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Setting the pace at the end of the three-day test at the Sepang circuit was Marquez. Not the most expected Marquez however, because it was Alex. To find Marc, you have to go down to fifth place. The eight-time world champion stopped the clocks on 1'56"042, while his little brother, riding the GP24, set a 1'56"493, a performance difference that does not seem to worry the pluri-titled champion of the Ducati Lenovo team all that much.
"I slept nine hours and recovered all the fatigue from the jet leg, so I went out on the track charged up and was able to try everything on the list," said the Spanish rider at the end of the afternoon. "In an official team there is always a program to follow, so you can discard what's wrong and get information to make comparisons later. In general I can say that we leave here with clear ideas."
Lots of practice dedicated to new things, but you were also able to show your speed....
"Yes, I made two runs and worked on set-up. It was also a chance to get to know my engineer better who, by the way, has studied all the data from last year and knows what I need for my style. Already after two changes I felt more comfortable in changes of direction and stopping the bike, which at that time was my weak point in comparison with the other Ducatists."
How do you get along with your new crew chief?
"We understand each other, but we only did two days together. It's clear that Bastanini had a different way of explaining things than I did. Normally an engineer needs to know the details to best understand where to intervene. As said, we understand each other, but this understanding will slowly be refined."
Did you do a Sprint simulation?
"It went well. I was faster than Martin in 2024? That's normal because in testing the track has a lot of rubber. On the contrary in the time attack I was slower and I still chose to use one tire so as not to waste any. Yesterday morning I ended up on the ground while I was looking for the time and that takes away some confidence. Having two different bikes, if you crash with one you ruin the whole day. So, today I saw that the time trial was not bad and I stopped. The second tyre I used for the starts."
What mark would you give yourself in these tests?
"High, 8. I was good physically and also with the team everything went okay, then we'll see, there are at least two riders who are going very fast, one is my boxmate, the other from home (the brothers live together, ed.). However, I am satisfied and we have made progress. Even though my brother beat me, I am happy as I understood what we need. We will see in Buriram to confirm the feelings."
It is certainly different to challenge the time trial or another rider. If you had come next to your brother on the last lap what would you have done?
"Being behind you risk overheating the front tyre and losing ground or the opposite. If I had been on the last corner behind him, I would have tried to pass him. Alex was very fast both at Montmelo and here, in the Sprint simulation as well as on the one lap, so it was good to be able to look at his data."
Do you imagine a title fight in the family?
"Too early for him. He's enjoying, so keep going. He has a very good feeling. I would never put pressure on my brother. The pressure is for the official riders. But of course, I was concentrated a lot on my garage because it was a very tough schedule and all the engineers were there to understand well because we need to choose the correct way. The good problem of Ducati is that you start from a very good base, so to improve that base you have to be very sure that it's better. So for that reason we tried and retried. The good problem is we start from a base that won 19 races from 20. Today we focused on the details, on so we can make a selection of what is good. It's not just the engine and aerodynamics that count."
The Sprint simulation with which technical solutions did you do it?
"It was a mix. It was with the aero of 2024, the rest you cannot see."
Where do you think the GP25 can improve?
"Of course you can always try to improve, the problem was the track conditions were unreal because there was a lot of rubber and you don't know where the problem of the bike is because when the track is super good, many problems all that rubber absorbs. So at the moment when I put the best package I feel good."
