Day 1 is in the books with a familiar #93 on top, but there’s drama elsewhere as Quartararo crashes and withdraws to recover.
One day into 2026 and there’s already plenty to talk about. One is the return of Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the #93 takes back to the top, first day out for the season. The other is a crash at Turn 5 for Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), after which he’s heading home. Initial checks saw him given the all-clear for any fractures and head back out, but after continued pain in his arm and hand, he reports a broken finger and has decided to focus on recovery and sit it out.
Meanwhile, second overall went to Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), with Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) completing the top three.
DUCATI LENOVO TEAM, PERTAMINA ENDURO VR46 RACING TEAM & BK8 GRESINI RACING MOTOGP:
Any concerns about his injury at the end of 2025 were very quickly banished as Marc Marquez hit the ground running. Steady progress throughout the day culminated in a late burst into P1 with a 1’57.018 – not bad considering the reigning World Champion hadn’t visited the track since the same test last season. On the other side of the box and with Davide Tardozzi declaring during the Midday Live that it’s a “new Pecco”, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) finished in P8 and was 0.702s off his teammate. The double MotoGP World Champion was positive at the end of the day and targets a race simulation on day two.
There was plenty for the Italian marque to be celebrating elsewhere. In stark contrast to 12 months ago when he crashed pulling a wheelie on a slow-down lap and missed the remainder of testing, Di Giannantonio was P2 on his first day of 2026. Making it a Ducati 1-2, the #49’s late flurry of laps briefly saw him in P1 but finished 0.256s away from top slot. Teammate Franco Morbidelli rounded out the top ten, taking eight tenths off his morning time in the second session.
Rounding out Ducatis running was the sole Gresini machine of Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), who topped the opening session but was the only rider in the top 13 who didn’t improve in the afternoon. He is the most recent Grand Prix winner in Malaysia, however.
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING & RED BULL KTM TECH3:
Viñales put Red Bull KTM Tech3 in third overall after a late push, in somewhat classic #12 style. He was also glowing about the team and factory’s work in his debrief, saying it’s the first time in a long time there are really key changes on the table to try. The Austrian factory have a new chassis, new swingarm and aero to try, with Viñales saying he’s trying the former on Wednesday.
Enea Bastianini was P12 on the sister Red Bull KTM Tech3, not putting a push in at the end, with Brad Binder just behind him with the #33 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine. Pedro Acosta rounded out the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing line-up in P15 as they focused on testing and not pushing for the top.
HONDA HRC CASTROL & HONDA LCR:
One of the revelations of day one was the factory Honda outfit of Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) and teammate Joan Mir. Both were building on the work done by the test team in the Shakedown Test to put themselves in the top seven, with Marini just pipping the 2020 World Champion. More than half a second quicker in comparison to last year’s corresponding test, Honda’s progress is clear for all to see.
Elsewhere for the Japanese giants, it was Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) who just missed out on a top ten spot by 0.072s to finish in P11. It wasn’t the smoothest of days on the other side of the box; Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) fell at Turn 5 in the morning session and with just one bike at his disposal, spent longer than normal in the garage as it was repaired. He did return to the track but didn’t improve his time and will hope that day two brings a good bunch of laps to add to his 26 done today.
APRILIA RACING & TRACKHOUSE MOTOGP TEAM:
Bezzecchi ended the day at the top Aprilia rider in P5, just over half a second away from Marc Marquez’s table-topping time. Overall, the Italian enjoyed a positive day back in the saddle, with Aprilia running several new components, including a new tail unit and larger seat wings, and a new swingarm. With Jorge Martin sidelined, test Rider Lorenzo Savadori picked up the baton to continue his work on several new items, including ergonomic set-ups and general set-up with electronics.
In the Trackhouse MotoGP ranks, 2025 Australian GP winner Raul Fernandez was very upbeat after finishing the opening day of the test without any crashes or injuries – something he’s not been able to do in the last two Sepang Test outings. Fernandez said that he confirmed the feelings he had at the end of last year on the 2025 package, before switching to the 2026 RS-GP, and that also birthed plenty of positives on the opening day.
On the other side of the garage, Ai Ogura explained that Tuesday was all about him feeling good on the bike again and getting back up to speed, before the Japanese star gets properly stuck into the nitty gritty of 2026 RS-GP testing on Day 2 in Malaysia.
MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP & PRIMA PRAMAC YAMAHA MOTOGP TEAM:
2026 is off to a tougher start. Working overtime to get the V4 as competitive as possible for the season, they’ll now be without a key part of the project, Quartararo, after the 2021 World Champion fell at Turn 5 and was taken to the medical centre. Despite ‘El Diablo’ returning to the track to go P9, he’s decided to withdraw from the rest of the test with pain to a finger and scrapes to his arm. It’ll be on teammate Alex Rins to shoulder the rest of the test; he was 16th on day one, 1.2s from P1.
In P14, Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) was the second-busiest Yamaha rider on track – only new teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu set more for the Iwata manufacturer. With his previous V4 experience, the Australian, along with Rins, will now be expected to drive the rest of the test forward.
Razgatlioglu, meanwhile, was joined by the rest of the world’s best on-track. Saving his fresh rubber for the rest of the test, the #07 continued to adapt to MotoGP and the life aboard a V4 and Michelins. He experimented with different seats and found a breakthrough in braking late on with rear aero. He also got the chance to follow Marc Marquez out on track, something he said he learnt a lot from and that he aims to repeat on day two – so watch this space.
See you for more on Wednesday as action continues at Sepang!
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More from a press release issued by Honda HRC Castrol:
2026 begins in Sepang for Honda HRC Castrol.
Fresh from revealing their 2026 colours, Luca Marini and Joan Mir got straight to work as testing began at the Sepang International Circuit with both sitting comfortably in the top ten.
Amongst the first on track, there was no doubting Luca Marini and Joan Mir’s eagerness as the first of three days of testing in Malaysia began. Typical conditions awaited them in Sepang, high temperatures and oppressive humidity adding an extra level of challenge to the first laps of 2026. With 107 laps between the factory pair, it was a positive opening day of what will hopefully be an ambitious season.
Ending the day in sixth overall with a best lap of 1’57.569, Luca Marini was left content with his first steps of the new season. Assessing a number of new parts for his Honda RC213V, Marini managed to get through roughly half of the items on his list for this first test. Marginal gains will be key in finding the last tenths in the final year of the 1,000cc machines, these early runs providing important information for the rest of the season.
Just 0.124s behind his Honda HRC Castrol teammate, Joan Mir was able to set a fastest lap of 1’57.693 to wrap up the opening day in seventh place. Improving grip and trying several new parts will be the #36’s main objective for the second day of the test after finding a positive base.
Two more days remain and both Marini and Mir have busy testing schedules to still complete, every lap will be crucial for 2026.
Luca Marini: “Great to be back on the Honda RC213V, today we had a good day and started where we left off last time out in Valencia. Already we have made progress, and this is a really nice feeling, to straight away be making improvements. The Japanese have done a great job during the winter; a lot of really good pieces have been brought here – more or less everything I asked for in Valencia has arrived. Steps in each direction have helped us, but always more room to improve. Some work to do overnight and see what’s possible tomorrow. Really pleased to be back working with everyone in the team.”
Joan Mir: “At the end, I think we continued our progress that we had at the end of 2025 – it’s what I was expecting when I arrived here a few days ago. The whole team has been working really hard to provide us with a better package, improving every area a little bit. We are not trying a radically different bike which helps, the base is what we know, and it helps us to be more comfortable straight away. Today we tried a few different pieces and found something quite positive at the end of the day, following the correct path for the start of the year.”
More from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
Quartararo and Rins End Sepang Test Day 1 in 9th and 16th Place, Quartararo To Sit Out Remainder of the Sepang Test.
Following the Sepang Shakedown Test held last week, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team returned to the Sepang International Circuit today to resume their 2026 pre-season programme. Riders Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins completed the first day of the three-day Malaysia MotoGP Official Test in 9th and 16th place respectively. Following a heavy crash this morning in Session 1, Quartararo will not take part in the remainder of the test due to a broken finger.
Today, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammates Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins kicked off the three-day Malaysia MotoGP Official Test in Sepang, placing 9th and 16th respectively on the combined Day 1 timesheets.
On Day 1 of the Sepang Test, Session 1 ran from 10:00-13:00 (GMT+8), followed by Session 2 from 13:20-18:00.
Quartararo’s day did not start as planned. He crashed at Turn 8 on lap 9 and had to visite the Clinica Mobile for checks. He returned in the afternoon but suffered a second fall, which briefly interrupted his programme. Despite the setbacks, the Frenchman recovered well, setting a best lap of 1’57.869s to finish eighth in the afternoon session and ninth overall, 0.851s from the top.
