At the Ride 6 presentation and in an exclusive Crash.net interview, Casey Stoner said Marc Márquez’s recent dominance stems from superior tire management, racecraft and a “total symbiosis” with his Ducati Desmosedici. He praised Márquez’s patience and intelligence, saying he conserves tires early in races to exploit greater grip and late-race pace. Stoner highlighted Márquez’s ability to limit electronic intervention and balance traction control with tire preservation, saying “nobody seems to grasp how Márquez balances traction control with preserving Michelin tires,” and compared that approach to F1 drivers such as Max Verstappen, arguing both can wait several laps to regain pace and “effectively extend competitive life by ‘an extra ten or fifteen laps’.” Stoner said Márquez was the favorite to start the 2026 season.

Reports framed Márquez’s 2025 campaign as dominant, noting 25 race wins and 14 of 18 Sprint victories, with the title clinched in Japan. Some outlets described the 2025 crown as his ninth world title, equaling Valentino Rossi, while others characterized it as his seventh MotoGP world championship. He suffered a right-shoulder fracture in Indonesia that forced him to miss the final four rounds, then recovered ahead of his title defense. Stoner pointed to races such as Thailand—where Márquez briefly yielded the lead over a tire-pressure issue before reclaiming it and winning—as examples of his racecraft.

Stoner, who retired in 2012 and never raced Márquez, said the six-year gap between titles (2019–25) and Márquez’s moves from Honda to Gresini and then to the factory Ducati sharpened his ability to build races tactically. He suggested many rivals had treated Márquez as an unbeatable “final boss” and tried to match raw speed rather than learn to out-race him; he added he was surprised no rival had publicly exploited a weakness Márquez once had, but declined to identify it. Stoner concluded competitors face a technical challenge: to close the performance gap they must match Márquez’s feel for the bike and his tire-management strategy.

Dorna Sports announced it has renamed itself MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (MotoGP SEG), repositioning MotoGP as an entertainment-first global platform built on what the company calls “world innovation.” Chief Executive Carmelo Ezpeleta described the change as “a statement of intent” and “more than a simple rebrand,” framing it as a future-facing effort to expand MotoGP’s global reach and market standing in sports entertainment.

The new identity formalizes Dorna’s evolution since it became the exclusive commercial and broadcast rights holder for MotoGP in 1992 and consolidates management of several series under a single entertainment-focused group. MotoGP SEG will continue to manage MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and the Road to MotoGP development pathway, and will also oversee the World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) and the newly created Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup; the Harley-Davidson relationship was cited as part of event expansion. Leadership says the repositioning aims to accelerate digital innovation, immersive fan engagement and global storytelling to broaden reach and attract younger, more diverse audiences while preserving the core racing spectacle.

The announcement emphasized brand and platform ambitions rather than operational details, personnel changes or specific commercial deals. Liberty Media completed a €4.2 billion acquisition of Dorna in 2024 and has largely left management in place, though Chief Commercial Officer Dan Rossomondo departed in late 2025. Some stakeholders have raised concerns that consolidating motorcycle racing properties under MotoGP SEG could dilute WorldSBK’s distinct identity.

Jorge Lorenzo has signed on as Maverick Vinales’ performance coach in a full-time return to the MotoGP paddock for the 2026 season, a role the three-time world champion called the “perfect job.” Lorenzo said working seven to nine hours a day with Vinales was “not heavy, it’s a pleasure,” and that the position lets him apply roughly 30 years of motorcycle experience without the on-track risk. Since retiring at the end of 2019, he has hosted a MotoGP podcast, raced in the Porsche Supercup, and worked as a DAZN pundit, and he will accompany Vinales to pre-season tests and through the opening rounds of 2026.

