Track action in the 2026 MotoGP season has opened with the three-day Sepang Shakedown test, held from Thursday to Saturday (29-31 January)
The Sepang Shakedown test is the first opportunity to see the latest prototypes from each MotoGP manufacturer, including Yamaha’s V4 engine, ahead of the Sepang test on February 3-5.
All teams and riders will take part in the official test, except for Jorge Martin (Aprilia) and Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati), who are absent due to injury.
Shakedown testing runs from 10am to 6pm every day.
Although live timings are not operational for Shakedown, some limited live timing information is available. We’ll update below with times and notes when possible…
There were no significant changes to the timesheets in the final hour, with Aleix Espargaro closing the opening day of the Sepang Shakedown test at the top of the timesheets, 0.524s ahead of KTM test rider Pol Espargaro.
Dani Pedrosa put two RC16s in the top three, followed by Pramac rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu, who had a bit of trouble on the grid during the day’s final practice session, but was still the best Yamaha rider.
Razgatlioglu was the only regular Yamaha rider on track, while Fabio Quartararo (who has reportedly agreed a contract with Honda), Alex Rins and Jack Miller waited until day two.
Meanwhile, Ducati’s Michele Pirro, who started the day wearing Lenovo’s latest racing livery, debuted some new Ducati aerodynamics on Thursday evening.
Here are the final 6pm lap times from day one of the 2026 Sepang Shakedown:
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2026 Sepang Shakedown Test – Day One Laptime (18:00) |
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| Pos | Racer | NAT | Team (Motorcycle) | Laptime/Gap |
| 1 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Honda Test Rider (RC213V) | 1:58.091s |
| 2 | Paul Espargaro | SPA | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +0.524s |
| 3 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +1.052s |
| 4 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | SHOULD | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1)* | +1.556s |
| 5 | Fernandez/Dovizioso | N/A | Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1) | +1.667s |
| 6 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Ducati Test Rider (GP26) | +1.712s |
| 7 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Test Rider (RS-GP) | +2.212s |
| 8 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Pro Honda LCR (RC213V)* | +2.803s |
| 9 | Mika Kallio | FIN | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +5.112s |
Here are the lap times at 4pm, with two hours to go:
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2026 Sepang Shakedown Test – Day One Laptime (16:00) |
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| Pos | Racer | NAT | Team (Motorcycle) | Laptime/Gap |
| 1 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Honda Test Rider (RC213V) | 1:58.091s |
| 2 | Paul Espargaro | SPA | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +0.524s |
| 3 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +1.052s |
| 4 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | SHOULD | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1)* | +1.556s |
| 5 | Fernandez/Dovizioso | N/A | Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1) | +1.667s |
| 6 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Ducati Test Rider (GP26) | +1.712s |
| 7 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Test Rider (RS-GP) | +1.212s |
| 8 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Pro Honda LCR (RC213V)* | +2.803s |
| 9 | Mika Kallio | FIN | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +5.853s |
Toprak Razgatlioglu, 2026 Sepang MotoGP Shakedown Test.
As seen in the image above, Toprak Razgatlioglu uses Yamaha’s old ‘tri-plane’ front wing, not the new design launched by the factory team in Jakarta recently.
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha V4 without tail aero at the Sepang shakedown (Instagram).
Here’s another look at the ‘wingless’ rear tail unit on Toprak Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha V4, from an Instagram post on Wednesday evening.
Rear tire grip is the main purpose of the changes to the V4, and Yamaha will probably want to understand how the new bike ‘naturally’ performs in that area before adding a wing.
Below is the lap time up to 14:00, where the Espargaro brothers topped the timesheets with a time of 1:58. Meanwhile, Razgatlioglu is in fourth place as Yamaha’s top racer, ahead of test racer Augusto Fernandez.
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2026 Sepang Shakedown Test – Day One Laptime (14:00) |
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| Pos | Racer | NAT | Team (Motorcycle) | Laptime/Gap |
| 1 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Honda HRC Test Team (RC213V) | 1:58.091s |
| 2 | Paul Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +0.524s |
| 3 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +1.052s |
| 4 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | SHOULD | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1)* | +1.556s |
| 5 | Yamaha Test Rider | N/A | Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) | +1.667s |
| 6 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Ducati Test Rider (GP26) | +1.712s |
| 7 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Pro Honda LCR (RC213V)* | +2.803s |
| 8 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Factory (RS-GP) | +4.451s |
| 9 | Mika Kallio | FIN | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +5.853s |
Sepang MotoGP lap time record:
Fastest lap: Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Lenovo, 1m 56.337s (2024)
Fastest race lap: Alex Marquez, Gresini Ducati, 1m 58.873s (2023)
A second red flag period occurred, at 2 p.m. Once again to check track conditions, but this time at Turn 1 – and possibly as a result of Pol Espargaro’s crash. We also heard that Moreira was experiencing some kind of technical problem:
A second red flag on Day 1 at the 2026 Sepang shakedown.
Here’s defending WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu in action for Pramac on day one of the Sepang Shakedown (note the absence of a rear wing).
Razgatlioglu is the only Yamaha rider to have been on track with the new V4 so far.
