Before MotoGP takes a four-week break from racing due to the cancellation of the Kazakhstan Grand Prix in mid-June, the second eight-hour test drives of the current 2024 season were scheduled for Monday in Mugello. Bad weather conditions severely restricted testing on the track, with several rain showers allowing only a few laps. The meaningless best time was achieved by KTM rider Brad Binder.
The result: Brad Binder secured the top position with a lap time of 1:47.617 minutes. Pedro Acosta lost 0.033 seconds in second place, while Luca Marini lost more than 1.4 seconds to the KTM rider. Jack Miller and Joan Mir followed behind in the rankings. Maverick Vinales finished in sixth position, followed by Alex Rins, Johann Zarco and Miguel Oliveira. Takaaki Nakagami completed the top ten.
Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori just missed out on the top 10, coming in eleventh. He was followed by Raul and Augusto Fernandez and Fabio Quartararo. Franco Morbidelli finished 15th and Alex Marquez completed the field. Seven riders decided not to take part in the Mugello test on Monday: Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini, Marc Marquez, Jorge Martin, Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Aleix Espargaro.
The technology: Since fast or representative lap times were not possible on wet surfaces, all manufacturers refrained from using new parts. At KTM, a new aero package was spotted on Pedro Acosta’s GasGas machine in the pit lane, you can find the corresponding pictures in a Facebook post by MotoGP.
Falls, defects & incidents: The MotoGP riders had themselves well under control in the difficult conditions, with no crashes or missteps recorded.
The weather: The MotoGP test day in Mugello began in difficult conditions. Rainfall during the night had left the asphalt wet. At around 11:30 a.m., it started raining again for about half an hour. Conditions then improved briefly, and there were even a few rays of sunshine. Temperatures climbed to 20 degrees in the air and 30 degrees on the asphalt. At around 2 p.m., however, the rain returned and continued until the end of the test on Monday evening.