Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez set the fastest time on the final day of pre-season testing at Buriram, leading another 1-2 finish for Ducati.
Having already established himself as the pacesetter on Wednesday, Marquez found another three tenths overnight to lower the benchmark to 1m28.855s on the factory Ducati.
This put him just one and a half tenths down on the outright lap record at Buriram, set by Francesco Bagnaia during qualifying for last year’s Thai Grand Prix.
The 31-year-old set his quickest time just two hours into the start of the day’s running before switching to longer runs in the afternoon, averaging a time of 1m30.361s over a 23-lap race simulation.
Meanwhile, Gresini’s Alex Marquez carried over his strong form in pre-season testing on Thursday, posting a best time of 1m29.034s to finish 0.179s behind his elder brother in second.
Marco Bezzecchi once again carried the torch for Aprilia in the absence of reigning champion Jorge Martin, jumping up to third in the final 30 minutes of the session.
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Bezzecchi’s late effort demoted KTM’s star rider Pedro Acosta to fourth, although they were separated by just over half a tenth.
Acosta was the first rider to beat Marquez’s lap time from Wednesday as the final day of testing began, but he was shuffled down to fourth after failing to improve on his initial 1m29.133s flier.
Double champion Bagnaia ended up a solid fifth for Ducati, half a second behind his team-mate Marquez, while Joan Mir propelled Honda to sixth place with a time of 1m29.399s.
Seventh position went to VR46’s Franco Morbidelli, another standout performer of pre-season testing, while Fabio Quartararo seemingly got on top of the issues that plagued him on Wednesday to put Yamaha in eighth.
Tech3’s Maverick Vinales, Pramac rider Jack Miller and Trackhouse rookie Ai Ogura all lapped within half a tenth of Quartararo, ending up ninth, 10th and 11th respectively.
It made reigning Moto2 champion Ogura the fastest of the three rookies at Buriram, with Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini) and Somkiat Chantra (LCR) in 18th and 20th respectively.
| Cla | Nº | Rider | Bike | Time | Delay | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Ducati | 1’28.855 | 39 | |
| 2 | 73 | Álex Márquez | Ducati | 1’29.034 | 0.179 | 36 |
| 3 | 37 | Pedro Acosta | KTM | 1’29.133 | 0.278 | 31 |
| 4 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia | 1’29.244 | 0.389 | 34 |
| 5 | 63 | F.Bagnaia | Ducati | 1’29.378 | 0.523 | 38 |
| 6 | 21 | F.Morbidelli | Ducati | 1’29.454 | 0.599 | 37 |
| 7 | 79 | Ai Ogura | Aprilia | 1’29.636 | 0.781 | 38 |
| 8 | 36 | Joan Mir | Honda | 1’29.730 | 0.875 | 35 |
| 9 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM | 1’29.732 | 0.877 | 42 |
| 10 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | 1’29.818 | 0.963 | 27 |
| 11 | 43 | Jack Miller | Yamaha | 1’29.830 | 0.975 | 31 |
| 12 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Honda | 1’29.882 | 1.027 | 41 |
| 13 | 10 | Luca Marini | Honda | 1’29.884 | 1.029 | 35 |
| 14 | 25 | Raúl Fernández | Aprilia | 1’30.013 | 1.158 | 33 |
| 15 | 42 | Alex Rins | Yamaha | 1’30.218 | 1.363 | 38 |
| 16 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | KTM | 1’30.258 | 1.403 | 48 |
| 17 | 35 | Somkiat Chantra | Honda | 1’30.465 | 1.610 | 41 |
| 18 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | KTM | 1’30.516 | 1.661 | 31 |
| 19 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | Yamaha | 1’30.565 | 1.710 | 40 |
| 20 | 54 | Fermín Aldeguer | Ducati | 1’30.597 | 1.742 | 28 |
| 21 | 32 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia | 1’31.527 | 2.672 | 36 |
Photos from Buriram Test – Day 2
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