Marc Marquez believes Hungary’s new Balaton Park circuit will bring diversity to the MotoGP calendar despite concerns that tight, slow layouts are not suitable for premier-class machines.
The MotoGP title leader joined his fellow Desmosedici riders for a test day of Panigal V4 at the venue during the summer holidays, gaining early track knowledge ahead of next weekend’s Hungarian Gal Rampuri.
Balaton Park, which recently hosted its first WorldSBK round, narrowed its 18 corners down to a compact 4km layout.
“We went to the Balaton Park test with the Panigal V4. It was a good day as all the Ducati riders were there.
“It’s a small truck, so it’s not that hard to know, but I like it.
“In the end, I like that because championships require a different kind of track. For example, tracks like Assen, like flowing corners or fast corners, or circuits like this that go more at a stop.”
Marquez also revealed how Ducati riders played in different sectors.
“We enjoy it and already know who’s gotten faster in the sector. I was fast with T1, Alex (Marquez) and Fermin (Aldeguer) and Pecco (Bagnaia) was very fast with T3.
“MotoGP bikes aren’t suitable for tracks like this.”
Teammate Bugnaia is not too enthusiastic about the layout, and should describe it as “very slow” and predict big set-up shifts.
“The Balaton is a different kind of truck compared to all the rest. It’s very slow and MotoGP bikes aren’t suitable for tracks like this, so there’s a big need to change the bike setup,” Bagnaia says.
“It’s very small. We’re very slow, so safety isn’t an issue.”
Italians also doubted that the MotoGP bike would use all six gears.
“I don’t have time to put the sixth so I think I’ll use the first to fifth gear,” he added.
Fabio di Giannantonio of VR46 gave the following verdict: “The track is fun, but it’s pretty tough in some sections. It’ll be interesting to see how MotoGP fits in because some places are pretty tight.”
Teammate Franco Morbidelli described it as “a great track… narrow and technical.” This adds that Michelin depends on the type of tire that you choose for the new event.
Next weekend’s MotoGP round will be the first Hungarian motorcycle grand prix since 1992.