Saturday and Sunday’s activities return to the MotoGP rider’s track for the second and final pre-season test. The test will take place at Portimao’s Autodromo his Internacionaldo his Algarve, in the same place where the curtain rises for the season from March 24th to his 26th. Portuguese Grand Prix.

It’s been almost a month since the MotoGP mainstays finished their first 2023 tests at Sepang, but a huge frenzy has been experienced at the factories of two Japanese manufacturers, notably Honda and Yamaha, compared to Ducati. There was a clear sense of inferiority. in the test. Aprilia’s progress compared to them was also noteworthy, especially in terms of aerodynamics, and the fifth KTM brand also showed insufficient manners to jump on the winning bandwagon.

There are some unknowns that need to be clarified: Will Ducati continue to show such great supremacy at new circuits that have yet to win races? Will Yamaha continue to lose effectiveness in the field? Can Honda get a competitive bike for Marc Márquez and Joan Mir? Aprilia is Ducati’s great rival?

In addition to all this, we need to make two changes to the regulations This affects mandatory tire pressures (1.9 bar front, penalty for anyone below 1.7 bar rear) and a ban on dynamic front holeshots (currently only allowed at the start). And the implementation of the MotoGP electronic control unit update Official teams only, how it will affect client teams maintaining ECUs for the period 2018-2022.

This is how Honda arrived

Sepang has been particularly helpful in helping Honda work under the style of new technical director Ken Kawauchi. He is well known because all three of him, Joan Mir and Alex Rins, are from Suzuki. And with the two Repsol and his Honda riders coming to the same conclusion, they have already left Sepang with a bike choice. But according to his eight-time world champion Marc Márquez, this month he had to work bit by bit at HRC’s headquarters in Asaka.

“We will be evaluating the bike on the last day of pre-season and it is far from being the fastest so we have to work. It is not the bike we need to win a championship. It was important to have a clear base and forget about other things. Basically Valencia very similar to the bike from the test, similar in concept and with the same problems. At the helm of the ship, his physical problems forgotten.Tester Bradl has been working three days in Jerez on the news.

THIS IS HOW DUCATI ARRIVAL

Unlike Honda, Ducati showed its elements at a circuit like Sepang, signing a double deal at the head of the combination between GP22 driven by Luca Marini and GP23 driven by defending champion Pecco Bagnaia. His 7 of the 8 Ducati riders (all except Johann Zarco) finished in the top 9 of the test.

Even if Ducati and Bagnaia are one step ahead of their rivals in the second half of the 2022 championship, the Japanese are still far behind. They need to make a difference on the exit of the curve, accelerate in the first few metres, and double check it at Portimao. Also note that it will arrive with the 2023 engine update.

This is how Yamaha arrived

Fabio Quartararo’s frustrating remarks as he left Sepang on Sunday speak for themselves, but only two drivers, the Frenchman and Franco Morbidelli, who lost their customer teams, are in charge of development. They weren’t working on the fastest lap. It used to be a plus for them and the pace wasn’t a big deal either. As Quartararo claimed, they increased their top speed, but instead of losing momentum in other areas that made a difference.

This is how Aprilia arrived

Seeing Maverick Vinales in front of a test or in the top three is something that has happened since he was with Suzuki, and it’s how he’s lost his fiendish speed in dry turns over the years. It means that they are not. They still need to be able to compete in the ‘Ducati Cup’, but they have taken a step forward. The current chassis is great and has great cornering. They lack the final click when it comes to the engine – his new 2023 spec will premiere at Portimao – but as shown by the fact that his four drivers stood out at Sepang, they I have weapons to fight with.

THIS IS HOW KTM ARRIVAL

As is the case with Honda, Sepang is not a favorable circuit for KTM either, so we plan to do all the tricks at Portimao, where we have won two at Oliveira. In principle, this new engine with a different firing order should help with dry cornering, easier overtaking and front tire management, but it should also improve aerodynamics. Pol Espargaró of the customer team GasGas Factory Tech3 was the best man in Sepang.