Quartararo edges Bagnaia in Catalunya MotoGP test

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo has set the pace in MotoGP testing at Catalunya, one day after winning the race.

The Frenchman set a 1:39.447s in the first hour of eight and that would prove to be the fastest lap, with the Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia next-best with a 1:39.451s in the sixth hour.

Fellow Ducati rider Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) had been quickest immediately prior to Quartararo’s benchmark, and his improvement in the fifth hour meant the top three were covered by 0.053s at the end of proceedings.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) rounded out the top five, with Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo) sixth on a 1:39.742s.

Best of the KTMs was Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) in 11th, four positions up on Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM), while Joan Mir ended up 12th on the sole GSX-RR, with Suzuki Ecstar team-mate Alex Rins sidelined due to a fractured wrist he sustained in the three-rider crash at the start of the grand prix.

Quartararo swapped between the revised swingarm which he used in the race and that which he started the year with, but Monster Energy Yamaha boss Maio Meregalli advised that he will not use the aerodynamic package which was on his bike for part of the Mugello weekend for the rest of the season.

Team-mate Franco Morbidelli, who had a crash before being classified eighth at day’s end, did, however, run with the upgraded aero.

Ducati test rider Michele Pirro and also Zarco sampled a new-spec chassis, while Miller, Bagnaia, and Gresini Racing’s Bastianini experimented with revised aerodynamics.

Aprilia, however, came out with a bold new side fairing and Espargaro, who had a minor crash during the day, tried the car-style rear wing which Lorenzo Savadori debuted during his wildcard appearance at Mugello.

Alex Marquez (Castrol LCR) notched up a day-high 96 laps on his Honda, with Zarco racking up 93 laps and no one else beyond the eighties.

Red Bull KTM boss Francesco Guidotti confirmed that the Austrian marque was working on new parts, current parts, and even some from last year.

All four RC16 riders had finished in the points in the Catalan Grand Prix, with Brad Binder in eighth, Miguel Oliveira ninth, and the Tech3 duo achieving career-bests of 11th for Gardner and 15th for Raul Fernandez.

Round 10 of the season will be held at Germany’s Sachsenring on June 17-19.

Results: Catalunya Official Test