The final day of MotoGP pre-season testing at Sepang delivered a tightly contested conclusion, with Alex Marquez confirming his impressive pace by finishing fastest overall and reinforcing his growing reputation as one of the key contenders heading into the 2026 campaign. The BK8 Gresini Racing rider, who claimed victory at Sepang during last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix, once again proved comfortable at the circuit, setting a best time of 1:56.402 to edge out Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi following a late-session push from the Italian.

Marquez’s performance was not limited to outright speed. His 10-lap Sprint simulation produced the fastest average of the test at 1:58.027, highlighting both consistency and race-distance competitiveness two factors that could prove decisive once the season begins. Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the top three for Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, continuing a productive test programme aboard Ducati machinery.

Attention within the Ducati Lenovo Team centred on reigning World Champion Marc Marquez and teammate Francesco Bagnaia, both evaluating aero packages for the upcoming season. Marc sampled elements of the 2026 aerodynamic configuration despite suffering a minor crash at Turn 1, while Bagnaia reported improved comfort compared to last year’s race weekend and posted a strong Sprint simulation that actually outpaced his teammate’s effort. Across the three-day test, Marc Marquez finished fourth overall, with Bagnaia sixth.

Aprilia Racing left Malaysia encouraged, particularly through Bezzecchi’s second-place result and promising long-run pace despite the absence of injured teammate Jorge Martin. The team trialled several innovative aerodynamic concepts, suggesting further development gains ahead of the Buriram test. Meanwhile, Raul Fernandez provided a highlight for Trackhouse MotoGP, finishing inside the overall top ten and demonstrating a clear step forward compared to his 2025 pre-season struggles.

Honda also showed encouraging signs, with Joan Mir securing fifth overall and reporting noticeable engine improvements as the manufacturer prepares to homologate its 2026 specification power unit. KTM’s Pedro Acosta and Maverick Viñales were separated by just 0.010 seconds on the combined standings, underlining the increasingly competitive midfield battle, while Yamaha focused on resolving early-test reliability issues before returning to full running on the final day.

With testing now shifting to Buriram in two weeks, the Sepang results suggest a closely matched field heading into 2026, but early momentum clearly belongs to Alex Marquez whose pace, consistency, and confidence could position him as a genuine championship challenger once racing begins.

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