Joan Mir Sets Sepang Benchmark as Honda Tops Rain-Hit Day 2

Joan Mir topped the second day of the 2026 Sepang MotoGP official test for Honda, setting the fastest lap of the meeting with a 1:56.874 and pushing lap times into the 1:56s for the first time this pre-season. Franco Morbidelli was just 0.109 seconds behind in second for VR46, with Fabio Di Giannantonio completing the top three after an early benchmark run on his factory Ducati. Pedro Acosta and Maverick Viñales put KTM two-deep inside the top five, while Enea Bastianini added a third KTM inside the top 10; Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi, Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura also finished within the top 10 and Francesco Bagnaia was the best of the factory Ducatis in eighth. Marc Márquez slipped to 15th after topping day one, and on-track incidents including Alex Márquez’s crash at turn five reduced meaningful running for some teams; the afternoon rain left only 17 riders classified on the official timesheets.

Yamaha sat out the bulk of Wednesday’s running after engineers found an unresolved engine issue following Fabio Quartararo’s stoppage on Tuesday, a problem compounded by Quartararo’s broken finger from a separate crash. The factory yard remained largely inactive as Yamaha investigated whether repairs could be made on-site and assessed the new V4 engine concept; the manufacturer said it would decide on Thursday whether to resume testing. That lost track time was notable given Yamaha’s switch to the V4 architecture for 2026 and the limited running available at Sepang.

A heavy rain shower around 4 p.m. local time curtailed late dry running and prevented many teams from improving on morning times, locking in Mir’s benchmark. Honda’s technical director Romano Albesiano described the squad as “moderately satisfied,” attributing Mir’s pace to a series of marginal gains across the engine, electronics and chassis and saying the RC213V’s “real performance” should become clearer on the final day of testing. Taken together, the day produced a clear early-performance snapshot with competitive shows from Honda, VR46, KTM, Aprilia and Ducati, while Yamaha’s interrupted program and the weather will shape preparations heading into the test’s last session.