Marc Márquez finished second in the Spanish MotoGP Grand Prix, losing an intense direct duel with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati). The Gresini rider has last year’s version of the Desmosedici GP, unlike the Italian.
Some believe that this difference could be significant when it comes to winning battles. However, Ducati test rider Michele Pirro told GPOne.com that the differences are not radical:
– Personally, I regret that the comparison between these two bikes continues. While it’s true that the GP24 is an improvement over the GP23, should we develop bikes worse than those of other manufacturers? However, I want to underline one thing: there is not half a second between the two bikes, as some might think.
The Italian emphasized that, especially in the final phase of the race, it is the rider who makes the difference: ‘Above all, in those last five laps of the GP in Jerez, it’s the same whether you have the GP23 or the GP24. When you are pushing so hard, what matters is the rider’s skill and, above all, the attributes you have. Period, there is nothing more to add’.
To further emphasize the fact that there are no inhibiting differences in an older version of the bike, Pirro gave a concrete example from last year: ‘It almost seems as if the GP23 was an uncompetitive, underestimated bike, and it’s not. In this sense, I would like to point out one thing: last year, [Fabio] Di Giannantonio had the GP22 without a single update all season, but he worked hard, reaching the end of the season fighting for podiums and victories’.