2026 Sepang MotoGP Test Results (Day Three)
The final day of official MotoGP testing ended on a slightly ominous note for four of MotoGP’s factories. While their winter of work has resulted in solid gains – Yamaha excluded – there is still some way to go as Ducati produced a show of strength on the final day.
Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez posted the fastest time of the test. His lap of 1m 56.402 was less than a tenth off the outright lap record. Fabio Di Gianntonio (third), Marc Marquez (fourth), Pecco Bagnaia (fifth) and Franco Morbidelli (sixth) all occupied the top six, with Di Giannantonio stating “90 percent” of their preseason work is now complete.
Reason for Italian optimism didn’t end there; Thursday saw the first batch of Spring simulations of the official test in Malaysia, with Ducati’s front runners enjoying the upper hand. Alex Marquez was the fastest of the lot, his average time over ten laps coming in at 1m 58.027. (Bagnaia’s was 1m 58.166s, Marc Marquez’s a 1m 58.289). Pedro Acosta – the first non-Ducati – was more than six tenths slower per lap.
That’s not to say 2026 will be another Ducati whitewash. There were enough in the performances of certain riders from Aprilia, KTM and Honda to suggest their time will come. Marco Bezzecchi in particular showed strongly on Thursday, setting the second fastest time, just 0.12s back of Alex Marquez. While his Sprint simulation was 0.9s off the junior Marquez per lap, it’s believed he started the ten-lap run on very used rubber. Aprilia bosses were secretly delighted.
Acosta was the fastest KTM of the day in eighth.” Even though we were trying a lot of things and not really knowing the bike the lap-time was quite good I’d say,” he commented. Still, he wasn’t overly enamored with proceedings. “The test was a six out of ten,” he said.
2026 Sepang MotoGP Test Results (Day Three)
| 1 | Alex Marquez | SPA | Ducati | 1:56.402s |
| 2 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia | 1:56.526s |
| 3 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Ducati | 1:56.785s |
| 4 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati | 1:56.789s |
| 5 | Joan Mir | SPA | Honda | 1:56.874s |
| 6 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati | 1:56.929s |
| 7 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Ducati | 1:56.983s |
| 8 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | KTM | 1:57.116s |
| 9 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | KTM | 1:57.126s |
| 10 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Aprilia | 1:57.245s |
2026 Sepang MotoGP Test Results (Day Two)
To say the second day of official MotoGP testing at Sepang contained a few surprises would be understating the matter. Action was curtailed midway through the afternoon, meaning Joan Mir became the first Honda rider to top an official test day since February 2022.
But of greater significance was the fact that no Yamaha completed a single lap through the day. After Fabio Quartararo suffered a mechanical issue toward the end of Monday, factory engineers decided the new V4 YZR-M1 would not return to track until they understood the cause of the mechanical.
“(We know) What the issue is, yes,” said Technical Director Max Bartolini. “What caused it is what we are trying to figure out. Considering the safety of our riders and the other riders, we decided before to come back on track to really understand which was the problem.”
His comment heavily implied the issue was engine-related, due to fears of dumping oil. There are genuine fears they won’t reappear on the final test day of Thursday.
Mir set Honda’s fastest ever lap of Sepang with a 1:56.874 to lead Franco Morbidelli by 0.109s. Fabio Di Giannantonio continued his strong test in third, 0.17s back of Mir.
It was another solid day for KTM, with Pedro Acosta fourth and Maverick Viñales fifth. Acosta, in particular, cut a calm, mature figure as he contrasted the ease with which he can set his current times with last year.
“Generally, this KTM feels more natural,” said Acosta. “You don’t have to push to your 100 percent to find a correct lap time. Everything is coming more easily. The first test of last year, I was already crashing like five times in two days. It’s quite nice to have something that makes your life easier.”
Fastest on Tuesday, Marc Marquez was only 15th on day two as he continued testing aerodynamic solutions. The reigning champ revealed he has four different aero combinations to confirm on the final day.
