Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia can't agree on Balaton Park joining MotoGP

Marc Marquez believes Hungary’s new Balaton Park circuit brings variety to the MotoGP calendar, despite concerns that the tight and slow layout is not suited to premier-class machinery.

The MotoGP title leader joined his fellow Desmosedici riders for a Panigale V4 S test day at the venue during the summer break, gaining early track knowledge ahead of next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Balaton Park, which recently hosted its first WorldSBK round, squeezes 18 corners into a compact 4km layout.

“We went in Balaton Park testing with the Panigale V4. It was a nice day because all the Ducati riders were there, so we know the track,” Marquez said on Thursday at the Red Bull Ring.

“It’s not a very difficult track to know, because it’s a small track, but I like it.

“I like it because, in the end, in a championship, you need to have a different kind of tracks. You need to have tracks like Assen, for example, flowing and fast corners, and these kinds of circuits which are more stop and go.”

Marquez also revealed how Ducati’s riders performed across the different sectors.

“We enjoyed it and we already understand who was faster in the sectors. I was fast in T1, Alex [Marquez] and Fermin [Aldeguer] in T2, Pecco [Bagnaia] was super fast in T3. So let’s see!”

"MotoGP bikes are not suited to tracks like this"

Team-mate Bagnaia was less enthusiastic about the layout, describing it as “very slow” and predicting a major set-up shift would be required.

“Balaton is a different kind of track compared to all the rest. Very slow and we need to change a lot the setup of the bikes I think because MotoGP bikes are not suited to tracks like this,” Bagnaia said.

“It’s very small. I think we are going so slow that safety is not a problem."

The Italian also doubted that a MotoGP bike would use all of its six gears.

“I think we will use from 1st to 5th gear because you don’t have time to put 6th,” he added.

VR46's Fabio di Giannantonio gave the following verdict: "The track is fun, but it is quite tight in a few sections, and it will be interesting to see how the MotoGP will fit because some places are pretty tight."

Team-mate Franco Morbidelli described it as "great track... narrow and technical", adding that much will depend on the type of tyres Michelin selects for the new event.

Next weekend’s MotoGP round will be the first Hungarian motorcycle grand prix since 1992.