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, endured a roller‑coaster three days of running and finished 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, showing competitive race‑pace potential despite not feeling fully 100% physically. Marquez completed the planned program, used 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; he was uninjured and able to continue evaluating settings.

Beyond lap times, Marquez stressed caution about interpreting Sepang he warned that grip levels in Malaysia were unrealistically high and that tyre 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, underlining 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 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 the early races, using the Sepang data as a baseline rather than a final verdict on form.

Sources