The Italian won both days of this week’s Qatar test, leading the way with a record-breaking 1m50.952s on Tuesday to edge teammate
Enea Bastianini by 0.120s.
The 2024 Ducati also performed well at the first test of the year in Malaysia, with Bagnaia glowing after the Qatar run.
However, he expresses caution, stating that being strong in testing means little in a true race weekend situation.
“I pushed like always when you have to do a time attack, but it was the first time I put in the soft,” he said of his lap time Tuesday.
“So I’m not sure how much you can increase this lap time. Perhaps you can improve slightly during qualifying with two tyres. To
simulate a sprint, however, laps with soft tyres were required.
“It was sufficient to conduct a single attack. The feeling right now is wonderful. I believe that the 24 outperforms the 23 in all aspects.
“It’s a combination of all the nice stuff from 22 and 23. So, it’s currently working flawlessly.
“But we understand that [during] a race weekend, everything may change. Right now, the mood is upbeat, and the 24 looks quick with
Enea and [Jorge] Martin, so we should be proud.”
Bagnaia stated that his Ducati team was able to finalize the direction for the 2024 bike ahead of the season’s first round in Qatar next
month.
“We’ve decided on everything and with what to start with the season and very happy with the feeling – more than the lap time, because
when you feel this well with a bike it’s normal that lap times are arriving,” he went on to say.
