Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez made his debut with the factory Ducati team in the Barcelona post-season test on Tuesday morning.
More than an hour after the track action began, Marquez finally headed out on track to get his first taste of next year's GP25 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The Spaniard completed a total of four laps in a short run, posting a time of 1m41.648s on his first flying lap before improving to 1m40.783s on his next tour.
He returned to the pits a lap later to provide feedback to Ducati engineers, who will continue to hone the bike over the winter before it is homologated for the 2025 season.
In an interview with Sky Italy, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi said: "There are several new features, from the engine to the chassis. Marc will go out directly with the new bike, Pecco [Bagnaia[ will have a first taste with the '24 and then go with the '25."
HERE WE GO THEN!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 19, 2024
Time for @marcmarquez93 to paint the town Ducati red 🔴#BarcelonaTest pic.twitter.com/71j9skHBAZ
As revealed by Motorsport.com on Monday, Marquez was running a largely unbranded bike painted in red colour. His race suit, also in red, was devoid of any personal sponsorship.
Ducati test rider Michele Pirro had already put some laps on the Desmosedici and sat 14th in the classification with 14 laps on the board. Francesco Bagnaia put another four laps on Ducati's tally.
Just prior to Marquez's run, newly crowned MotoGP champion Jorge Martin got to test the Aprilia RS-GP for the first time.
Riding an unbranded carbon fibre bike with two stars on the front fairing, Martin hit the track at around 11am local time.
Sporting a golden helmet with the words MotoGP champion emblazoned on it, he completed a longer seven-lap stint, setting an initial lap of 1m45.117s. He managed to shave more than three seconds from that time, clocking 1m41.964s on his final flying lap before returning to the pits.
Martin was running with the #89 on his race suit, but Aprilia clarified in a statement that he is yet to decide the bike number he will be racing with in 2025.
Alex Marquez, who will remain with Gresini after signing a new two-year deal, set the initial pace with a time of 1m40.006s.
The day's running will end at 5pm local time.
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