Marc Marquez’s test time today a secret as he shares track with Valentino Rossi
Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi among riders who joined WorldSBK test day at Portimao
Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi shared the Portimao track on Monday.
Marquez has also been in action on Tuesday but Rossi hasn't yet emerged.
The old rivals were each riding road bikes on the first of two days organised by the Aruba.it Ducati WorldSBK team.
Ducati MotoGP riders were also invited to partake - with the Marquez brothers, Francesco Bagnaia, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio di Giannantonio and Enea Bastianini featuring.
Luca Marini, formerly of VR46 but now with Repsol Honda, was also on track.
Both Marc and Alex Marquez did not fit a transponder onto their bikes so their test timings were not publicly recorded, however. Also on Tuesday, the brothers did not use a transponder.
Marc was riding a 240hp Ducati Panigale V4 R for the first time.
His choice to keep his test timings quiet was perhaps a clever ploy to hide his progress from nearby rivals ahead of the 2024 MotoGP season, when fellow Ducati riders believe he will return to fighting for the championship.
And, speaking of fighting, Marquez shared a track with Rossi again on Monday.
Rossi, the MotoGP legend and VR46 team owner, could not pass up the opportunity to join his riders on a bike.
He jumped on a Yamaha R1 - the bike which the Japanese manufacturer gave him when he retired in 2021.
Rossi was 30th-fastest on Monday with a best lap time of 1:44.703, compared to the 1:39.913 that Nicolo Bulega posted to top the timesheet.
VR46 rider Bezzecchi posted 1:43.622 and Di Giannantonio's time was 1:43.740.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
