2024 Barcelona MotoGP Test Times: Alex Marquez Tops Final Test Of 2024

By David Emmett |

Alex Marquez has ended the final test of the 2024 season on top of the timesheets, the Gresini Ducati rider setting a time of 1'38.803, his best lap time of the weekend. The Spaniard was nearly four tenths faster than Fabio Quartararo, the Frenchman breaking the Ducati hegemony at the top of the timesheets. 

The Factory Ducati Lenovo riders followed in third and fourth, Pecco Bagnaia setting his best lap early, Marc Marquez toward the end of the session. Bagnaia went back and forth between a GP24 and a GP25, while Marquez alternated between a GP23 but spent 90% of his day on the GP25 prototype. 

Raul Fernandez put in last ditch effort to grab fifth on the timesheets, the Trackhouse Racing rider the best Aprilia finisher. Brad Binder was the fastest KTM rider, seven tenths slower than Alex Marquez and a few hundredths faster than Franco Morbidelli on the VR46 GP24. Alex Rins made it two Yamahas in the top 10, ending the test in eighth a third of a second behind his Monster Energy Yamaha teammate.

Pedro Acosta was ninth fastest and second KTM, now moved to join Brad Binder in the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team. The Spaniard finished just ahead of the impressive Johann Zarco, once again best Honda and eight tenths behind Alex Marquez. 

Jorge Martin ended the day 11th fastest, a second behind Alex Marquez after spending most of the day on a 2025 prototype of the Aprilia RS-GP. The newly-crowned world champion looked very comfortable on the Aprilia, as was his teammate Marco Bezzecchi, who was 13th. Sandwiched in between the two factory Aprilias in 12th was Maverick Viñales, another fast adapter, switching from Aprilia to KTM. Viñales' new teammate Enea Bastianini had a tougher day of it, suffering a massive crash at Turn 5 from which he walked away unscathed, but finishing the test in 16th. 

Fermin Aldeguer was the best of the rookies, the Gresini Ducati rider finishing 20th, ahead Ai Ogura on the Trackhouse Aprilia. Somkiat Chantra was 23rd on the second LCR Honda. All three rookies crashed on their first outing on their respective machines.

Multiple riders tried the new Michelin front tire, scheduled to be introduced for the 2026 MotoGP season. All bar one were positive, and the tire is ready to be tested at Sepang and Buriram, ahead of finalizing the construction and introduction in 2026.

Results:

Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Prev
1 73 Alex Marquez Ducati 1'38.803    
2 20 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 1'39.199 0.396 0.396
3 63 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati 1'39.398 0.595 0.199
4 93 Marc Marquez Ducati 1'39.454 0.651 0.056
5 25 Raul Fernandez Aprilia 1'39.471 0.668 0.017
6 33 Brad Binder KTM 1'39.508 0.705 0.037
7 21 Franco Morbidelli Ducati 1'39.565 0.762 0.057
8 42 Alex Rins Yamaha 1'39.568 0.765 0.003
9 37 Pedro Acosta KTM 1'39.571 0.768 0.003
10 5 Johann Zarco Honda 1'39.616 0.813 0.045
11 89 Jorge Martin Aprilia 1'39.859 1.056 0.243
12 12 Maverick Viñales KTM 1'39.887 1.084 0.028
13 72 Marco Bezzecchi Aprilia 1'39.995 1.192 0.108
14 41 Aleix Espargaro Honda 1'40.007 1.204 0.012
15 36 Joan Mir Honda 1'40.070 1.267 0.063
16 23 Enea Bastianini KTM 1'40.082 1.279 0.012
17 88 Miguel Oliveira Yamaha 1'40.138 1.335 0.056
18 10 Luca Marini Honda 1'40.232 1.429 0.094
19 51 Michele Pirro Ducati 1'40.486 1.683 0.254
20 54 Fermin Aldeguer Ducati 1'40.564 1.761 0.078
21 79 Ai Ogura Aprilia 1'40.946 2.143 0.382
22 43 Jack Miller Yamaha 1'41.025 2.222 0.079
23 35 Somkiat Chantra Honda 1'41.295 2.492 0.270
24 32 Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia 1'47.596 8.793 6.301

Records:

Pole Position: 2024-Rd-20 Francesco Bagnaia 1:38.641
Fastest Lap: 2024-Rd-20 Marc Marquez 1:40.088
Best Race Lap: 2024-Rd-06 Pedro Acosta 1:39.664
All-Time Lap Record: 2024-Rd-06 Aleix Espargaro 1:38.190
2025
0
MotoGP
Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
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Comments

Positive reports from the riders about the new tyre, why not, just to make things interesting, after 50% of the race weekends for 2025 have been completed bring in the new tyre.  The first practise session of each weekend is for tyre testing of the new tyre.  

Yeah I know that's too much jeopardy for the teams, but one can dream. Plus I think it'd suit MM93 best of all, he is rather adept at changing conditions and this would be just that.

Eh.... Mir's title has a massive asterisk and he has 6 podiums in his MotoGP career outside of that crazy year (when Morbidelli almost won on a 2-yr old Yamaha). Marini was Ducati #8 of 8 and made a great business decision to get his HRC deal. Aleix showing them how to ride their own bike is not surprising to me. 

Zarco is the only real Honda reference today.

Although I don’t agree with the Mir comment about his championship winning year. It’s a shame people think that way, but everyone’s entitled to their opinion. What is true is that today, he is a mere shadow of his former self. But that has everything to do with confidence and the massive lack there of. Not sure he’ll get it back in the next 2 years…