MotoGP Jerez test: Di Giannantonio fastest, Yamaha unveils overhauled M1

Marking the first in-season test of the 2024 campaign, the MotoGP paddock remained at Jerez for an eight-hour session on Monday.

Run in good conditions, VR46 Ducati rider Di Giannantonio led the way with Maverick Vinales chasing him on the factory Aprilia.

Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli completed the top three from Spanish GP winner Francesco Bagnaia on the factory Ducati, while Alex Rins was 14th as Yamaha debuted its new M1.

Marc Marquez topped the opening hour of running after the session got underway at 10am local time, with the Gresini rider posting a 1m36.826s.

Despite not running a factory-spec Ducati, Marquez and Gresini still had much to test, with Monday’s session at Jerez the first opportunity for the partnership to evolve the bike based on the eight-time world champion’s comments from the first four rounds.

Bagnaia found his way to the top of the order in the second hour of running with a 1m36.589s, before Di Giannantonio took over at the end of hour three with a 1m36.405s.

This would stand as the benchmark for the session through to the chequered flag, with nobody troubling this as the outing came to a close.

Yamaha YZR-M1 of Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio

Vinales got closest as he tested various new items, while also discovering that the bike he raced in the Spanish GP had a problem with it.

The Aprilia rider completed 80 laps compared to Di Giannantonio’s 70, while Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli was one of the busiest riders on the test day in third after 82 laps.

Bagnaia was fourth from Spanish GP rival Marquez in fifth, while Brad Binder completed the top six for KTM ahead of Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, Gresini’s Alex Marquez, Ducati’s Enea Bastianini and Pramac’s Jorge Martin.

Yamaha stole most of the headlines on Monday as it unveiled its radically different bike, which featured – among other things – new aerodynamics, a new chassis, swingarm and electronic settings.

Alex Rins was 14th, 0.619s off the pace, while team-mate Fabio Quartararo was 18th.

Honda also had a new bike concept to try on Monday, with Takaaki Nakagami the leading HRC runner in 16th and Joan Mir the top factory team Honda runner in 21st.

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time/Gap	Laps
1	Fabio Di Giannantonio	VR46 Team	1'36"405	70
2	Maverick Vinales	Aprilia Racing	+0"087	80
3	Franco Morbidelli	Pramac Racing	+0"122	82
4	Pecco Bagnaia	Ducati Team	+0"184	43
5	Marc Marquez	Gresini Racing	+0"232	71
6	Brad Binder	KTM Factory	+0"234	64
7	Aleix Espargaro	Aprilia Racing	+0"339	66
8	Alex Márquez	Gresini Racing	+0"371	73
9	Enea Bastianini	Ducati Team	+0"387	65
10	Jorge Martin	Pramac Racing	+0"488	71
11	Pedro Acosta	Tech3	+0"488	75
12	Raul Fernandez	Trackhouse Racing	+0"500	66
13	Marco Bezzecchi	VR46 Team	+0"515	78
14	Alex Rins	Yamaha Factory	+0"619	73
15	Miguel Oliveira	Trackhouse Racing	+0"658	74
16	Takaaki Nakagami	LCR Honda	+0"921	83
17	Jack Miller	KTM Factory	+0"960	73
18	Fabio Quartararo	Yamaha Factory	+1"033	84
19	Pol Espargaro	KTM Test	+1"116	68
20	Johann Zarco	LCR Honda	+1"251	88
21	Joan Mir	Repsol Honda	+1"379	62
22	Augusto Fernandez	Tech3	+1"445	65
23	Luca Marini	Repsol Honda	+1"748	72
24	Lorenzo Savadori	Aprilia Test	+2"437	60