2026 Sepang MotoGP Test Results (Day Two)
| 1 | Joan Mir | SPA | Honda | 1:56.874s |
| 2 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Ducati | 1:56.983s |
| 3 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Ducati | 1:57.049s |
| 4 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | KTM | 1:57.116s |
| 5 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | KTM | 1:57.126s |
| 6 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia | 1:57.141s |
| 7 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Aprilia | 1:57.274s |
| 8 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati | 1:57.302s |
| 9 | Ai Ogura | JPN | Aprilia | 1:57.376s |
| 10 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | KTM | 1:57.550s |
2026 Sepang MotoGP Test Results (Day One)
There was no shortage of drama as MotoGP screamed back into action on Tuesday with the official Sepang test kicking off. Marc Marquez topped the timesheets as he enjoyed a first outing on a MotoGP machine in 121 days, while Fabio Quartararo broke a finger, ruling him out of the remainder of the week.
With the track rubbered in after the three-day Shakedown test last week, times were immediately quick. Marquez got within 0.7s of the all-time lap record in the late afternoon but tried to play down his speed soon after. He hadn’t felt great on the bike, he said, and only went fastest due to pushing at the end of the day when others were saving soft tires for days two and three.
There was no such luxury for Quartararo, who crashed at well over 100mph just eight laps in. The Frenchman tucked the front at Turn 5, and suffered heavy grazing to his left arm as well as breaking the middle finger on his right hand. Despite going back out to set the ninth quickest time, he withdrew from the test. “Tough start,” he conceded.
It was a solid day for Ducati, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (second), Alex Marquez (fourth) and Pecco Bagnaia (eighth) all showing well. What’s more, they praised the changes to the GP26, with electronics and aerodynamics the focus of the day. Bagnaia, in particular, appeared relieved. “From the start of the day I enjoyed riding,” he said.
Elsewhere, Maverick Viñales’ return from injury was eye-catching as he ended the day third. Aprilia’s improvements were roundly praised with Marco Bezzecchi fifth. And Honda has kicked on from 2025 with Luca Marini and Joan Mir sixth and seventh.
But times were difficult to read. Most riders spent the day on Michelin’s medium rear tire, preferring to save their softs. Wednesday should provide a more reliable picture of where each manufacturer sits.
2026 Sepang MotoGP Test Results (Day One)
| 1 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati | 1:57.018s |
| 2 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Ducati | +0.256s |
| 3 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | KTM | +0.277s |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia | +0.506s |
| 5 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda | +0.551s |
| 6 | Joan Mir | SPA | Honda HRC | +0.675s |
| 7 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati | +0.702s |
| 8 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster | +0.851s |
| 9 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Ducati | +1.050s |
| 10 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Honda | +1.122s |
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2026 MotoGP Sepang Shakedown Results
(January 29–31, 2026)
MotoGP Test Riders Hit Sepang
There was reason to cheer in the Espargaro household as Aleix Espargaro (Honda) topped the three-day Shakedown test at Sepang with brother Pol (KTM) second fastest as each of the five factories prepared for the official test, which starts this week.
The elder Espargaro brother wasn’t just a full six-tenths quicker than the best time from last year’s Shakedown with a 1: 57.173; he later claimed that the early version of Honda’s 2026 RC213V is “the best bike I’ve ever ridden,” suggesting HRC engineers didn’t slow down over the winter months.
While Pol made no such comments afterward, a source close to KTM’s test rider claimed the engineers of the Austrian factory were optimistic after his 1:57.299 time.
The three-day outing in Malaysia was attended by the test riders from the five factories, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Diogo Moreira (MotoGP’s two rookies in 2026), plus Yamaha’s full-time riders, who were present thanks to the concessions the Iwata factory currently enjoys.
All eyes were fixed on Yamaha’s garages as its riders pressed ahead with testing for its new V4 YZR-M1. Quartararo was third fastest despite technical issues slowing him on the final day. “We need a lot of time to be able to understand the bike, especially for the engineers,” said the Frenchman.
Jack Miller, fifth on the final day, appeared more upbeat. “The big changes we needed from Valencia have been done. So now the steps just get smaller and smaller—more refined.”
On whether the V4 had found speed compared to 2025, he added, “It’s not a rocket ship by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not as bad as it was.”
After suffering from engine issues on the first two days, Moreira was the fastest rookie, with his personal best of 1:58.338 just 1.1 seconds off Espargaro’s flyer.
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