Lorenzo has overseen an intensive winter program designed to rebuild Vinales’ form, beginning at the Sepang test and overhauling the rider’s preparation to push him beyond previous limits. The regimen included road-bike testing at Jerez, figure-of-eight drills and dirt riding in Valencia, deliberate work in wet and slippery conditions, and technical refinements such as throttle control and braking technique. Lorenzo shifted Vinales’ routine away from a fitness-only focus toward tougher practice scenarios and more focused technical work to restore race-to-race consistency.

The intervention responds to a difficult 2025 for Vinales, who rehabbed a shoulder injury sustained at the German Grand Prix, struggled for consistency, and finished 18th in the championship despite having 10 Grand Prix wins and 35 career podiums. Lorenzo said he aims to help Vinales regain the “killer” mentality he remembered from the rider’s youth, arguing that Vinales needs greater mental strength but that physical preparation and mindset improvements could turn him into a genuine contender. Lorenzo has publicly bet with Albert Valera, manager of Pedro Acosta, that Vinales will outscore Acosta across 2026. Acosta finished fourth overall with 12 podiums in 2025. Vinales is out of contract at the end of 2026, and Lorenzo warned the next two to three years could be a final window for a championship push as his renewed form will be watched closely amid rumours of KTM factory-seat reshuffles involving Acosta and Alex Marquez.

Francesco Bagnaia has signaled he may leave Ducati at the end of his contract, saying he has “great opportunities” and that he “will decide very soon.” He said he has been presented with several potential paths, including Yamaha, Aprilia, and Honda, and stressed he is not inclined to accept a satellite Ducati seat, such as with VR46. He wants to remain a factory frontrunner. One outlet reported he has resigned himself to leaving Ducati for 2027, while the Italian team has not publicly confirmed his status.

A decline in results has sharpened the speculation. Bagnaia finished fifth in the 2025 riders’ standings, his worst ranking since 2020, while teammate Marc Márquez produced a dominant season, winning 11 of 18 races and securing the title despite missing the final rounds. Ducati is widely reported to be prioritizing Márquez’s contract renewal, and several outlets say the factory is actively considering KTM’s Pedro Acosta as a potential partner for Márquez in 2027. Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali acknowledged Acosta is among the riders under review and said final line‑up decisions will follow internal deliberations and Márquez’s contract talks. Some reports suggest that Ducati is not offering Bagnaia a works extension.

The wider market and pre‑season testing have added momentum to transfer talk. Aprilia re‑signed Marco Bezzecchi but left its second 2027 factory seat open. CEO Massimo Rivola said the team is checking the market, but praised Bagnaia’s speed at the Sepang test, where the Italian posted strong sprint‑simulation times and said he felt more comfortable and consistent in testing. With teams preparing for an expected move to 850cc machinery in 2027 and a broader grid reshuffle, those performances, plus reports Ducati could still find Bagnaia a place elsewhere on the grid, have intensified speculation.

Yamaha’s new V4 engine suffered unexpected failures at the Sepang pre-season test, forcing a safety-first shutdown of factory running and disrupting the team’s program. An unforeseen fault first appeared on one of Fabio Quartararo’s bikes after his opening-day crash and was followed by a separate engine breakage on Toprak Razgatlioglu’s machine. Yamaha described the problem as something “we never had,” halting Wednesday’s running while engineers investigated, and kept garage doors closed as a precaution.

Engineers initially could not find the cause, but later identified the issue and allowed limited on-track activity, running the V4s with reduced power and rev limits to protect riders and equipment. The team removed long 60-70 lap runs and focused on ergonomics and sprint work. Yamaha intends to bring replacement engines ahead of the next two-day pre-season test at Buriram on February 21-22 to verify fixes and assess whether the imposed limits can be lifted, and warned that ambient temperatures above 30°C may exacerbate the faults.

The engine problems, combined with Quartararo’s crash, intensified scrutiny around the test. Spanish reports that Quartararo has decided not to renew with Yamaha, and instead reached an agreement with Honda, remain unconfirmed. The French rider has publicly denied signing for Honda while acknowledging he is in discussions. Team director Massimo Meregalli said the Sepang interruption was an unexpected delay that pushed some evaluations and contract talks toward the next test rather than changing decisions about Quartararo’s future. Alex Rins, the only factory Yamaha rider present, said the issue appeared under control and still managed his quickest laps of the test.

