Acosta Emerges as Ducati’s Biggest Threat at San Marino GP: A Detailed Lap Time Analysis

Analysis of lap times indicates Pedro Acosta may pose a challenge to Ducati

Ducati competitors seem poised for victory at the San Marino GP, yet an unexpected contender might disrupt their plans

April's victory at the Americas Grand Prix seems like a distant memory, almost as if Ducati's unexpected performance in the 2024 MotoGP season was a mere illusion.

Apart from Maverick Vinales' exceptional victory at the Circuit of the Americas, every podium finish at the grand prix has seen a member from the Bologna group taking the lead. The streak of GP24s securing all the wins was interrupted by Marc Marquez, who took control and won the previous weekend's Aragon GP on his Gresini-operated GP23.

Whether it's their latest models or their classic bikes, Ducati consistently appears to be on a winning streak week after week.

Heading into this weekend's San Marino GP, the first of two races scheduled at Misano this month due to Kazakhstan's event being called off, attention is squarely on the top four Ducati riders in the championship standings.

Over the past three years, riders from Ducati have clinched victories at the San Marino GP. The races in 2021 and 2022 were taken by Francesco Bagnaia, and in 2023, Jorge Martin came out on top for Pramac, marking a significant boost in his quest for the championship that year.

Following the initial day of the 2024 San Marino Grand Prix, the results were as expected. Bagnaia, still experiencing discomfort from his recent collision with Alex Marquez at Aragon, clocked the quickest lap at 1 minute and 30.685 seconds. He was closely followed by Marc Marquez, who triumphed at Aragon, with Martin, his Pramac colleague Franco Morbidelli, and Enea Bastianini completing the top five positions.

The leaderboard, featuring Martin, Bagnaia, Marquez, and Bastianini, is tightly packed with just 71 points separating the top contenders. The quick lap times seen on Friday suggest an exciting weekend ahead in this competitive group. However, a detailed examination of the extended practice runs from Friday's hour-long session indicates that among the Ducati riders, Martin, Bagnaia, and Marquez stand out as the competitors to keep an eye on.

During the second practice session, Martin managed to complete 18 laps using a soft rear tire over multiple attempts. His quickest time was recorded as 1 minute and 31.579 seconds on the tire's 18th lap. Considering the grand prix on Sunday is scheduled for 27 laps, the Spaniard's performance is notably outstanding as he aims to increase his lead of 23 points in the overall rankings.

In contrast to the competitors he's directly challenging for the title, Gresini team's Marquez tested the soft rear tire for 11 laps and also conducted a brief stint of four laps on a medium rear tire. Marquez demonstrated impressive velocity, with the eight-time world champion clocking a time of 1 minute and 31.364 seconds on a 10-lap run using the soft tire. This indicates a robust pace for the race, though slightly behind Martin when considering the wear on his soft tire.

Marquez aimed to replicate his Red Bull Ring experience on the bike as the weekend commenced. He acknowledged accomplishing this and being competitive, though he admitted that Martin and Bagnaia have an edge.

Bagnaia completed 14 laps using a medium rear tire, achieving his best time of 1m31.570s after nine laps with that tire. Towards the end of his session, his speed slightly decreased to 1m31.795s. Despite this strong performance, there are still doubts regarding Bagnaia's ability to maintain his fitness throughout an entire race. He mentioned taking painkillers before the afternoon session to improve his physical state, and emphasized how crucial the day's positive outcome on the motorcycle was for him, especially following the events in Aragon.

During his impressive lap, Bagnaia led in three of the four segments. KTM's Jack Miller, closely following him towards the end of the second practice to secure a spot in Q2, observed that the world champion excelled especially in Turns 1 and 2, and mentioned that his pace in the third sector was outstandingly "embarrassing" due to its superiority.

Bastianini experienced a less than stellar performance in Friday's review. He managed to complete 12 laps using a medium rear tire, with his fastest being a 1m32.066s – although this was achieved towards the end of his stint on that tire. However, this still places him significantly behind the leading three Ducati riders at present, and it's not the level of performance he needs if he aims to make up the 71-point gap to Martin.

Analyzing the mean speed over several laps, Marquez leads the pack boasting a time of 1m31.919s, achieved over five laps. Bagnaia trails closely with a time of 1m31.989s, tallied over eight laps. Martin is not far behind, clocking in at 1m32.091s from six laps. Lastly, Bastianini registers a time of 1m32.484s, derived from four laps.

This information has been adjusted to exclude any laps that were nullified or times that were not indicative of actual performance. However, it doesn't fully capture the true essence of how each rider's performance unfolded. Martin, who has been dealing with a stomach virus, mentioned he dedicated considerable effort to fine-tuning his motorcycle's configuration, a factor that likely affected his steady performance.

Pedro Acosta is poised to challenge Ducati

However, after Friday's sessions at Misano, it appears that a racer not riding a Ducati is emerging as a significant challenger to the Italian brand.

In the initial stages of the second practice session, Pedro Acosta quickly established himself as a frontrunner aboard his Tech3 GASGAS, frequently topping the leaderboard with his KTM. The newcomer was riding a wave of momentum into Misano, having recently celebrated his inaugural pair of podium finishes at Aragon, marking a significant resurgence following a series of challenging races.

Last year at Misano, the KTM showed impressive performance, thanks to test rider and wildcard entrant Dani Pedrosa, who narrowly missed the podium by finishing fourth in both events. Recently, Acosta had the opportunity to ride at Misano, testing WP suspension on a Moto2 motorcycle. Although this experience doesn't directly compare to handling a 300hp MotoGP monster, it undoubtedly gave him a head start as the weekend began.

At the Aragon circuit, Acosta discussed the strategy of "retreating slightly to advance more significantly." In an effort to overcome the slump he's been in since the summer hiatus, Acosta's Tech3 squad returned to the configurations he employed at the season's outset, which propelled him to Grand Prix podium finishes in Portugal and America.

After experiencing a fall at Turn 8 during the second practice session, Acosta still managed to clinch a direct spot in Q2, finishing sixth in the overall timings. However, his consistent speed over longer stretches suggests he could be a strong candidate for the podium at Misano, and maybe even a contender for the win.

On Friday afternoon, the 20-year-old completed 16 circuits using a soft rear tire. His fastest time was 1 minute, 31.301 seconds when the tire had been used for 12 laps, and on his last lap with that tire, he recorded a time of 1 minute, 32.014 seconds. When considering an average over nine laps (excluding any laps that were annulled or not indicative of true performance), his average speed was 1 minute, 31.921 seconds.

Showing strong performance in racing configuration, Acosta has the potential to shake things up for Ducati's leading riders at their home event, especially if he manages to secure a spot on the front row, or at the very least, within the top two rows, just as he did at Aragon.

Discover More

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Site Navigation

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

Reproducing all or part of the text, photos, or graphics in any manner is strictly prohibited.