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In the Portimao circuit the activity is frenetic. Nothing to do with what will happen tomorrow and Sunday in the last two days of MotoGP testing, but these hours are being used to prepare everything in the best possible way for the start of the year. At turn 5, Aprilia took advantage of the backdrop of the Portuguese circuit for their customary launch photos, while in the paddock there is a coming and going of riders and bikes. Here too the photographers are in action to capture the new liveries. In the pits, on the other hand, the technicians are working for tomorrow.
What should we expect from these tests? The feeling is that all the tricks with the new bikes have already been played at Sepang. The Malaysian circuit, with its demanding braking sections, long straights and bends of different radii, is ideal for clarifying the ideas; while Portimao, with its ups and downs, is way too particular. So the two days that await us (starting at 10.30 and finishing at 18.30, Italian time) will be a sort of dry run for the first Grand Prix.
It's not just an impression, but it's what the riders who come to the press room to introduce what will happen are confirming. In short, few new parts and heads down already focusing on the race, with the simulation of the sprint race for everyone, while some riders are even thinking about putting themselves to the test over the full distance.
Naturally, there are those who have never had any innovations, such as the VR46 pair with the 2022 Ducatis. Not that it's a bad thing in their case, because they know they have an almost perfect bike in their hands. However, there is still a lot of work to do and Luca Marini tells us about something unusual: "all the new parts must be run in, in the sense that they have never been used: brakes, fuel tanks, you have to be sure that nothing has problems and then you put them away as spare parts. For the official team, Pirro does this job, we do it ourselves." A couple of hours will be lost, "because you have to use tyres with compounds that don't work here".
Pol Espargarò, on the other hand, has done a lot of tests in Malaysia and Pedrosa even more, so in Portugal he will above all be looking for confirmation, before thinking (naturally him as well) about the race. The situation of his box-mate Augusto Fernandez, the only rookie of the year in MotoGP, is different. In Malaysia he lapped with last year's bike, here he will do the same but with some updates and will only have the 2023 on the first race weekend.
In the RNF Aprilia team it is a question of both riders getting used to the new bike. Oliveira and Fernandez (Raul, in this case) will only have 6 days to forget about the KTM before starting with the championship. For Miguel, the home advantage factor comes in handy: "I can't say that I know this track more than the other riders, but I won here and it's important to try another bike".
However, there is no rule without its exception and in this case it is represented by Honda. In this particular case, the 3 days at Sepang simply weren't enough to clear things up and there will be some new stuff to try. Rins revealed that he will test material that the two factory riders had in Malaysia and, as a result, Marquez and Mir will probably have new parts.
Something can also be expected from Ducati and Aprilia, especially as regards aerodynamics. The two Italian manufacturers preferred to keep their cards close to their chest in Sepang, so as not to leave their opponents time to 'be inspired' by their solutions and we will almost certainly see different fairings. Without forgetting that in Noale they tested an evolution of their V4 on the dyno for a long time.
All details that can make the difference, for a tasty starter for the first Grand Prix.
