Bagnaia leads Ducati 1-2-3 in Misano test, Acosta fourth on KTM

Reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia set the pace in the post-race Misano MotoGP test on Monday, leading a 1-2-3 result for Ducati.

Factory Ducati rider Bagnaia took the top spot with two hours to go with a time of 1m30.619s, which was just over three tenths down from his Misano Grand Prix pole lap of 1m30.304s.

Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli sprung to second place in the final hour with a late effort of 1m30.780s, putting him just 0.161s off Bagnaia’s chart-setting lap.

Morbidelli separated the works Ducati duo, with Bastianini ending up third after being the first rider to breach the 1m31s barrier in the fifth hour of running.

The eight-hour Misano got off to a slow start due to an overnight shower, with no rider venturing out on a damp track until around 90 minutes had passed since the green flag was waved.

KTM test rider Dani Pedrosa was first to complete an installation lap, with Tech3’s Pedro Acosta then going on to set the first lap time of the day on the GasGas-branded RC16.

It took until the end of hour three before the track conditions improved sufficiently for riders to set competitive lap times, with Acosta leading the way at that point on a 1m31.369s.

Pramac’s Jorge Martin went fractionally quicker in the final hour of the session with a 1m31.124s, which became the benchmark for the remaining riders to beat after the lunch break.

Bastianini was the first rider to go quicker than Martin’s best time from the morning session on a 1m31.116s, before shaving another two tenths off his time to enter the 1m30s bracket.

Bagnaia then went even quicker in the penultimate hour with a 1m34.950s, before securing his position at the front with a 1m30.619s flyer.

Only Morbidelli was able to lap within two tenths of that time as the session drew to a close, with the majority of the field struggling to break the 1m31s barrier.

Ducati was testing new aero parts on its factory bikes at Misano, although Autosport understands that the construction of its 2025-spec GP25 is at an advanced stage.

Meanwhile, Tech3 rider Acosta was the best non-Ducati rider in the standings in fourth place, 0.433s down on Bagnaia for KTM/GasGas.

Yamaha had a number of bikes available for testing at Misano, with 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo taking a prototype version of the M1 to fifth at the flag after clocking a time of 1m31.063s.

Championship leader Martin…