🏁 MotoGP Test Sepang 2026! - Shakedown Day 1 Kicks Off 2026 in Style 🔥

Pirro churning out the initial laps

Finally… MotoGP is back at the MotoGP Test Sepang 2026🙌After what felt like a looooong winter without the best motorsport on Earth, the first laps of a potentially record-breaking 2026 season are officially in the books as Day 1 of the Sepang Shakedown wraps up.

Now, quick caveat before anyone dives into lap-time spreadsheets 📊 — this is the Shakedown, meaning factory test riders, rookies, and manufacturers with testing concessions only. So no, everyone wasn’t out there. But that first smell of race fuel? Yeah… it hits all the same 🔥

🌍 New Faces, Big Statements

The headline grabbers? Two rookies who already look very comfortable on the big bikes 👀

Toprak is adapting fast

First up: Toprak Razgatlioglu.Three-time WorldSBK Champion. Absolute weapon. And now officially the first Turkish rider in MotoGP🔥Toprak joins Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP alongside Jack Miller — and didn’t exactly ease himself in… Despite a couple of early gremlins, he ended Day 1 P4 overall with a best lap of 1’59.647. For context: that would’ve been P1 on the same day last year 😳 Not bad for a lad “just adapting”.

Then there’s Diogo Moreira, the reigning Moto2™ Champion 🇧🇷Riding for Pro Honda LCR, Moreira also had a mechanical hiccup early on, but shook it off to finish P8 with a 2’00.894. Still settling in, but make no mistake — Brazil is very much back in MotoGP 👊

🔴 Honda Quietly Laying Down a Marker

Honda seems to be making big steps forward

If you’re looking at the top of the timesheets, though… Honda 👀

Aleix Espargaro topped Day 1 with a lap just six tenths off Joan Mir’s 2025 qualifying time at Sepang. That’s no accident. Honda only fielded the #41 in full test-rider form, plus rookie Moreira, as the factory now sits in concession Rank C — fewer testing freedoms than last year, but clearly still finding speed.

Quiet confidence? Looks like it.

🟠 KTM: Solid, Methodical, No Drama

Pedrosa still knows how to ride a bike

Fresh off their team launches, KTM slotted in P2 and P3:

• Pol Espargaro just half a second off the top

• MotoGP Hall of Famer Dani Pedrosa another half-second back

Mika Kallio also logged laps further down the order, but this felt very much like KTM ticking boxes rather than chasing headlines 🧠

🔵 Yamaha: Toprak Leads, V4 Progress Showing

With Toprak leading the charge, Yamaha’s test team wasn’t far behind — just 0.111s covering them.Test duties were led by Augusto Fernandez, a key figure in Yamaha’s V4 project from day one. He also clocked Yamaha’s fastest top speed of the day at 327.3 km/h — still a touch down on Honda, but progress is progress 📈

No Quartararo. No Rins. No Miller (yet). We’ll have to wait a little longer for the full Yamaha picture.

🟥 Ducati Doing Ducati Things…

Ducati's new aero was a talking point in the paddock

Over in red, Michele Pirro was circulating nicely and snuck into the 1:59s — but let’s be honest… that wasn’t the real story 👀 New Ducati aero spotted in pit lane.And as reigning champs and perennial pre-season trendsetters, everyone is already squinting at spy shots wondering what they’re up to this year.

Because of course they are.

⚫ Aprilia: Head Down, Miles Banked

At Aprilia, Lorenzo Savadori was putting in the graft at Sepang, running long stints and circulating around the two-minute mark. He’ll continue through the Sepang Test alongside Marco Bezzecchi, standing in for Jorge Martin, and was also logging valuable miles on the Trackhouse machines.

No fireworks — just data, data, data.

🤔 So… What’s the Story After Day 1?

• Ducati’s new aero?

• Moreira putting Brazil back on the MotoGP map?

• Toprak announcing himself loud and clear?

• Or that Quartararo rumour doing the rounds already… 👀

One thing’s for sure — silly season is warming up fast, and we’re only one day in.

More from Sepang tomorrow. Strap in 🏁🔥