2024 MotoGP Qatar Test: Ducati's Pecco Bagnaia Dominant on Second Day, Sets New Lap Record

On the last day of 2024 MotoGP pre-season testing in Qatar, Francesco Bagnaia set a new lap record and led a factory Ducati 1-2. Following his previous best time at Sepang, Bagnaia's outstanding performance completed the Qatar tests without a hitch. Bagnaia broke last year's pole record held by Luca Marini by eight-tenths of a second with a time of 1m50.952s, which was recorded with two hours left in the seven-hour event. Enea Bastianini, another member of his team, was 0.120 seconds behind him.

While ten other riders broke the lap record in ideal track conditions, only Bastianini came close to Bagnaia's incredible speed. Bastianini showed a great improvement from his difficult 2023 season as the Ducati duo displayed their skills in the testing environment. After a late-session crash, Marc Marquez of Gresini finished the pre-season in a respectable fourth place, while Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia solidified third place on the new RS-GP.

MotoGP: Day 2 Qatar Test Result 

After nearly six days on the Desmosedici, new Gresini Ducati rider Marc Marquez had a setback in the closing stages when he crashed. Showcasing tenacity, Raul Fernandez secured fifth place aboard the 2023-spec Trackhouse Aprilia RS-GP while nursing fractures from his high side at Sepang.

Three Aprilia riders,  Espargaro and Maverick Vinales, finished in the top six. Jorge Martin (Pramac) and Fabio di Giannantonio (VR46), who won the race in November, were following closely on their Ducatis.

With a late surge, KTM's Brad Binder took ninth place, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi. Jack Miller, another KTM rider, finished eleventh. Miguel Oliveira showed improvement in handling the 2024 RS-GP, achieving a 12th place result. Alex Marquez closed the gap behind Bagnaia to a single second, with Fabio Quartararo's lead Yamaha finishing in fourteenth. During time assaults, Quartararo cautioned that Yamaha continues to have problems with the rear grip.

As a result of his late lap, Johann Zarco finished 17th for LCR and was named the top Honda rider. Even his teammate Takaaki Nakagami beat Joan Mir and Luca Marini's Repsol machines. While trying to make a comeback, Zarco and Mir both fell in the last few minutes.

After ignoring a few sluggish laps, rookie Acosta showed encouraging performance across the entire distance, but she was a little slower than Binder.

With an astounding 351.7 km/h, Bagnaia snatched first place on the speed table. The top five riders averaged 346.7 km/h. The two Yamaha riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins stood out. Quartararo averaged 346.3 km/h while Rins set the next highest one-off speed of 348.3 km/h.

With injuries sustained in last month's Superbike training crash, Franco Morbidelli, the new Pramac Ducati rider, stayed out of the testing but was seen in the pits.