Yamaha’s switch to a V4-powered M1 was tested under a difficult spotlight at the Sepang pre-season test, where engine failures, handling peculiarities, and a rider injury disrupted the program. The factory team sat out the second day on safety grounds after unspecified engine problems affected Fabio Quartararo and Toprak Razgatlioglu. Quartararo crashed on the opening day, fracturing a finger that required surgery and was ruled out of the remaining days. Reports from the test said both Quartararo and Razgatlioglu destroyed engines during the outing, while Alex Rins added that an unnamed rookie also broke an engine during the program. Yamaha paused running to investigate overnight in Japan and Italy, then resumed later with reduced mileage, using D-concession status to preserve options for further engine work and private tests.

On pace, the new V4 left Yamaha more than a second off the outright lap times and last among the five manufacturers. Sporting manager Maio Meregalli singled out power as the primary shortfall, even as he described the chassis and balance as satisfactory. Jack Miller, who began the official test 14th and finished the final day 17th, downplayed the fault while also saying he needed more consistent track time. He recorded an average top speed of 327.8 km/h, roughly 10 km/h down on Fabio di Giannantonio’s Ducati. The Australian was the only Yamaha rider to complete a ten-lap race simulation, leaving him 13.957 seconds shy of Alex Marquez’s best Sprint benchmark that afternoon. Alex Rins was the quickest Yamaha on pace in 12th, but limited running across the squad made it difficult to assess the package conclusively.

Beyond outright power, riders reported handling disturbances. Razgatlioglu experienced a recurring Michelin rear-tire behavior when lifting the bike to about 25 degrees that only calmed when the gearbox was shifted into fifth or sixth. Jack Miller declined to elaborate on the technical causes when questioned, and other riders gave similarly guarded responses, underscoring unresolved reliability and safety questions heading into the rest of the pre-season. Yamaha now shifts focus to the final pre-season test at Buriram on February 21–22, where early development work will concentrate on extracting more engine performance and resolving the issues uncovered at Sepang.

Toprak Razgatlioglu delivered a downbeat assessment after the Sepang pre‑season MotoGP test, saying he expects to “probably struggle in the first five races” as he adapts from World Superbikes to MotoGP machinery. He completed the test with a best lap of 1:58.326, recorded around 18th–19th on the timesheets, well adrift of pacesetter Álex Márquez’s 1:56.402. After four-and-a-half days on track, he reported learning “something, but not a lot,” and said the five consecutive days left him physically tired, underlining how different the demands of a MotoGP race bike are compared with production‑based superbikes.

The Sepang sessions also exposed technical and setup problems within Yamaha’s new V4 package. The factory briefly halted running when a Yamaha V4 stopped on track, before resolving the engine issue and returning to action. Razgatlioglu highlighted ergonomic and handling challenges that “you can’t turn with the throttle,” and he has had to ride the YZR‑V4 more like a Moto2 machine, explaining that suspension changes are planned to improve turning. He reported improved braking after trying a different seat and reattaching the rear wing (earlier runs had the wing removed because his original seat exceeded height limits), but remained uncertain about Michelin rear‑tire wear and said tire behavior still limited his ability to hit his target lap time.

Others outside Yamaha framed Sepang as a learning and diagnostic outing. Pedro Acosta publicly urged Toprak to be cautious and not to overload expectations during his rookie transition, while Carlos Checa called him a likely top‑five rider but flagged two main uncertainties. The first is how well Yamaha’s new package will perform, followed by whether Toprak can adapt quickly to Michelin tires in the premier class. Yamaha plans further setup work and new parts at the Buriram test in just over two weeks, including additional rear‑wing trials and a possible 12‑lap race simulation to evaluate tire behavior. Taken together, the Sepang test highlighted both rookie adaptation issues and early reliability/setup and tire concerns for Yamaha’s V4 prototype, leaving Toprak’s immediate race competitiveness cautious rather than assured as the season opener approaches.

