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Misano Test: Marquez hits century; Quartararo fastest

Yamaha progress plain on Wednesday, MM93 back out to reach a full century of track time over both days.

Marc Marquez

Bengaluru, September 8: Fabio Quartararo finished Day 2 of Misano MotoGP test with a 1:31.054, the fastest time of the test overall, while at the Repsol Honda Team, Marc Marquez continued to accumulate laps in his comeback.

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, 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.

Meanwhile Marquez fans can rejoice! The six-time MotoGP 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 sessions - an extremely positive sign for the Honda rider's fitness after his arm surgery in June, and therefore an extremely positive sign for Honda in general.

Marquez returns

Marquez returns

On the timesheets, 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.

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 Marquez's bikes.

Different exhaust

Different exhaust

The No.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.

New chassis for Yamaha

New chassis for Yamaha

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 FIM MotoGP World Championship titles, given Team Manager Massimo Meregalli says that the new chassis could appear as soon as the upcoming Aragon GP.

Over to Aragon

Over to Aragon

Crews are packing up after the completion of two days of action at Misano and it is the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team on top of the timesheets, though it is Marquez, who has grabbed the headlines.

After two fascinating days of action which will shape not only next year, but also the rest of the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship season, the MotoGP caravan moves to MotorLand, Aragon on September 18.

Story first published: Thursday, September 8, 2022, 12:20 [IST]
Other articles published on Sep 8, 2022