- Bezzecchi sets new track record in Buriram with 1:28.668 minutes
- Marc Marquez crashes three times and complains about lack of concentration
- Yamaha still more than a second behind with its new V4 machine
The 2026 MotoGP winter tests are complete. On the final day of testing at the Buriram International Circuit in Thailand, Marco Bezzecchi made a clear statement on the Aprilia RS-GP, not only setting the fastest time of the day with 1:28.668 minutes, but also beating the official track record of 1:28.700 minutes. That record had been set by Francesco Bagnaia in qualifying for the 2024 Thailand Grand Prix. World champion Marc Marquez finished the test weekend in third place after a total of three crashes, while Ducati is looking forward to the start of the season with confidence despite the incidents.
Bezzecchi and Aprilia set the bar
The second day of testing in Buriram was divided into two parts. Qualifying simulations were on the agenda in the cooler morning, followed by long runs and race simulations in the warmer afternoon with asphalt temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius. In the morning, the Ducati factory team initially led the standings. Marc Marquez set a strong time of 1:28.836 minutes, closely followed by Bagnaia.
But in the afternoon, Bezzecchi stepped up his game. First, the Italian completed a convincing race simulation with a consistently fast pace. In the last hour, he then made another qualifying attempt and broke the track record. By this point, the Ducati duo had already finished their test.
Aprilia ultimately took the top two spots in the overall standings. Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura came in second with a time of 1:28.765 minutes, just 0.097 seconds behind. His teammate Raul Fernandez also consistently finished in the top 10 over both days.
Technical Director Fabiano Sterlacchini drew a positive conclusion and said that it had been very important to confirm some of the solutions from the Sepang test. In Malaysia, it is always difficult to accurately assess performance because the used rear tire behaves inconsistently there. In addition, aerodynamic variants were tested and the behavior of the motorcycle was optimized for stop-and-go tracks. The updates brought along paid off in this regard.
Three crashes and an upset stomach for Marc Marquez
For reigning world champion Marc Marquez, the test weekend was significantly more bumpy. On Saturday, the Ducati rider crashed twice in the morning. The first crash happened on the approach to the final corner when his front wheel slipped away on the white line. The second crash followed shortly afterwards.
Marquez attributed the crashes to a lack of concentration and energy. He said he started the day with an upset stomach, which affected him even before his first outing. “We should treat today’s information with caution, because I didn’t ride very well. Tomorrow, I expect to be in better shape and able to work better for Ducati,” he commented after the first day of testing.
Things initially went better for the Spaniard on Sunday. He set the fastest time in the morning and completed significantly more laps than the day before. In the afternoon, however, he crashed again during his long run in turn 3, his third crash of the weekend. Marquez then went to the medical center, but got away with only abrasions on his right forearm. He did not ride again that day.
Despite the difficult circumstances, Marquez finished the test in third place overall, just 0.168 seconds behind Bezzecchi’s fastest time. However, Ducati still has an important decision to make regarding the aerodynamic configuration for the start of the season. Over the two days of testing, various winglet variants from 2024 and 2025 as well as different side fairings were seen on the Ducati machines.
Ducati looks ahead with confidence despite Marquez crashes
Team manager Davide Tardozzi expressed his overall satisfaction to Sky Italia. He said that they had to check a few things in Buriram that had already been decided in Sepang, and that had gone well. The decisions made there had been confirmed. On the evening after the test, the team wanted to make a final decision on which motorcycle to use for the first race weekend. However, Tardozzi admitted that the competition was strong and that Bezzecchi in particular had been very fast.
Bagnaia broke off his long run in the afternoon because he was not entirely satisfied, but he had already done a sprint simulation the day before. With fourth place in the day’s results and a gap of 0.219 seconds, he also delivered a solid test performance. Alex Marquez finished fifth, but also crashed on Sunday afternoon.
Teammate Jorge Martin, who made his comeback at the test after a long injury break, pursued his own program. Martin focused primarily on regaining his riding feel and completed 68 laps on the first day. His team manager Paolo Bonora confirmed that Martin is in very good physical shape, but of course he is not yet at 100 percent. The former world champion has set himself a realistic goal of a top-nine finish for the first race. Martin finished eighth in the results for the second day.
KTM: Acosta satisfied, but still some way off the front
Pedro Acosta was the best KTM rider in Sunday’s results, finishing sixth, 0.353 seconds behind. In the morning, he had positioned himself in the top 5 in qualifying and showed a solid race simulation in the afternoon.
Acosta was honestly satisfied with the test, but also made it clear that Aprilia and Ducati were significantly faster. However, tire wear was better under control. Teammate Brad Binder drove his qualifying attempt shortly before the end of the test and finished twelfth, seven tenths of a second behind.
On the first day of testing, Maverick Vinales (Tech3) was the best KTM representative in eighth place, but on Sunday he concentrated on his overall package and did not set any top times. Enea Bastianini was one second behind and far behind the Yamahas.
Honda makes progress, Yamaha continues to struggle
Joan Mir finished the final day of testing in tenth place, six tenths of a second behind. In terms of the balance of power, Honda appears to be behind Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM, but is going into the season with much more confidence than in previous years.
Team boss Alberto Puig told Sky Italia that they had improved and made progress, but were not quite at the front yet. He didn’t want to claim anything he didn’t believe, but was cautiously optimistic. Rookie Diogo Moreira (LCR) reduced his gap to 1.2 seconds.
At the other end of the field, Yamaha remained the problem child. Jack Miller set the best Yamaha time in the final hour of testing with 1:29.672 minutes, putting him one second behind the leaders. Even in long runs, the new V4 Yamaha lost more than a second per lap to the best.
Fabio Quartararo made no secret of his frustration. He doesn’t think they are ready, they are currently trying to find a direction, and it looks as if they are slowly finding it. In terms of speed, they are still about a second slower than last year, and he thinks everyone expected a little more from the previous season. He has no expectations for the first race.
Miller finished 16th in the day’s results, Quartararo 17th. Superbike World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, who completed his second MotoGP test with the Pramac team, continued to work on his seating position and understanding of the Michelin rear tire. With a gap of 2.1 seconds to the front, he was the second rookie in the field and had the biggest gap of all the regular riders. Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, who stepped in for the injured Fermin Aldeguer at Gresini, rounded off the test.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team
MotoGP
Final assessment before the start of the season
The 2026 MotoGP preseason is now over. The first Grand Prix of the new season will take place this coming weekend, February 27 to March 1, at the same Buriram International Circuit. The starting position could be exciting. Ducati is still considered the favorite, but Aprilia has two fast riders in Bezzecchi and Ogura who can put pressure on them. KTM seems to have taken a step forward, Honda is closer than in previous years, and Yamaha still has some ground to make up with its new V4 project.
The test drives did not feature official timekeeping, so the results should only be taken as a guide. However, experience shows that they still reflect the rough balance of power.
What this means for MotoGP fans
The winter tests in Buriram point to a much more balanced 2026 season than last year. Aprilia seems to have caught up with Ducati and, with Bezzecchi, is no longer just a challenger on paper, but a real threat to Ducati’s dominance. At the same time, it shows that even a world champion like Marquez is not invulnerable. Three crashes in one test weekend and the unresolved aerodynamics issue at Ducati suggest that the defending champion will not start the season as confidently as hoped. KTM and Honda are closing in, and even if Yamaha is currently still lagging behind, the switch to V4 engines is at least fueling the imagination in the medium term. For the season opener in Buriram this coming weekend, we can therefore expect a close battle between at least three manufacturers, which would be a welcome change after years of Ducati dominance.
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