Marc Marquez Dominates Day 1 of Sepang MotoGP Test 2026

MotoGP, Sportrik Media - Marc Marquez of Ducati Lenovo Team topped the opening day of the 2026 Official Sepang MotoGP Test, just 121 days after suffering a serious shoulder injury that ended his previous campaign.

The reigning MotoGP world champion sustained a complex shoulder injury following a collision with Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia Racing on the opening lap of the 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix. Surgery one week later ruled Marquez out of the remainder of the season, including the crucial post-season Valencia test.

Marquez only returned to circuit riding in January and is following an amended testing programme at Sepang as he continues to ride below full physical fitness. Despite those limitations, the 32-year-old immediately asserted control of the timesheets aboard the factory Ducati Desmosedici GP26.

He set a best lap of 1:57.018 to finish Day 1 fastest overall, leading Fabio Di Giannantonio of Pertamina VR46 Ducati by 0.256 seconds, while Maverick Vinales completed the top three. Di Giannantonio had briefly taken the lead late in the afternoon with a 1:57.274 lap before Marquez responded inside the final 25 minutes.

Alex Marquez finished fourth after leading the opening session of the day and continuing to build mileage on the factory-spec GP26, while Bezzecchi ended Day 1 fifth to underline Aprilia’s early consistency at Sepang.

At Honda, Luca Marini led team-mate Joan Mir as Honda HRC entered its first pre-season in several years without additional testing concessions. The loss of extra track time places increased emphasis on maximising every session during the Sepang test.

Elsewhere, Francesco Bagnaia spent the day evaluating Ducati’s new aerodynamic package and finished eighth, while Fabio Quartararo improved to ninth on the Yamaha V4 despite suffering a heavy crash at Turn 5 in the morning. Quartararo was checked at the medical centre, with no serious injuries detected.

Franco Morbidelli completed the top ten aboard the VR46-run GP25. The opening day also featured crashes for LCR rookie Diogo Moreira and Pramac Yamaha rider Jack Miller, while Miller’s new team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu ended the day 20th.

With Marquez immediately competitive despite not yet being at full fitness, the remaining days at Sepang will be critical in assessing whether Ducati has established a stable performance baseline heading into the Buriram test and the opening phase of the 2026 MotoGP season.