MARQUEZ LEADS FIRST DAY OF MOTOGP PRE-SEASON TESTS; QUARTARARO WITHDRAWS - Motorsportsclicks

MotoGP officially kicked off its 2026 pre-season testing today at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. On a busy first day with almost the full grid on track, Marc Márquez set the fastest time. The session was also marked by a heavy crash involving Fabio Quartararo.

Back on a MotoGP bike for the first time since his crash with Marco Bezzecchi at the Indonesian Grand Prix last October, Márquez showed strong pace. With 20 minutes left in the session, the Ducati Lenovo rider went to the top of the timesheets with a lap of 1:57.018. This was around 0.15 seconds faster than the best lap recorded during last week’s shakedown tests by Aleix Espargaró.

Márquez ended the day with a 0.250-second advantage over Fabio Di Giannantonio from the VR46 team, who was second fastest. Maverick Viñales placed third on the Tech3 KTM after setting his best lap at the end of the session. Álex Márquez, last season’s runner-up, led for much of the day but finished fourth, 0.450 seconds behind his brother. Marco Bezzecchi completed the top five with Aprilia.

Aprilia had a productive day, with Bezzecchi riding both the 2025 and 2026 versions of the RS-GP, focusing on aerodynamic comparisons.

Luca Marini finished sixth and was the best Honda rider, just ahead of teammate Joan Mir. Francesco Bagnaia ended the day in eighth place. The Ducati rider focused mainly on testing a new aerodynamic package and spent much of the day riding a bike almost entirely made of carbon fiber.

Fabio Quartararo finished ninth after suffering a big crash at Turn 5 during the first hour of the test. The Yamaha rider was taken to the medical center but managed to return to the track later in the afternoon, setting a lap of 1:57.769. However, Quartararo will take no further part in the Sepang tests, as he is returning to Europe to treat a fractured finger on his hand.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – FEBRUARY 03: Fabio Quartararo of France riding the Monster Energy Yamaha (20) in his garage during MotoGP Testing at Sepang Circuit on February 03, 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images)

Franco Morbidelli rounded out the top ten. On the first day of testing, all five manufacturers managed to place at least one bike inside the top ten.

Among the rookies, Diogo Moreira came out on top. Riding for LCR Honda, the Brazilian finished 19th with a best lap of 1:58.682, two tenths faster than Toprak Razgatlioglu. Moreira’s day was not trouble-free, as he also crashed at Turn 5 in the morning, the same corner where Quartararo fell.

The full results of day 1: