Bezzecchi fastest in Jerez MotoGP test

Marco Bezzecchi has set the fastest lap of the Jerez MotoGP test in a VR46 Ducati one-two.

The field stayed on at the Andalucian circuit for the first in-season Official Test of 2023 after a dramatic Spanish round which saw Red Bull KTM’s Brad Binder win the Sprint and the Ducati Team’s Francesco Bagnaia take out the Grand Prix race.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo spent the bulk of the eight-hour test session on top, setting a 1:37.304s in the first hour.

Prima Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin clocked a 1:37.089s in the next hour before Quartararo hit back with a 1:36.725s which was the benchmark until the final hour.

That effort would leave the Frenchman third on the timesheet all told, with Bezzecchi going as quick as a 1:36.574s and Luca Marini setting a 1:36.678s on the other Mooney VR46 Racing Team entry.

Gresini Racing’s Fabio Di Giannantonio ended up fourth on a 1:36.963s on another 2022-specification Desmosedici, which were, of course, absent any development parts.

In fact, across the Ducatis, the only noticeable new item was the belly pan on Johann Zarco’s Pramac motorcycle.

Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaro wound up fifth and seventh respectively, with both practicing starts during the day but the Noale marque also content with largely fine-tuning its existing RS-GP package.

Splitting them on the timesheet was Bagnaia, with eighth through 10th being Binder, Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati), and Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati).

Idemitsu LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami was first of the Honda riders in 12th, while Jack Miller finished 14th on his Red Bull KTM.

Both the Queenslander and team-mate Binder were seen trying the aerodynamic parts which test rider Dani Pedrosa rode with during the weekend.

Round 5, the French MotoGP, will be held at Le Mans on May 12-14.

Results: Jerez Official Test

Pos	Num	Rider	Nat	Team	Bike	Time	Gap 1st/prev
1	72	Marco BEZZECCHI	ITA	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	1:36.574
2	10	Luca MARINI	ITA	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	1:36.678	0.104/0.104
3	20	Fabio QUARTARARO	FRA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	1:36.725	0.151/0.047
4	49	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	ITA	Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	1:36.963	0.389/0.238
5	12	Maverick VIÑALES	ESP	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	1:36.964	0.390/0.001
6	1	Francesco BAGNAIA	ITA	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	1:37.024	0.450/0.060
7	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	ESP	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	1:37.060	0.486/0.036
8	33	Brad BINDER	RSA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1:37.068	0.494/0.008
9	89	Jorge MARTIN	ESP	Prima Pramac Racing	Ducati	1:37.089	0.515/0.021
10	73	Alex MARQUEZ	ESP	Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	1:37.189	0.615/0.100
11	25	Raul FERNANDEZ	ESP	CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team	Aprilia	1:37.285	0.711/0.096
12	30	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	JPN	LCR Honda IDEMITSU	Honda	1:37.314	0.740/0.029
13	5	Johann ZARCO	FRA	Prima Pramac Racing	Ducati	1:37.326	0.752/0.012
14	43	Jack MILLER	AUS	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1:37.431	0.857/0.105
15	36	Joan MIR	ESP	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1:37.516	0.942/0.085
16	21	Franco MORBIDELLI	ITA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	1:37.543	0.969/0.027
17	42	Alex RINS	ESP	LCR Honda CASTROL	Honda	1:37.722	1.148/0.179
18	37	Augusto FERNANDEZ	ESP	GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3	KTM	1:37.739	1.165/0.017
19	6	Stefan BRADL	GER	HRC Test Team	Honda	1:37.782	1.208/0.043
20	26	Dani PEDROSA	ESP	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1:38.397	1.823/0.615
21	94	Jonas FOLGER	GER	GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3	KTM	1:38.542	1.968/0.145
22	32	Lorenzo SAVADORI	ITA	CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team	Aprilia	1:38.558	1.984/0.016