Ducati CEO reveals Marc Marquez’s record lap time at Aspar on a new Panigale V2

Ducati boss Claudio Domenicali claims six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez matched the "unofficial lap record" at the Aspar Circuit on the new Panigale V2 in stock trim.

Marquez carried out a winter training session last week at the Aspar track in Spain, riding a race-spec Panigale V2 from 2024 in a track day also attended by 2024 MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin.

In a LinkedIn post, Domenicali says he made some calls to get Marquez the 2025-spec V2 which had been used for promotional material for him to test.

Marquez is said to have lapped the track at 1m12.2s on the 2025 version, and apparently achieved the same time on the 2024 race-spec V2.

"It was just before Christmas when I was on the phone with Marc for the usual holiday wishes, and I found out he had planned a training session at the Aspar Circuit in Valencia," Domenicali began.

"The plan was to have a session on a 2024 Panigale V2, since he was told that our fully new 2025 model was not yet available in race trim.

"I was too curious to hear his opinion about our new baby track bike. So, during my trip to the mountains for my skiing holiday, I made a few calls to arrange for him to do at least a few laps with the bike we had used for the official launch video and photo.

"To my surprise, I got a call from Marc at the end of the day.

"He told me not only that he loved the bike’s quick handling, super comfortable riding position, and “electric” power delivery, but also that he managed to lap in 1m12.2 seconds.

"My team informed me that this matches the unofficial lap record for the Supersport class.

"Marc also rode the 2024 Panigale V2 in full race trim, achieving the same lap time. However, the 2025 Panigale V2 was a fully road-going version, with legal catalysed exhaust, headlight, taillight and side stand.

"We can’t wait to test the 2025 Panigale in full race trim with Marc and Pecco [Bagnaia]. This version will have 126 HP compared to the current 120 HP, along with nearly 10kg of weight savings from removing all the road-legal features.

"I am very happy with the performance of a bike designed to strike the best compromise between lap times on the track and fun on open mountain roads.

"Thank you, Marc, and many compliments to the Ducati engineers who developed this bike. Welcome to the family, new Panigale V2. Once again, low weight is proving to be a winning choice."