The day after the Italian GP, the test day scheduled on the Mugello circuit opened at 10 a.m. this morning, but very slowly, and for good reason: rain appeared on the Mugello circuit during the night. A first bike very quickly showed up, namely the Aprilia of Maverick Viñales, who wanted to check its performance in these conditions after the difficulties encountered in Jerez.
However, he soon returned to cover and his opponents did not show much more enthusiasm. Even though the track gradually dried out, the conditions remained too imperfect for the teams to be able to carry out the bulk of their work, not to mention that heavy black clouds covered the circuit again… At 11:30 a.m., the rain had returned and the situation would then only get worse.
We had to wait more than an hour before seeing the first time appear on the screens below the 1’50 mark, posted by Jack Miller on his KTM. After four hours, there were still only five to have ridden in this window, with a best performance (1’47″617 for Brad Binder on the KTM) still three seconds from the track record.
However, around ten other drivers had started their session, some for a simple evaluation shakedown but others began to string together laps on grooved tires. If the situation did not change on the timing side with the intensification of the rain at the beginning of the afternoon, we were still able to see a little action, in particular thanks to the Honda contingent (122 laps in total) and to Jack Miller (32 laps). His mission was to continue working on his driving position, a subject which is now occupying him as he seeks to get closer to the style used by Pedro Acosta.
Despite a timid clearing in the second half of the afternoon, practically no one left the stands, alone Luca Marini making an exception for a few laps in the last hour. Some will not even have set foot outside, and in particular the top four of Sunday’s Grand Prix, who are also in the spotlight today after the latest twist in the transfer market.
For the most important assessments, you will have to retake. However, the program was busy, and important for some. At Aprilia, in particular, we absolutely wanted to improve traction in a straight line and the use of the soft rear tire, which particularly involved work on the electronics. It was also planned to test a new departure and an aero package intended for the second part of the season.
On Yamaha’s side, despite the work already done in private testing, the program focused on a new engine and a lot of work still to be done on the electronics, in order to improve the turning of the M1, the traction when reaccelerating and the he physical aspect of driving, which posed a problem for Fabio Quartararo during Sunday’s race. Likewise, Honda had planned a new engine for this test, while continuing its work evaluating aerodynamic packages.
The new parts brought by Ducati will remain secret, only Franco Morbidelli having driven his GP24 on the track, he who seizes the slightest opportunity to ride in order to compensate for the time lost at the start of the year. And at KTM neither, we will not say more about the developments that had been planned, in particular for Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta.
The third and final official test day on the season program will take place in Misano, the day after the San Marino GP and before the departure for the overseas tour which will occupy a good part of the autumn. In the meantime, MotoGP riders will enjoy a calm month of June, before racing resumes at Assen in just over three weeks.
MotoGP test at Mugello
The most beautiful photos of the Italian GP MotoGP