However, at least in previous years, non-rookie racers often chose to skip the first day of the Shakedown to wait for better track conditions and save their factory personal test tires:
1pm and the brothers are top of the timesheets, with Pol Espargaro back in the lead for KTM after pipping Aleix, while five riders have now clocked under 1min 59sec…
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2026 Sepang Shakedown Test – Day One Laptime (13:00) |
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| Pos | Racer | NAT | Team (Motorcycle) | Laptime/Gap |
| 1 | Paul Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | 1:59.177s |
| 2 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Honda HRC Test Team (RC213V) | +0.022s |
| 3 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +0.026s |
| 4 | Yamaha Test Rider | N/A | Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) | +0.581s |
| 5 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Ducati Test Rider (GP26) | +0.626s |
| 6 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | SHOULD | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1)* | +2.172s |
| 7 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Pro Honda LCR (RC213V)* | +2.226s |
| 8 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Factory (RS-GP) | +3.365s |
| 9 | Mika Kallio | FIN | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +4.767s |
HRC test racer, Aleix Espargaro, who is entering his 22nd season as a professional racer, continues to show improvement and has now recorded a time of 1 minute 59.199 seconds, 1.2 seconds ahead of KTM’s Dani Pedrosa.
Although Honda implemented an engine design freeze this season, after moving up the concession ranking from D to C, they can continue modifying the RC213V engine until the season opener in Thailand next month.
Aleix Espargaro.
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2026 Sepang Shakedown Test – Day One Laptime (12:00) |
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| Pos | Racer | NAT | Team (Motorcycle) | Laptime/Gap |
| 1 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Honda HRC Test Team (RC213V) | 1:59.637s |
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +0.778s |
| 3 | Yamaha Test Rider | N/A | Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) | +1.181s |
| 4 | Paul Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.466s |
| 5 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Ducati Test Rider (GP26) | +1.710s |
| 6 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | SHOULD | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1)* | +1.820s |
| 7 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Pro Honda LCR (RC213V)* | +2.094s |
| 8 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Factory (RS-GP) | +3.735s |
| 9 | Mika Kallio | FIN | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +4.568s |
Midway through the day, Honda’s Aleix Espargaro was 0.7 seconds ahead of Dani Pedrosa at the top of the timesheets, with Augusto Fernandez in third for the Yamaha V4.
Michele Pirro moved up to fifth for Ducati, just ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Diogo Moreira. Lorenzo Savadori and Mika Kallio completed the list of racers who recorded times.
To confirm, there is no data on the number of laps or best top speed available, only the maximum speed of the last lap recorded by each driver. Complete timing information will be available on the official test.
Meanwhile, HRC test racer, Aleix Espargaro, recorded a first lap time of 1’59s, ahead of KTM at the top of the time record.
Razgatlioglu’s rival in the race for the Rookie of the Year title, and reigning Moto2 champion, Diogo Moreira, joins the test.
Moreira and teammate Johann Zarco will launch their official LCR colors (Castrol for Zarco, Pro Honda for Moreira) on February 1.
It looks like the red flag was raised to check for possible oil spills and dirty track conditions. Testing continues.
Red Flag at 11am.
The red flag was raised just after 11am to check “track conditions at Turn 9”.
Aleix Espargaro previously complained about dirty track conditions before the test started.
However, it is not yet clear whether that was the cause of the stoppage of the race or whether fluid was spilled.
Aleix Espargaro Instagram.
KTM showed their intentions by fielding three test riders on the track, including the returning Mika Kallio. Meanwhile, teammates Pol Espargaro and Dani Pedrosa led the timesheets in the first hour.
Pramac’s Toprak Razgatlioglu is the only Yamaha rider on track so far, with Augusto Fernandez in action for the test team.
Michele Pirro (Ducati), Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) and Aleix Espargaro (Honda) have also completed their first MotoGP rounds in 2026:
Pol Espargaro, KTM, Sepang Circuit.
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2026 Sepang Shakedown Test – Day One Laptime (11:00) |
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| Pos | Racer | NAT | Team (Motorcycle) | Laptime/Gap |
| 1 | Paul Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | 2:1.103s |
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +0.497s |
| 3 | Yamaha Test Rider* | N/A | Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) | +0.677s |
| 4 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Ducati Test Rider (GP26) | +2.277s |
| 5 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Factory (RS-GP) | +4.362s |
| 6 | Mika Kallio | FIN | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +5.235s |
| 7 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | SHOULD | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1)* | +5.620s |
| 8 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Honda HRC Test Team (RC213V) | +7.863s |
*Augusto Fernandez atau Andrea Dovizioso.
** If a rider records lap times on multiple bikes, only their best overall time will be listed.
Fastest lap time for each manufacturer at Sepang:
Ducati: Alex Marquez, 1m 58.873s.
Honda: Joan Mir, 1m 59.293s.
KTM: Pedro Acosta, 1m 59.311s.
Yamaha: Fabio Quartararo, 1m 59.494s.
Aprilia: Raul Fernandez, 2m 0.217s.
*Yamaha V4: Augusto Fernandez, 2m 1.352s.
Sepang 2025 qualifying lap times, from each manufacturer:
Ducati: Francesco Bagnaia, 1m 57.001s.
Yamaha: Fabio Quartararo, 1m 57.195s.
KTM: Pedro Acosta, 1m 57.363s.
Honda: Joan Mir, 1m 57.440s.
Aprilia: Marco Bezzecchi, 1m 57.549s.
*Yamaha V4: Augusto Fernandez 1m 59.382s.
