MotoGP Thai Test Day One

MotoGP’s final pre-season test opened in oppressive Buriram heat with the pressure on that there’s no longer the luxury of “we’ll sort it at the next test”.

Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) ended Saturday on top with a 1m29.262s, edging reigning World Champion Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) by 0.129s despite Marc suffering two crashes at the final corner.

Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) stole third late in the day with a 1m29.451s, just 0.011s ahead of Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi, while Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) sat a further 0.005s back in fifth.

Those margins matter because Buriram is not simply a “test venue” this year – it’s next weekend’s race track. Every lap here, especially in heat, is a dress rehearsal for tyre management, ride-height behaviour, cooling, and how each manufacturer’s aero choices behave when the bike starts to move around.

Hot track – Two sessions

With two long riding blocks, most garages split Saturday between validation work and short runs to confirm direction. That’s why the timesheet tells two stories at once: a late-day time attack shuffle up front, and a broader pattern underneath of teams running through aero/chassis permutations with an eye on race weekend rather than chasing one perfect lap.

The top 16 were covered by less than a second, and the top five by barely two tenths. That’s the kind of spread that usually arrives after a few race weekends, not just before the opening round.

Alex on top

Alex Marquez’ day looked like classic “final test” work: continue comparisons, pick the parts that give repeatable confidence, then stitch together one lap when the window opens. He has been weighing aero directions and ended the day on top. Can he stay there

Gresini also had a very different kind of mission running in parallel. Fermin Aldeguer is injured, and Michele Pirro is stepping in to provide track time and feedback.

Marc Marquez: two falls, then the bounce-back

Marc Marquez’ day was messy and impressive in equal measure. Two crashes at the final corner interrupted his runs, with the first a faster incident while losing the front under brakes on a white line, and the second a smaller get-off at the same turn. Yet he still leaves Day 1 as the closest rider to Alex, only 0.129s back with a 1m29.391, and that was on a day where the defending champion was very much under the weather after picking up a stomach bug.

Ducati’s Saturday wasn’t a simple “run the plan” day – it was a day with pressure to decide. With one test day left before the opener, Ducati’s internal debates around aero packages (and variations within the 2025 concept) are no longer academic. They’re urgent.

Bagnaia: P10 – Off to Aprilia for ’27?

Francesco Bagnaia ended Day 1 tenth (1m29.678). That doesn’t scream “alarm bells”, given Ducati’s focus on evaluation rather than outright pace, and the messaging from the box was notably upbeat. Bagnaia’s demeanour, combined with the continued work on aero variants, suggests Ducati is still in “optimise and confirm” mode rather than “search and rescue”.

Off the track, Bagnaia was the talk of the paddock, with speculation rife that he is set to join Aprilia for 2027.  By many accounts, that is now a done deal after the story was first broke by Simon Patterson early in the day.

Franco Morbidelli jumped to third in the final 20 minutes when most teams are either wrapping up their plans or slipping in tyres for a short-time burst. His 1m29.451 came after 59 laps of steady work that included toggling electronic and chassis settings to adapt to Buriram’s demands and the tyre behaviour at extreme temperatures.

Morbidelli also gave an unusually clear thumbs-up to the aero direction: he likes the new package, calling out that it’s different in certain areas and appears to suit what he wants to do with the bike. Crucially, he flagged a Day 2 plan that mirrors what several contenders will do: time attacks early, then a race simulation to build a realistic baseline before parc fermé compromises arrive.

Franco Morbidelli

“It was a positive day, we tried to adapt the setup to this track. We went back and forth with some setting solutions in terms of electronics and chassis, and it went well. We were able to adapt very well to the track and to the different tyres as well. I like the new aero package, it’s a bit different in some areas. The plan for tomorrow is to continue working on the setup but also doing a race simulation. We will try some time attacks in the morning. I feel well, I look forward to starting the season, we are fast. The test started well, and this is giving me even more will to start and more confidence.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio’s ninth (1m29.643) was less dramatic but potentially just as important. He completed 66 laps, focusing on confirming Sepang findings in Buriram conditions. His own admission that he’s “never been very quick on this track” makes P9 meaningful.

