Sepang Tests – Day 1: Marc Márquez already on top

It's officially back to school! After three days of Shakedown reserved for test riders and the Yamaha factory team (the only manufacturer competing in Tier D), all the regular grid riders gathered in Sepang, Malaysia, for the first day of official testing. All except Jorge Martín, who underwent several operations this winter following a particularly bruised 2025 season.

Having missed the final Grands Prix of the 2025 season and the Valencia tests due to injury, Marc Márquez got his first taste of the 2026 version of his Ducati. This initial contact went very well, with the reigning world champion setting the fastest time and already closing to within 17 thousandths of a second of Francesco Bagnaia's pole position time, a pole secured last October.

As is often the case during practice, several riders took advantage of the final minutes of track time to run qualifying simulations. This was the case for Márquez, but also for Fabio Di Giannantonio and Maverick Viñales, who finished behind the Cervera native in the afternoon session. Over the course of the day, the top three remained unchanged, with Álex Márquez finishing fourth after setting the fastest time in the morning and focusing on developing his technique in the afternoon.

Ninth in the day's standings, fabio quartararo He was able to compete against his rivals for the upcoming season for the first time aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1 equipped with the V4 engine. The rider from Nice crashed in the morning at turn 5, but was able to return to the track in the afternoon. Team boss Massimo Meregalli confirmed that he had no fractures, but muscle soreness is expected after a heavy fall. Jack Miller and Diogo Moreira also crashed during the day.

Johann Zarco, who took to the track for the first time this year, achieved the eleventh fastest time of the day, with his Honda from the LCR team.

MotoGP – Sepang Tests – Day 1
The results of the first session

MotoGP – Sepang Tests – Day 1
The results of the second session

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