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The point of observation is always important when observing something. Photographers know this well, as in the case of our two great snappers Gigi Soldano and Tino Martino who, not surprisingly, choose lenses of various focal lengths when shooting in search of the best images.
A telephoto lens is the optimal choice when you want to frame a distant subject, just as a wide-angle lens is the right choice when you want to have a panoramic image. The reality, however, is that the telephoto can also be used to peer at a detail within a larger scene, just like within a photo taken with a 24mm where a detail may appear that, magnified, adds something important to a shot.
Being on location during an event, even today in the days of the Internet and the overabundance of information, is a bit like having a large photography kit. For this GPOne, as always, missed neither the shakedown nor the first MotoGP test of the year in Sepang.
Having the opportunity to follow the way the tests panned out for a good six days, going up and down between the pitlane and the press room, not counting the moments of pause, perhaps chatting with Michele Pirro in the Ducati hospitality in front of a plate of spaghetti, was like having the best photographic lenses: from the general to the particular and from the particular to a broader, more complete, more comprehensible image. So, what did these first tests of the year tell us: it's worth remembering that they are, at the same time, an exam for the engineers, for the riders, but also, of course, the opening of the playground for all the members of the family that is the paddock and which viscerally loves MotoGP?
In this first piece we will only comment on the top 5 best times - four Ducati riders and one Yamaha - Alex Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo, Franco Morbidelli and Marc Marquez.
Why? Well, we want to express a few concepts, and a few personal impressions. Let's start with the first: hopefully, after the performance of Marc's younger brother Alex, even those who find it the hardest to understand realize what kind of bike the Desmosedici GP24 was - and is. Simply the best.
The former Moto3 and Moto2 world champion had also demonstrated this in the last test of 2024, at Barcelona, but at Sepang he reiterated the concept: we are talking about a bike that is absolutely at the top of its class - still - and that has truly reached an exceptional level of set-up. How exceptional? Enough to make Pecco and Marquez doubt, more than once, the 'need' to go further, especially from an engine point of view.
We asked Pecco directly, point-blank: do you feel like telling Gigi Dall'Igna that you would rather set aside the new engine for the 2024 one? Francesco, very sincerely, answered, "I have no reverential fear - and he added - Gigi is super-competitive and just wants to win. It has already happened in the past that I have had to tell him to give up this or that component because it did not convince me."
This is already one aspect of the picture of the new championship that will begin in Thailand on March 2 that makes us not regret traveling all the way to Sepang. So only after the next test, in Buriram, on February 12 and 13 will we know the outcome of the decision that Bagnaia, Marquez and Dall'Igna will jointly make, because Alex Marquez not only set the best time in Malaysia, but also allowed himself the luxury of making a Sprint race simulation that was faster than his brother's.
If at this point you think the answer to the most important question has been given, you are wrong. Already because what makes us wonder is that in the simulation the two official Ducati riders did not use exactly the same configuration of the Desmosedici GP25.
They didn't tell us in detail, in fact Bagnaia almost apologized explaining that the most difficult thing, for a rider in debriefing with us is...to tell us something without explaining anything!
But that's the way it was, so at this point we have a picture taken with a wide-angle lens and we have to take a magnifying glass to unearth the illuminating detail. A far from simple goal and one that will keep us busy in the coming days.
For the moment we have seen two GP24s occupy center stage with Alex and Franco Morbidelli marginally faster than Marc in the time attack. However, if the lesser of the Marquez brothers was extremely effective in the simulation, the same cannot be said of 'Morbido' who might have been The Revenant offering a good overall performance that brings him back to center stage as an outsider, but one that must be observed with a telephoto lens.
In fact, the Italian-Brazilian centered his best time on the 5th passage of the day, in the coolest hour, racking up almost the perfect lap - his ideal time is 1'56.892 compared to the actual 1'56.948 - but then thereafter he was not super-constant and in the simulation, 14 laps, where he never dropped below the low 1'59", certainly in the hottest hour.
Okay, so what did these numbers tell us? Basically that going from the GP23 to the GP24 is definitely a big jump and that finally this year there will be no discussion about it, also because we think that the performance jump between the GP25 and the 24 is not as sharp as compared to the previous generation.
In this regard we would like to know the true opinion of Marc Marquez for whom the '24 and the '25 are both new bikes. And this explains, albeit partially, why he and Pecco did a simulation with partially different machines, and also why, as shown in the nice opening photo we reposted inside, Bagnaia and Marquez spoke with each other often and openly. Something the Turinrider particularly enjoyed.
Alright, that's enough about Ducati, but we haven't forgotten about the big surprise of the tests: the third quickest time of Fabio Quartararo.
At the beginning of the tests Fabio and Maio Meregalli had bet on that 1'56" that eventually appeared in the Diablo's dashboard. But...however, we have to keep in mind that thanks to the concessions Fabio had twice as much time to find the best solution and that at the end of the day the Sepang track was so covered with rubber and 'grippy' as to minimize any grip problems.
It's true: Fabio often went round in the high 1'57s, but precisely he stayed there by recording his best lap even in the cooler weather, on the 10th passage, while at the end of the day he only ran six consecutive laps, three of them in the high 1'57s. Which suggests to us that Yamaha has made a definite step forward, for sure, but that the path to glory is long and his ideal time - 1'56.584 - is only marginally better than his best result, 1'56.724.
In short, all very good, especially if we think about it in the perspective of gaining access to Q2, but not so good in the perspective of the Grand Prix. Although Quartararo is a race animal and should definitely not be underestimated.
All right, these are our first impressions, still hot, about the top five. There is a lot of reasoning still to be done. Then we will move on to the rest of the group. If you have thoughts or observations to make your scribe awaits them, on social media, under our videos or via email. They will be greatly appreciated.
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