Marquez Fastest on Return From Injury

Reigning champ back on top as MotoGP swings back into action at official Sepang test

Marc Marquez showed he’s well and truly recovered from his injury troubles, topping the day 1 timesheets with a 1:57.018 on his Ducati Lenovo Team machine. The reigning champion’s late flier edged out Fabio Di Giannantonio (1:57.274) to complete a Ducati 1-2 finish, with Vinales also completing a strong comeback from his shoulder injury to claim 3rd on the Red Bull KTM.

The day saw plenty of action from start to finish. Early leader Alex Rins (YAM) and Pedro Acosta (KTM) set the pace before Marquez, Di Giannantonio, and Vinales surged late in the day. Honda also impressed, with Joan Mir consistently in the top five, continuing the manufacturer’s strong showing from last week’s Shakedown Test. Alex Marquez also showed strong pace on his factory Ducati.

Jack Miller recovered from a morning crash to post competitive laps for Prima Pramac Yamaha, while Fabio Quartararo returned to the track after a check-up following his own early incident. Francesco Bagnaia had a solid first day, climbing from P17 post-lunch to eighth in the closing stages.

After Moreira and Miller found the limit, Sepang’s challenging track conditions kept all teams on their toes.

By the close of play, Ducati had established a strong presence at the top of the timesheets, but Yamaha, Honda, KTM, and Aprilia all showed flashes of speed throughout the day. The Yamahas were still lagging the top manufacturers for top speed with their new V4 however. Miller’s was the fastest M1 down the straight in session 2 at 335km/h, still some 10km/h slower than Marc Marquez’s best trap speed.

2026 MotoGP Sepang Test Day 1 Combined Times