The Sepang Test concluded with a thrilling showdown between Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi, as the 2025 GP winner held on to his lead, with 'Bez' hot on his heels. But here's where it gets controversial... The top three riders, Alex Marquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio, and Marco Bezzecchi, all had something to talk about beyond just one-lap pace. The day's fastest Sprint simulation went to Alex Marquez, who, after completing a 10-lap Sprint trial, had an average lap time of 1'58.027. However, the reigning World Champion, Marc Marquez, had a crash at Turn 1, but was perfectly fine. Meanwhile, his teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, declared he felt more comfortable than at any point throughout the Grand Prix weekend in October, while also stating his preferred aero package. Interestingly, over a 10-lap Sprint simulation, Bagnaia had the upper hand over his teammate, leaving food for thought within the factory Ducati squad. Franco Morbidelli, another Ducati rider, crashed at Turn 14, but his work focused mainly on adapting to the GP25, which he inherits for the new season. Bezzecchi ended the test second and as top Aprilia, with new aero options for the seat unit, despite being a full-time rider down with Jorge Martin's absence. In the Trackhouse camp, Raul Fernandez finished seventh on the final day and P10 overall, a stark contrast to his 2025 testing struggles and subsequent day one crash. Ai Ogura's incremental improvements saw him finish P12 overall, with a focus shifting to Buriram, where the Japanese rider got his best result of 2025. After Joan Mir topped Day 2's timesheets, the final day of testing in Sepang was a little trickier for HRC, with both the 2020 World Champion and his teammate, Luca Marini, citing lower grip conditions after Wednesday's rain. Still, the vibes are positive, and a stride forward has been made in all areas with the 2026 RC213V. And, importantly, they've found gains with the engine that needs to be homologated for the season now that HRC is in Rank C of the concessions. For Castrol Honda LCR's Johann Zarco and Pro Honda LCR's Diogo Moreira, there was plenty to talk about too. Speaking at the end of six days of testing in Malaysia, including the three-day Shakedown, it's safe to say the Brazilian rookie was tired, but he was very happy with his progress. The braking area is somewhere Moreira is particularly pleased with, and the reigning Moto2 World Champion also mentioned that he and the team are happy with the base set up they've found. On the other side of the box, Zarco, like the factory duo, has been feeding us positivity about the new package for the entire test, finishing P16 overall on the standings. It's just 0.010 between Pedro Acosta and Maverick Viñales on the combined timesheets from the whole test, with Viñales saying that after trying out lots of different directions on Day 3, it's the first setup he tried that he'd want to stay with, and he'd be happy to roll out for the GP in Buriram with it. Enea Bastianini ends the test in P11, less than half a second off Raul Fernandez, who split him from Acosta and Viñales. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Alex Rins was top Yamaha overall, while Fabio Quartararo was 17th on the timesheets from Day 1. Prima Pramac Racing's Jack Miller and rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu were a little further back in P18 and P19 overall. Now, we're off into the city for the Season Launch in Kuala Lumpur and switching racing suits for a little black tie, but we'll be back on track soon as Buriram awaits in two weeks. Then, it's time to get suited and booted for a record-breaking 22-GP calendar.
