03:52
Approaching the end of the second hour and Marc Marquez posts his best time yet, on his 18th lap, of 1m 58.774s. He moves up to 4th place, as the fastest Ducati.
Marc Marquez, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
LIVE
2026 Official Sepang MotoGP Test: Day 1 - LIVE UPDATES
Live updates from the opening day of the Official 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test.
After a four-month recovery, reigning world champion Marc Marquez makes his return to MotoGP action as official 2026 testing gets underway at Sepang in Malaysia.
Marc Marquez suffered shoulder injuries when he was taken down by contact from Marco Bezzecchi at Mandalika, just a week after securing his ninth world title at Motegi.
The factory Ducati star not only missed the remaining four rounds, but Valencia post-race test.
But while Marquez makes his return, 2024 champion Jorge Martin will be watching from the sidelines as he continues to recover from follow-up surgery for last year’s wrist and collarbone injuries.
Also out of action is 2025 rookie race winner Fermin Aldeguer, who fractured his femur in a training accident last month.
But the rest of the 2026 grid, including star rookies Toprak Razgatlioglu and Diogo Moreira, are on track for three days of crucial testing with their 2026 machinery.
Last week’s Shakedown test - featuring the rookies, factory test riders and Yamaha race riders - saw Honda’s Aleix Espargaro on top with a 1m 57.173s, after Jack Miller turned heads by putting Yamaha’s new V4 on top the previous day.
Testing takes place from Tuesday to Thursday, between 10am and 6pm, plus practice start periods at lunchtime and the end of each day…
03 Feb 2026
03:48
Ai Ogura makes progress to 11th for Trackhouse Aprilia with a mid 1m 59s. Marco Bezzecchi is still the fastest RS-GP rider in fifth.
03:43
11:42am and Alex Marquez puts his factory-spec Gresini GP26 up to sixth place. He's 0.7s behind Miller but now the fastest Ducati rider, just ahead of Francesco Bagnaia. Marc Marquez has been pushed to 9th.
03:35
For comparison, Jack Miller's 1m 58.252s is slightly slower than his 1m 57.908s best from the Shakedown, when he was fastest on Day 2 of 3.
Jack Miller, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
03:32
11:30am: The top ten... Jack Miller, Pedro Acosta, Alex Rins, Diogo Moreira, Marco Bezzecchi, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Marc Marquez, Fabio di Giannantonio, Joan Mir, Franco Morbidelli.
And at the bottom of the timesheets, the slowest 5 so far are... Johann Zarco (18th), Brad Binder (19th), Lorenzo Savadori (20th), Ai Ogura (21st), Andrea Dovizioso (22nd).
03:31
A Yamaha V4 is back on top
Jack Miller puts Yamaha's V4 back on top with a 1m 58.252s, edging out Acosta's KTM by 0.061s.
Miller and the other Yamaha riders have the benefit of the Shakedown time, so they are expected to be strong on day one.
The bigger question is whether they will then be able to keep pace with the improvements their rivals make on days 2 and 3.
Even so, it's always good to be fast!
03:23
The latest top ten: Pedro Acosta, Alex Rins, Diogo Moreira, Marco Bezzecchi, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Marc Marquez, Fabio di Giannantonio, Joan Mir, Franco Morbidelli, Alex Marquez.
03:22
Pedro Acosta fastest for KTM
Pedro Acosta, rumoured to be on his way to Ducati for 2027, puts the latest KTM RC16 on top by 0.263s over Alex Rins.
03:21
Yamaha wings
Alex Rins started the day on the older tri-plane Yamaha front wing and remains fastest.
Fabio Quartararo had already been out on the new design (which all riders except Toprak Razgatlioglu seemed to try in the Shakedown) - and was perhaps using it when he crashed.
