Aprilia dominates Jerez test with 1-2-3 finish and new aero upgrades

MotoGP In-Season Test at Jerez: Ogura Takes Top Spot

MotoGP’s first in-season test of the year took place at the Jerez circuit, where Ai Ogura emerged as the fastest rider. The Trackhouse rider set a time of 1m35.944s in the afternoon session, securing the top position with just minutes remaining. This performance marked a 1-2-3 finish for Aprilia, with Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi following closely behind.

Ogura edged out his teammate Fernandez by a mere 0.005 seconds, showcasing strong teamwork between the two riders. Despite their impressive times, both were still three tenths behind Bezzecchi on the factory Aprilia. However, they fell short of Alex Marquez’s fastest lap from Friday Practice at the Spanish Grand Prix by about two tenths of a second.

Bezzecchi was the first rider to take to the track when the test session began at 10 am on Monday. He set an early benchmark with a time of 1m36.790s and made a slight improvement on his lap before Pedro Acosta took the lead on his factory KTM by 0.035 seconds. Later, Sunday’s race winner, Alex Marquez, moved the goalposts with a time of 1m36.394s, which remained unbeaten until the end of the morning session.

Lap times did not immediately drop after the lunch break. It wasn’t until approximately two hours into the afternoon session that Fernandez managed to surpass Alex Marquez with a time of 1m36.316s. An hour later, Marc Marquez moved his factory Ducati to the top, but Fernandez quickly reclaimed the lead on his satellite Aprilia. The gap between the two riders was just 0.049 seconds, but the former grand prix winner eventually pulled ahead comfortably with an hour left in the session.

The Spaniard seemed poised to end the day at the top, but much like Sunday’s race at Jerez, Ogura surged ahead in the final moments to finish as the quickest rider.

Behind the Trackhouse duo, Bezzecchi secured a strong third place for Aprilia. He overcame a crash at Turn 11 during the afternoon session to move ahead of Marc Marquez. The factory Ducati rider, who was testing a new front fairing on one of his bikes, finished fourth, ahead of the top KTM rider, Pedro Acosta.

Alex Marquez, the Sunday winner, ended up in sixth place for Gresini, while Fabio Quartararo finished seventh. Quartararo was testing a new rear aero device and front fairing on his Yamaha. Fabio Di Giannantonio, from VR46, took eighth place, and Johann Zarco was Honda’s top rider in ninth.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) rounded out the top 10, followed by his former title rival Jorge Martin (Aprilia). LCR’s Diogo Moreira was the fastest rookie in 13th place, though he also became the first rider to crash on Monday. The Brazilian suffered a high-speed fall at Turn 1, damaging his bike.

A total of 23 riders participated in the test, including Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori and KTM’s Dani Pedrosa, who effectively replaced the injured Maverick Vinales. However, Gresini was down to one bike in the afternoon session, as Fermin Aldeguer called it quits halfway through the day.

Full Results from the MotoGP Jerez Test