so we can form an initial (clearly provisional) idea of the pecking order we’ll see in action, since the various long runs were carried out more or less at the times and in the conditions we’ll get again in seven days for the Thai Grand Prix.

Let’s start with Bezzecchi, who, even before setting the new record, was a metronome in his simulation: 21 laps recorded with a best of 1:29.583 in the early stages, most laps in the 1:30s (lap 5, then from lap 8 to 15), finally going over 1:31 on laps 16-21, with a 1:31.269 as the ‘slowest’ reference. The strength of Aprilia’s work is also confirmed by Ai Ogura and his equally excellent 11-lap pace, ranging between 1:29.9 and 1:30.3—really not bad for the Trackhouse standard-bearer! Jorge Martin wasn’t bad either, with 11 laps between 1:30.1 and 1:30.8, with a single 1:31.0 on the penultimate lap. Finally, 11 consecutive laps as well for Raul Fernandez: his best lap was a lone 1:29.9, more consistently in the mid-1:30s, finishing with a 1:31.1 as his slowest time.

In terms of simulation pace, Fabio Di Giannantonio was steadily above 1:30, the top Ducati in the afternoon session thanks to a final time attack in 1:29. Before that, he showed consistent laps between 1:30.3 and 1:30.9 over 11 laps, then climbed over 1:31 in the last two. For Franco Morbidelli we recorded only two mini-simulations of 5 and 6 laps, with an average pace between 1:30.1 and 1:30.8, plus a couple of references over the 1:31 barrier. Marc Marquez had an incomplete race simulation due to a crash, but over the six recorded laps we saw a pace between 1:29.8 and 1:30.1—not bad despite everything! Same story for Alex Marquez, who ended his simulation after 10 laps due to a fall, putting together a steady pace between 1:30.0 and 1:30.6, with a single exception at 1:30.9. Bagnaia’s race simulation was shorter than expected—something he didn’t like—but his pace ranged between 1:30.6 and 1:30.7 over 9 laps, with a lone 1:31.1 set right at the start: a pace he also showed later in a mini five-lap run. Lastly, a look at how Michele Pirro did, standing in for Fermin Aldeguer in these tests and the first GP: 11 laps with a basically steady pace between 1:32.5 and 1:32.7, with two laps above 1:33 and a one-off 1:36.

Let’s start with Joan Mir: his 10-lap pace shows a 1:30.1 as the fastest and 1:31.0 as the slowest. Moving on to Johann Zarco, with 18 consecutive laps: best time 1:29.880, the only one under the 1:30 mark, a range where he logged most of his laps. Ten laps between 1:30.1 and 1:30.9, then up into the low 1:31s. Double simulations of 13 and 14 laps for Luca Marini: the first with a lone 1:29.9, then settling between 1:30.3 and 1:30.9, a rhythm repeated in the second run, this time with a couple of low 1:31s at the start and the end. Rookie Diogo Moreira wasn’t bad at all: 11 consecutive laps with a best in his lone 1:30.9, then stabilizing in the 1:31s, up to a 1:31.6 maximum.

Brad Binder topped the afternoon session thanks to a final time attack of 1:29.3, but in his 20-lap race simulation he stayed consistently above 1:31, ranging between 1:31.1 and 1:31.9, with two exceptions in 1:32. On to Enea Bastianini’s 18 consecutive laps: he did only a couple of laps under 1:31, then stabilized around that pace before rising to 1:32 in the final tours. Maverick Vinales certainly didn’t hold back, logging a large number of laps: a long 24-lap run before a technical issue, then a sequence of about a dozen laps ranging between 1:30.2 and 1:30.9. Two simulations for Pedro Acosta, one of 7 laps with pace between 1:30.3 and 1:30.6, and a second of 13 laps, averaging between 1:30.6 and 1:30.9, with five laps just over 1:31.

The standings don’t flatter the Iwata brand, but the race pace isn’t the worst after all! In about ten consecutive laps, Fabio Quartararo put in five tours between 1:30.5 and 1:30.9; of the others, a 1:31.1 was his slowest lap. Let’s analyze Jack Miller: in a 6-lap mini-simulation he went from a best of 1:30.8 to a maximum of 1:31.6; in the 12-lap run the references rose, ranging between 1:31.5 and 1:32.8, up to a final 1:33 before pitting. A 12-lap sequence for Alex Rins, half in the high 1:30s, while the second half climbed above 1:31. Very short runs for rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu, but the pace remains on average above 1:32.