Yamaha
Much of the pre-test talk centred around Yamaha’s new engine, and the top speed charts made for very encouraging reading indeed. Quartararo clocked 298.3km/h in the pre-lunchtime running on Wednesday, third on that metric at less than 2km/h slower than Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) recorded on one of the Bologna bullets otherwise known as a Ducati. ‘El Diablo’ admitted he used a slipstream to achieve that speed, but was still quite happy with what the Iwata manufacturer has rolled out. He was fastest in that morning session on a 1:31.116 before shaving off a little more time in the afternoon to consolidate his place at the top.

Yamaha also worked on a new chassis, as well as new aerodynamic pieces, with different versions seen on the bikes of Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli, who finished the test 12th-fastest overall. While Misano is very much about developing a bike for the following season, it might also give Quartararo a big boost to his hopes of back-to-back World Championship titles, given Team Manager Massimo Meregalli says that the new chassis could appear as soon as the upcoming Gran Premio Animoca Brands de Aragon. Intriguingly, Meregalli also reported that Yamaha may have found a way to achieve more power this year, which would require a development somewhere other than the engine. What have they got up their sleeve, and we will see the evidence of that in Aragon also?

Honda
Marc Marquez fans rejoice! The eight-time World Champion completed another 61 laps on Day 2 of the Misano test. It was certainly not the most mileage, but he notched up a solid haul in both of the Wednesday sessions – an extremely positive sign for the Honda rider’s fitness after his arm surgery in June, and therefore a positive sign for Honda in general.

As for the machinery, there was plenty going on at Honda as well. The Kalex swingarm which HRC Test Rider Stefan Bradl tried out on Day 1 was back again on Day 2 – and this time, it was seen on one of Marc Marquez’s bikes. The #93 had three different examples of the RC213V at his disposal, those being a pair of 2022 versions and more of a 2023 model, and Honda tested three different air intakes across its fleet of motorcycles. Bradl also tried out a different exhaust, and even did some back-to-back running with the 2021 bike.

On the timesheets, Marc Marquez was Honda’s best in 13th for the test on combined times, having gone as fast as a 1:31.642 in the morning session on Day 2. More importantly, however, there is plenty for the Japanese marque’s technical gurus to pore over in coming weeks and months as preparations for next season ramp up.

Ducati
San Marino GP winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) finished the test second-fastest thanks to the 1:31.172 which he set before lunchtime on Day 2, while the man who was runner-up last Sunday, Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) claimed fourth in the test on a 1:31.260. None of the Ducati riders ventured onto the track in the afternoon, while Mooney VR46 Racing Team had already wrapped up its testing on Day 1.

In the main, the Bologna marque worked on chassis and new aerodynamics, although only with Bagnaia and Bastianini. Meanwhile, Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a spill at Turn 4 – rider okay.

Aprilia
Both of Aprilia Racing’s full-time Grand Prix riders, Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaro, finished in the top five, the former third on a 1:31.189 and the latter fifth on a 1:31.333 – both set in the morning session on Day 2. Of particular note, however, was that Espargaro’s crash in that session has left him with a broken little finger on his left hand. Thankfully, he will not need surgery, and while the Argentina GP winner admitted to being in pain, he expects to be okay to ride at the Aragon GP.

The Noale manufacturer tested different chassis and, like Yamaha, could roll out a new specification as soon as Aragon. There was also new aerodynamics to trial as well.

KTM
Despite chatter in the paddock, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager Francesco Guidotti said that the Austrian manufacturer did not have a 2023 prototype at Misano, although it did test 2023 parts. Miguel Oliveira was quickest of its riders on a 1:31.585 although much of the development work was done by Brad Binder and test rider Dani Pedrosa – with the former putting in a big effort of 46 laps on the Wednesday afternoon.

Suzuki
Team Suzuki Ecstar completed its programme on Day 1 of the test, and was not in action on Day 2.

That’s a wrap on the Misano test, but make sure you check out motogp.com for more news and insights from two fascinating days of action which will shape not only next year, but also the rest of the 2022 season. Then, tune in for MotorLand on September 16-18!

MotoGP Misano Test Top Three (Full Results Here)

1 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – Yamaha – +0.492
2 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – +0.024
3 Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – Yamaha – +0.492

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A total of 427 laps were clocked over the two days by the RS-GPs of Aleix Espargaró, Maverick Viñales and Lorenzo Savadori, all of whom were involved in both tests related to the current season and in comparisons and simulations that could help the development of the 2023 prototype.

Caught up in a crash at Turn 13, Aleix had to interrupt his test towards the end of today’s morning session, having suffered a micro-fracture to the little finger of his left hand that is not cause for concern ahead of Aragón.

Aleix Espargaró
“The injury will fortunately only require a little rest. We’ll check it tomorrow with more detailed tests but I’m not worried ahead of Aragón. The test overall was positive. We tried some concepts with a view to 2023 but we will have to analyse the data well, because Misano is a track with a lot of grip, especially after a race weekend. So it will be necessary to reconfirm the sensations on other tracks”.

Maverick Viñales
“We have definitely taken a step forward with these tests. I am satisfied with the work Aprilia is doing, both with a view to 2023 and to help me in this season finale. In the second part of the race on Sunday I lost something compared to the best riders and in these two days we have also had the opportunity to analyse that situation and work to improve it.”

Romano Albesiano
“Despite what might come naturally seeing the results of this season, our path to perfect competitiveness is still a long one. We are not satisfied and we won’t be until we manage to fill all the gaps in the RS-GP. We are already working on the ideas that will go on to define the 2023 prototype but the analysis process has to be meticulous, the risk of missteps is always just around the corner. There are concepts that seem to work, others that don’t clearly improve, so after so many laps we will have to be good at analysing the data collected. We are at a good level of performance, but this does not allow us to slow down development.” he finished.

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Francesco Bagnaia, fresh from winning his home Grand Prix at Misano, was one of the first riders to hit the track on Day 1, which saw him using all the track time available to complete his busy testing schedule. On the other hand, today, Pecco only took part in the morning session. With 131 laps completed, Bagnaia ended the test in second position with a fastest time in 1:31.172.

Jack Miller also made the most of the first day and the morning of the second before both of his final sessions were cut short by a crash just minutes from the end. During the test, Miller focused mainly on testing different setup configurations, completing a total of 86 laps and setting the eighteenth time overall in 1:31.927.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd (1:31.172 – 131 laps)
“These were two very productive days of testing: we tried several new things, and the Ducati engineers now have a clearer idea of which direction to take to continue the development work on next year’s bike. During these two days, we focused mainly on our corner speed, and every test gave positive feedback. The feeling with the bike was excellent, as demonstrated by my consistent and competitive pace on used tyres. I’m satisfied with the work completed over these two days, and I can’t wait to get back on track next week in Spain.” 

Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 18th (1:31.927 – 86 laps)
“This morning’s crash at Turn 4 was very similar to the one I suffered in the race, and now we’ll have some more data to analyse to understand what exactly happened, as, at that point, I had the feeling I was doing the same as the lap before. In any case, yesterday and today, we worked on different setup configurations but didn’t try any new components. Now we’ll analyse the information gathered over these two days to improve the bike further ahead of the next race at Aragon”.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action from 16th-18th September for the fifteenth round of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship, the Aragón GP, at the MotorLand Aragón in Alcañiz, Spain.  

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