Alex Marquez Finishes Overall Fastest at Sepang

Gresini Ducati star’s 1:56.402s stands firm as teams carry out Sprint simulations in the afternoon, Yamaha back on track

A cooler Sepang greeted the final day of MotoGP testing and, with Yamaha cleared to run after its Day 2 issues, the pitlane was busy as soon as the track went green at 10:00 local time. Early laps were more about building rhythm than chasing headlines, but times soon began to drop as conditions came around.

Joan Mir was among the first to establish a proper reference and he’d end the day with a 1:57.268 on the Honda, a decent marker that would nonetheless be bettered by a growing group once the front-runners turned up the speed.

Aprilia quickly looked competitive, with Marco Bezzecchi ultimately jumping from the early 1:57 to a 1:56.526 that secured second on the final sheet, only 0.124s shy of the best time. Trackhouse teammates Raul Fernandez (1:57.245) and Ai Ogura (1:57.540) also featured well inside the 1:57s, while Luca Marini’s day was compromised after reports of a technical issue, reflected in his 1:59.173 best.

The decisive moment arrived mid-morning when the lap times began to resemble qualifying attempts. Fabio Di Giannantonio briefly moved to the top with a 1:56.785, but Alex Marquez produced the lap that defined Day 3: a blistering 1:56.402 on the Ducati that remained unbeaten.

Marc Marquez built into the session after a reported Turn 1 crash with no ill effects, improving to a 1:56.789 to finish fourth overall, 0.387s behind Alex, with Pecco Bagnaia rounding out the leading Ducati quartet in fifth on 1:56.929.

After practice starts and a short midday lull, attention shifted to Sprint simulations. Miller and Bastianini logged comparable race-run efforts before Bagnaia went out, setting a strong benchmark over 10 laps with a 1:58.166 average and a best of 1:57.726 within the run.

Marc Marquez’s Sprint sim average was reported at 1:58.289, marginally slower than Bagnaia, before Alex Marquez underlined his day again with a noted 1:58.027 average – over a tenth per lap quicker than Pecco’s. Light rain threatened late on and track action tailed off, but the key number never changed: Alex Marquez’s 1:56.402 stood as the best time of the test.

Next up, MotoGP’s official season launch takes place on 6–7 February, before the paddock returns to the track for the final pre-season outing at the Buriram Test on 21–22 February, where teams will aim to lock in race-spec packages ahead of the February 27 opening round.

2026 Sepang Test Day 3 Times