Alex Rins, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
Alex Rins, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
Fabio Quartararo, new Yamaha wing, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
Fabio Quartararo with the new Yamaha win, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
03:12
11am Results
2026 Official Sepang MotoGP Test: Results - 11am
02:53
Alex Rins on top, Fabio Quartararo crashes
Coming up to the end of the opening and it's contrasting fortunes for the Monster Yamaha riders: Alex Rins has gone to the top while team-mate Fabio Quartararo has just crashed. The track map data shows Quartararo stationary in the Turns 7-8 right handers. Toprak Razgatlioglu jumps to fourth ahead of Marc Marquez.
Full lap times to follow...
02:52
First Look: Marc Marquez on track in 2026
Marc Marquez heads out for his first MotoGP laps since his Mandalika injuries on October 5th...
Marc Marquez, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
Marc Marquez, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
Marc Marquez, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
Marc Marquez, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
Marc Marquez, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
Marc Marquez, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
02:47
The latest top 10:
Diogo Moreira (1m 58.829s), Marco Bezzecchi, Marc Marquez, Fabio di Giannantonio, Joan Mir, Alex Marquez, Luca Marini, Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller.
02:46
Pedro Acosta on his RC16 this morning at Sepang, as the Spanish star starts what could be his final year at KTM...
Pedro Acosta, Sepang MotoGP Test (Gold&Goose).
02:42
Aprilia's Day 1 plan
While most teams are secretive about their testing plans, Aprilia are refreshingly open - at least providing some details.
This is what they intend to work on today:
"After the shakedown run, Marco Bezzecchi will carry out a comparison between the RS-GP25 and the RS-GP26. After a series of checks, we will proceed with further testing of various aerodynamic solutions for the 2026 bike. A test of a new swingarm is also scheduled in the afternoon.
"Lorenzo Savadori will continue development work on several components, including some ergonomically designed solutions specifically for him. These interventions mainly focus on the general setup, both at the electronic and vehicle level."
02:41
Marc Marquez moves up
Marc Marquez climbs to 3rd on the timesheets on his 7th lap of the year. He's now 0.7s behind Diogo Moreira and Marco Bezzecchi.
02:40
Andrea Dovizioso has suffered a technical issue with his V4 Yamaha at Turn 1.
02:40
The first pictures are in...
The guys at Gold & Goose photography have sent in their first images from today's action, here are some of them:
Francesco Bagnaia, 2026 Sepang MotoGP test (Gold&Goose)
Francesco Bagnaia.
Franco Morbidelli, 2026 Sepang MotoGP test (Gold&Goose)
Franco Morbidelli (2024 chassis, 2025 Ducati parts).
Joan Mir, 2026 Sepang MotoGP test (Gold&Goose)
Joan Mir.
Pedro Acosta, 2026 Sepang MotoGP test (Gold&Goose)
Johann Zarco.
02:35
Maverick Vinales and Raul Fernandez join the action, which leaves on Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez (who rode at the shakedown) yet to take part.
2025 Phillip Island winner Raul Fernandez has been injured at the Sepang test for the past two years, so his first task today is just to stay injury-free.
02:31
Green lights are back on and testing continues.
02:31
Order after 30mins:
- Diogo Moreira 1m 58.829s
- Marco Bezzecchi
- Fabio di Giannantonio
- Joan Mir
- Luca Marini
- Fabio Quartararo
- Alex Rins
- Jack Miller
- Francesco Bagnaia
- Johann Zarco
- Marc Marquez
- Enea Bastianini
- Toprak Razgatlioglu
- Lorenzo Savadori
- Brad Binder
- Pedro Acosta
- Ai Ogura
- Andrea Dovizioso
- Franco Morbidelli
No time yet: Maverick Vinales, Raul Fernandez, Augusto Fernandez.
02:28
All riders back to the pits.
02:28
Red Flag
Red flags. It's not clear why at the moment.
02:26
Gresini's Alex Marquez leaves the pits to start his 2026 preparations.
02:25
Marc Marquez climbs up to 10th on his second flying lap, +1.7s from Diogo Moreira.
Quartararo jumps up the order to 5th.