MotoGP Qatar test: Bagnaia destroys lap record as testing wraps up

The reigning world champion topped proceedings on Monday at the Losail International Circuit and cemented this on day two in the desert.

Bagnaia clocked the first ever sub 1m51s lap of the Qatar Grand Prix venue, posting a 1m50.952s to lead team-mate Enea Bastianini by 0.120 seconds.

Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro capped off a solid pre-season for himself on the new RS-GP in third ahead of Gresini’s Marc Marquez, who suffered a crash late in the session.

The day began much like Monday, with few taking to the circuit in the opening hour while conditions were at their least optimal.

LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami led the way after hour one with a 1m54.978s, before Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo took over with a 1m54.122s at the end of hour two.

After three hours of running, Bagnaia had found his way to the top of the order with a 1m52.575s, before Bastianini took over with a 1m52.136s.

During the fifth hour of running, Bagnaia lit up the timing screens and smashed the outright lap record with a 1m50.952s.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

He did so on his 29th lap, and would carry on working on race set-up through to the end of the day having tallied up a total of 52 tours.

The Ducati duo would not be felled from their positions at the top of the order as the chequered flag came out on the 2024 pre-season.

Espargaro proved their closest challengers, albeit 0.308s off the pace.

Marc Marquez suffered a technical issues earlier in the day and a fall late on at Turn 4, but was just 0.383s off the best pace on his 2023-spec Ducati as his adaptation to the bike continued.

Raul Fernandez was an impressive fifth on the Trackhouse Racing-run 2023 Aprilia, with Maverick Vinales sixth on the factory RS-GP.

Jorge Martin appeared to suffer a fall late in the day on his Pramac Ducati and was seventh in the end ahead of VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, KTM’s Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi on the sister VR46 Ducati.

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Quartararo was the leading Yamaha in 14th, with team-mate Rins pushed to 16th by Tech3 GasGas rookie Pedro Acosta.

Joan Mir was the leading factory team Honda rider in 19th in a difficult day for the Spaniard, as he contended with illness before suffering a late fall.

The MotoGP paddock will reassemble in Qatar on the weekend of 8-10 March for the opening round of the 2024 season.