Rins enjoyed a solid start in the morning, briefly topping the timesheets at 11:00 with a 1’58.576s before improving further to a 1’58.320s to end Session 1 in sixth place. The Spaniard spent the afternoon analysing components and did not improve his lap time, but his morning effort secured him 16th in the combined standings, 1.302s from first.
Fully supported by Yamaha, Quartararo has decided to sit out the remainder of the Sepang Test and will fly to Barcelona for further medical evaluation in order to be fully fit for the Thailand MotoGP Official Test held from 21-22 February in Buriram.
Tomorrow, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will resume action with Rins for Day 2 of the Sepang Test, again with Session 1 taking place from 10:00–13:00 and Session 2 from 13:20–18:00 local track time. Augusto Fernández will continue the bike development of the new YZR-M1 in Quartararo’s absence.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director: “This is, of course, not how we wanted to start the test. Unfortunately, Fabio suffered a severe crash in Session 1 at Turn 5, which has brought his Sepang testing programme to an end. In agreement with Fabio, we decided that taking any additional risks was not worthwhile. Having Fabio back to full fitness in time for the Buriram Test is the priority. Everyone at Yamaha and the entire team wish him a speedy recovery. In the meantime, Augusto Fernández will substitute for Fabio over the next two days in order to complete the plan scheduled for the remainder of the Sepang test.”
Fabio Quartararo: “I broke a finger in the crash this morning. I will have a check-up the day after tomorrow in Barcelona. We already tested what we needed to during last week’s Shakedown Test. Of course, having two more days would have been helpful for electronics and mapping, but I think we’ve done enough, so I prefer to sit out the remainder of the test. Together with Yamaha, we decided to stop and focus on recovery so I can be 100% fit again in Buriram.”
Alex Rins: “Having already completed the Shakedown Test here last week, today we finished testing the most important items that Yamaha brought here for us to try. It was a good day. We decided to focus on the swingarms, testing three different kinds. It was quite good. Over the next two days, we will focus a bit more on the bike’s base set-up. Let’s see what lap time we can achieve on the final day.”
More from a press release issued by Castrol Honda LCR:
Castrol Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco finished 11th on Tuesday at the Sepang Test.
- Tuesday at the Sepang Test was productive for Johann Zarco and the crew, with 60 consistent laps completed.
- The rider acknowledges that the bike is working well and shows potential, but admits he still needs to feel more comfortable in order to push further.
- The challenges didn’t prevent Johann and the crew from focusing on doing a solid job, and the next few days will provide another opportunity to continue improving.
More from a press release issued by Prima Pramac Yamaha:
Day 1 of Official Winter Tests in Sepang for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP.
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP completed its first day of the Official Test, focusing on long-run work to evaluate overall bike reliability and tyre consumption. Both riders ran different set-ups across the day, prioritising data gathering over single-lap performance as preparations continue for the coming sessions.
Jack Miller: “It was a busy but decent day. We tried a lot of different set-ups, mainly to understand the positives and negatives of each change and how everything works together — a real cause-and-effect approach. We also tested a few things with the electronics. Test days are always long, sometimes frustrating and sometimes rewarding, but I feel the basic package of the bike is there. It feels like a completely new bike, yet still very much a Yamaha. It hasn‘t lost the M1‘s turning ability and the front-end feel is pretty bloody good. There‘s always room to improve, but at this stage it‘s already impressive.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu: “Today I focused mainly on seat position, because in terms of feeling this is still the area that feels most different from what I was used to. By the end of the day I also tried a higher seat and felt better: the bike was smoother under braking, the rear had more control, and I also felt more confident on the gas in some corners. Tomorrow I may focus more on the handlebar, which still feels a little high at the moment. That‘s what testing is for — understanding whether I can get the right feeling from set-ups I‘m used to, or if I need to adapt my riding style to better match this bike.”
More from a press release issued by Pro Honda LCR:
Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira finished 19th on Tuesday, on the first day of the Sepang Test.
- After the shakedown, Diogo Moreira began the first day of the Sepang Test with positive feelings. In the morning, he showed strong performance, consistently placing in the top 10.
- However, a crash at Turn 5 (without any major consequences for the rider) disrupted his plans, preventing him from pushing for a time attack.
- Moreira completed 39 laps and is focused on continuing his learning and improvement over the next two days of testing.
