Aleix Espargaro led the way for Honda during MotoGP’s official Shakedown Test at the Sepang International Circuit, leading his KTM-mounted brother Pol Espargaro.
MotoGP organised three days of official running in Malaysia this week, but participation was limited to test riders from each manufacturer and the two rookies on the grid, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Diogo Moreira. Yamaha was also eligible to field its race riders as the sole remaining brand in Group D of the concession systems.
All five manufacturers brought their updated 2026 bikes to Sepang, with a particular focus made on aerodynamics developments.
Three-time grand prix winner Espargaro set the initial pace on Thursday, lapping the 5.5km circuit in 1m58.091s. Pramac rider Jack Miller went faster on the second day of running with a 1m57.901s, but Espargaro found nearly a second on Saturday to end the test at the top of the leaderboard.
The Spaniard’s best effort of 1m57.173s, set midway through the final day, was quick enough that it would have secured a spot on the second row of the grid in the 2025 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Espargaro was the only representative for Honda, with the marque’s other test rider Takaaki Nakagami focused heavily on developing the RC214V for the 2027 regulations.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro set the second-quickest time on each of the three days, the KTM rider eventually ending up 0.126s behind his elder brother on the latest version of the RC16. The 34-year-old suffered a minor hiccup on Thursday when he crashed in the afternoon, but was able to continue the test without any injuries.
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Hazrin Yeob Men Shah / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Yamaha skipped the opening day of running in the Sepang shakedown, with only Pramac rookie Razgatlioglu being in action on Thursday as he accelerated preparations for its MotoGP debut.
But the Iwata-based brand regularly featured near the front after joining the test on Friday, with 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo eventually ending up third on the timesheets with the new V4-powered M1. However, the 1m57.590s effort set by Quartararo was half a second down on Aleix Espargaro’s chart-setting time.
Alex Rins backed up his team-mate Quartararo in fourth, while Miller took fifth overall for Pramac, courtesy of his day-two benchmark.
While Razgatlioglu was the fastest rookie in the opening two days of testing, LCR Honda’s Moreira edged him on Saturday after delivering a 1.3s gain overnight. Even still, just a tenth separated the reigning Moto2 champion in sixth and the World Superbike star in eighth, with KTM’s Dani Pedrosa splitting the pair.
Ninth place went to Ducati’s test rider Michele Pirro, who was evaluating several new innovations on the GP26. Despite suffering crashes on the final two days, he managed to log a best time of 1m58.899s, beating his Aprilia counterpart Lorenzo Savadori in 10th.
Savadori is expected to return for next week’s official Sepang test, which will be open to the entire grid, to replace the injured Jorge Martin at the factory Aprilia team.
Also in action during the shakedown were Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez and KTM veteran Mika Kallio.
Sepang Shakedown Test: Combined times
| Pos | Rider | Team | Best Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleix Espargaró | Honda Test Team | 1:57.173 | — |
| 2 | Pol Espargaró | Red Bull KTM Factory | 1:57.299 | +0.126 |
| 3 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha Factory | 1:57.690 | +0.517 |
| 4 | Alex Rins | Yamaha Factory | 1:57.892 | +0.719 |
| 5 | Jack Miller | Prima Pramac Yamaha | 1:57.908 | +0.735 |
| 6 | Diogo Moreira | LCR Team | 1:58.338 | +1.165 |
| 7 | Dani Pedrosa | Red Bull KTM Factory | 1:58.464 | +1.291 |
| 8 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Prima Pramac Yamaha | 1:58.465 | +1.292 |
| 9 | Michele Pirro | Ducati Lenovo Team | 1:58.899 | +1.726 |
| 10 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing | 1:58.948 | +1.775 |
| 11 | Yamaha Test Riders | Yamaha Factory | 1:59.351 | +2.178 |
| 12 | Augusto Fernández | Yamaha Factory | 1:59.758 | +2.585 |
| 13 | Mika Kallio | Red Bull KTM Factory | 1:59.807 | +2.634 |
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– The Autosport.com Team
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