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Marc Marquez ended the second day of testing in the official Ducati team with the 14th quickest time, eight-tenths of a second behind teammate Bagnaia. All this, however, despite his first crash "in red" at Turn 9 during a time attack attempt, in which he was close to the times of Morbidelli, who today soared to the top of the time sheets.
Marc therefore says he is satisfied, the workload devoted to the development of the GP25 is still a lot and his feedback will be crucial, because with the freeze on development these efforts will also apply to 2026. The Spaniard, in tune with Bagnaia regarding feedback on Borgo Panigale's new creation, however, had to face these tests with an additional difficulty, having gone directly from the problematic GP23, with which he raced in Gresini last season, to the comparison between the albeit competitive GP24 and the brand new GP25.
"The first day there was more freedom, from there we made a list of tests to do for today," Marc began, "It was a positive day, we managed to complete all the tests we had set for the second day, that's the important thing about today. On my feedback I tried to be as clear as possible, this is crucial because for me both bikes, both the GP24 and the GP25, are new and very different from the GP23. The GP24 is still very competitive, so we have to make sure that the new bike is better than the previous one. Today we focused a lot on the engine and aerodynamics for homologation, which are crucial because we will keep them until 2026. Particularly the engine has to run well, while with aerodynamics you can choose to use it when you want, with the engine you can't. So the list of things to test is still long. It comes directly from the engineers, and it will be the same tomorrow. I also picked up my first crash in red, at Turn 9 which is very slow during the time attack. It was my first outing with the new tires."
At the Ducati presentation both you and Pecco agreed that for a rider the lowering device is more relevant than the aerodynamics, why?
"With aerodynamics everything changes, from braking points to the way you approach the corners. With the rear lowering device the bike becomes very stable on the straight, it is true that aerodynamics also contributes, but it has no effect instead on the corners. We used to jokingly look at photos coming out of corners and every time the bike is lower... it's not nice to look at! - he joked - but this is the new MotoGP."
How far along are you with adapting to the bike, do you feel ready for the first race or do you still have a lot of testing to do?
"Tomorrow morning we will have a clearer idea, but I will know in Thailand. This is a difficult test for a rider, when we don't have to change a single spring anymore that's when we will start working well on the setup."
Do you like being back to this kind of development work with an official team?
"Yes but it is difficult," admits the Spaniard, "you have more fun riding it is clear, but we are working for the engineers. It's three days where your job is to assist the engineers. Last year when I was in Gresini I was freer it is true, but I was not prepared for this kind of work, I was focused on my feelings on the bike, now instead I can do it. The only real difficulty is having to give feedback starting with two bikes that are new to me. In Thailand the way to approach testing instead will be different, there we will work to prepare for the race."
With Di Giannantonio injured, it is now just you and Pecco developing the GP25. Are you aligned?
"Yes our comments are very similar, maybe there are some small differences due to riding style but we are of the same opinion."
How are you getting along with your new chief engineer and the team?
"I'm getting along well with Marco Rigamonti, he knows how to plan the day well, although at the moment I'm talking more with the engineers. With the team we don't know each other well yet because these days there hasn't been time to do it yet."
Physically, how do you feel after these two days of testing?
"Not great actually, but not so much for the physical aspect. I only slept five hours yesterday because of jet lag, so hopefully tomorrow will be better."