Reports before the first official 2026 pre-season test at Sepang claimed Fabio Quartararo had signed a two-year deal to join Honda from 2027. However, the rider publicly denied a completed agreement, while confirming HRC remained one of the options he was considering. The Sepang test itself was disruptive. Quartararo crashed on day one, broke a finger, and missed the remainder of that session, then encountered an engine problem Yamaha could not fix during the test. Yamaha also missed running after an unexpected engine issue described by team management as something they had “never had” before, as Alex Rins posted Yamaha’s best finish (12th). Team sporting director Massimo Meregalli said the Sepang incident did not change decisions on Quartararo’s future and characterized the interruption as a delay that pushed parts of the negotiation and testing program toward the next test.

Yamaha acknowledged it had reduced engine revs as a protective measure while continuing the development of its new V4, and planned to complete unfinished work during the upcoming Buriram test. The manufacturer emphasized continuity of its V4 program and insisted contract talks over 2027 were proceeding despite the Sepang interruption. Quartararo himself denied reports he had already signed for Honda even as questions about Yamaha’s pace of development and testing reliability intensified. Media reports and team comments linked the technical setbacks at Yamaha with increased speculation over the rider market, rather than presenting any confirmed move.

Honda presented a contrasting picture of forward momentum at Sepang. Team manager Alberto Puig praised Quartararo as “fantastic,” highlighted steady technical progress at HRC, including a lighter bike and improved engine response. The former rider cautioned that immediate wins could not be guaranteed. Joan Mir set the fastest time on day two, in what was reported as the quickest Honda lap around Sepang, and described the current RC213V as the best bike he had ridden, adding weight to Honda’s on-track gains. Puig repeatedly denied that anything for 2027 had been decided, and said Honda would prioritize its current roster while seeking riders who were both fast and intelligent. He noted that Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira were already locked in with LCR through 2027, leaving factory-team seats contested between Mir and Luca Marini. Puig framed the 2026 contract season as chaotic and said on-track results and the evolving rule environment would shape final decisions once the season got underway.

Marc Marquez returned to the track at the Sepang pre‑season test and delivered a mixed but constructive outing. He was fastest on the opening day, but endured a roller‑coaster three days of running, ending fourth on the final day, around 0.4 seconds behind his brother Álex Márquez’s best lap. In sprint‑simulation work, he posted a best simulation lap of 1:57.602 and completed 10‑lap runs with averages in the 1:58.2–1:58.3 range. “The Ant of Cervera” showed competitive race‑pace potential despite not feeling fully 100% fit. Marquez completed the planned program using 2025 front aero on both machines while sampling 2026 aero, and suffered a low‑speed crash at Turn 1 after an aero change altered the Ducati’s balance. The reigning champion was uninjured and able to continue evaluating settings.

Beyond lap times, Marquez stressed caution about interpreting Sepang data. He warned that grip levels in Malaysia were unrealistically high and that tire usage and track conditions can skew sprint runs. Ducati displayed notable depth at the test, but Marquez said “two, three riders are faster than me” and highlighted Francesco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi, and others as genuine threats. His words underline his view that the 2026 championship will be fiercely competitive. He framed testing as information gathering that must be validated under race conditions, pointing to the upcoming Buriram (Thailand) test on 21–22 February as a more decisive rehearsal because the season-opening race follows shortly afterwards.

Looking ahead, Marquez described the Sepang work as a positive step while emphasizing the need to protect his fitness and to keep evolving. A MotoGP title is earned across 22 race weekends, and riders must “reinvent” themselves year to year. His priority will be to close the gap to the riders ahead and to refine race pace and bike balance at Buriram and in the early races, using the Sepang data as a baseline rather than a final verdict on form.