Bastianini-Stunner on MotoGP Sepang Test Day 2 - Full Results
Categories: MotoGP
Published: 7th February 2024
2023 MotoGP race winner Enea Bastianini continues to impress with his pre-season form as the Italian sets an unofficial lap record.
Losing the teammate battle to Francesco Bagnaia last season does not seem to have affected Enea Bastianini all that much. The Italian continues where he left off in Sepang in 2023.
Giving his rivals no time to breathe on day two of the Sepang test, Martin set a 1’57.273 in his ninth lap of the day, stunning his MotoGP competition.
Only last year’s runner-up Jorge Martin and KTM best Brad Binder were able to somewhat match the Italian’s one-lap pace who after already setting the unofficial new lap record, was on his way to the first-ever 1’56 lap around Sepang before aborting his last attempt of the day.
| Pos. | Rider | Gap | Team |
| 1 | Enea Bastianini | 1'57.134 | Lenovo Ducati |
| 2 | Jorge Martin | +0.139 | Pramac Racing |
| 3 | Brad Binder | +0.193 | KTM Factory Racing |
| 4 | Aleix Espargaro | +0.312 | Aprilia Racing |
| 5 | Francesco Bagnaia | +0.335 | Lenovo Ducati |
| 6 | Fabio Di Giannntonio | +0.485 | VR46 Racing Team |
| 7 | Alex Marquez | +0.538 | Gresini Racing |
| 8 | Pedro Acosta | +0.592 | GASGAS Tech3 |
| 9 | Marco Bezzecchi | +0.733 | VR46 Racing Team |
| 10 | Joan Mir | +0.738 | Repsol Honda |
| 11 | Fabio Quartararo | +0.754 | Monster Energy Yamaha |
| 12 | Johann Zarco | +0.877 | LCR Honda |
| 13 | Alex Rins | +0.976 | Monster Energy Yamaha |
| 14 | Marc Marquez | +0.899 | Gresini Racing |
| 15 | Jack Milller | +1.166 | KTM Factory Racing |
| 16 | Takaaki Nakagami | +1.238 | LCR Honda |
| 17 | Luca Marini | +1.260 | Repsol Honda |
| 18 | Maverick Vinales | +1.322 | Aprilia Racing |
| 19 | Miguel Oliveira | +1.415 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 20 | Augusto Fernandez | +1.781 | GASGAS Tech3 |
| 21 | Cal Crutchlow | +1.856 | Monster Energy Yamaha |
| 22 | Lorenzo Savadori | +2.542 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 23 | Michele Pirro | +2.568 | Pramac Racing |
Will Aprilia's heat struggle continue in 2024?
Following a rather disappointing end to the 2023 season with severe struggle in certain areas, Aprilia is looking to improve the RS-GP ahead of the 2024 season.
Being the first team to run diffusers on the rear of the bike, the Noale brand looks to eliminate on of their biggest problems of 2023 – major heat.
All four Aprilia riders complained about the RS-GP being unable to conserve the front tire in the slipstream as well as being burned by the severe heat coming from the engine.
To make sure their 2024 challenger will not suffer from high temperatures as much, the Italians put a rather unusual test run on their agenda.
With all three of their available full-time riders out on track, the Aprilia ‘train’ put in a half-race stint giving the two factory riders time to experiment on front tire temperature in the slipstream.
Front tire temperature will play an important role throughout the season as MotoGP’s new pressure rule will come into effect with full force at the season-opener in Qatar.
