Ducati sets the pace at Buriram, frustration for Quartararo, aerodynamics reign supreme in testing

Checkered flag on the first day of MotoGP testing at Thailand’s Buriram circuit: report and standings.

Ducati on top on the opening day of official testing at Buriram. In the morning it was Pecco Bagnaia’s turn with a 1:29.678, while in the afternoon Alex Marquez responded with a best lap of 1:29.262, still far from the record, but for now the benchmarks are only partially indicative. In addition, the afternoon session was halted twice in quick succession with red flags, apparently due to issues with the air fence at Turn 1, before resuming for the final half-hour of testing. Tomorrow is the final day, again from 10-13 and 13:20-18 (4-7 and 7:20-12 in Italy). Here’s how today went.

Aerodynamics remains the undisputed star of all the winter tests, with new fairings and “hedgehog” tail units not only for Aprilia, but a bit for everyone. Looking at the Veneto manufacturer, while Martin is mainly working on the feel with the RS-GP26, new to him, they’ve picked up the thread from what was tried in Sepang: seeking confirmation, refinement, and plenty of aerodynamic evaluations before homologating the final fairing. At the center of the cover photo you can also see a new air duct on the RS-GP’s side fairing. Moving on to Ducati, there seems to be a preference for the GP24’s aerodynamic package... “We need to ratify what was decided in Sepang, verifying on a different track whether the decision is the right one”: these were Davide Tardozzi’s words to Sky Sport MotoGP to explain the tests carried out both with the factory team riders and with the satellite squads.

From Yamaha comes further confirmation that the engine problem encountered in Sepang has been identified and resolved, although the situation doesn’t look rosy: in the morning Quartararo was caught on track clearly giving the middle finger to the M1... Continuous aerodynamic testing is ongoing: Meregalli confirmed that starting tomorrow the Pramac duo will also have the new fairing so far used only by Quartararo and Rins. At Honda, work continues non-stop on setup, aerodynamics (for all four riders, including rookie Moreira), and electronics. Comparative tests for KTM as well: after the Sepang tests, further confirmation is needed on a different track, especially to finalize fairing, swingarm, and frames ahead of the opening GP.