Fabio Di Giannantonio

“I’m much happier today than in Malaysia test. Today it wasn’t an easy day, but we were able to stick to the plan and try everything we had in the plan. I’ve never been very quick on this track, but it seems we found a way to go fast here too, and it’s very important. The feeling with the bike is good, we tried many things and some of them were an improvement on the bike. The goal is to put all the things together to get the best package possible, so let’s see if we can start to prepare the race weekend already. Tomorrow we will also try the new aero once again, let’s see if we can use it for the first race.”

Aprilia and Trackhouse: Good momentum – Jorge looks good

Aprilia’s pre-season has been widely noted as one of the stronger stories, and Saturday didn’t change that narrative. Marco Bezzecchi ended the day fourth (1m29.462) and only 0.200s from P1. He also had a small crash on the way back to the pits.

The RS-GP work continues to be visibly aero-focused, but with nuance: Buriram brought a slightly different objective, including air-management around the rider’s legs via revised ducting. These aren’t cosmetic changes; at this level, airflow around the rider impacts stability, cooling, and the bike’s behaviour in yaw as it transitions between corners.

Jorge Martin’s 13th (1m29.813) looks modest until you apply the context: he was less than four tenths from Bezzecchi while riding Buriram on the RS-GP for the first time.

Trackhouse continues to sit close enough to make the Aprilia story broader than just the factory garage. Raul Fernandez finished sixth (1m29.486) after a late surge that briefly put him inside the top three. He ran the latest rear aero spec as well and looked comfortable enough to push at the end of the day, which is always a small green flag for long-run stability.

Ai Ogura ended 15th (1m29.952) after focusing on back-to-back aero comparisons, including a rear set-up seen late last season. His result is best read as “direction-finding day one” rather than final form; with one day left, expect him to consolidate and then take a genuine swing at improving the number.

Honda: Interesting “quiet story” of day one

Honda’s Saturday had a very clear headline: Zarco’s fifth (1m29.467), only 0.205s from the top, puts a Honda inside the leading group on a track that matters next week and puts them in the mix.

Zarco completed 74 laps and described a day where he struggled early, then finished fast. The key admission was about feel and consistency, the bike changing from one lap to another, and not always giving him stable control. That’s exactly the kind of feedback you’d expect from a machine still climbing out of development turbulence: the peak lap is possible, but the “push with confidence, every lap” sensation isn’t yet locked.

Johann Zarco

“It was a tough day, as I struggled a bit at the start. By the end, we managed to be fast and set a good lap time, but we still need to improve to feel more comfortable. We know the bike is competitive, but we need to find its full potential and the right setup. It’s a work in progress. We are looking for that ‘really good feeling’, we’ll see tomorrow!”

Joan Mir’s seventh (1m29.494) came on his final run, an indicator that his pace is not a “one-off early lap” but something that can be found late in the day after working through items. Mir’s programme wasn’t completely straightforward – time lost in the morning juggling tasks across two bikes – but he still ended within a quarter of a second of P1. There is some promise behind that outcome.

Joan Mir

“A good day overall but maybe not as straight forward as I was expecting because we had a few things to work on between the two bikes we have here. It lost us a bit of time in the morning, but after that we focused and got through a lot for a really positive part of the day. Our package isn’t perfect, but we can make a good lap time alone with it, so this is positive for the first day here. More tomorrow as we try a few final items and then turn an eye to the race.”

Luca Marini ended 12th (1m29.774) after 60 laps, with rear grip still his central focus ahead of the pivot to the race weekend.

Luca Marini

“Another step compared to the last test, improving a little bit more and more. Friday practice is where it matters, but I am satisfied with what we have done so far and what items we have been able to get through. Everyone worked well today as we chase our main target – more rear grip. Everything else is in a good position, especially when we compare to where we were one year ago.”

In the LCR garage, rookie Diogo Moreira’s 20th (1m30.953) came after 75 laps and a day described as consistent and productive. With a Sunday race simulation planned, Moreira’s weekend objective is less “find a lap time” and more “build a usable rhythm under load” – the correct approach for a rider still mapping the category.

Diogo Moreira

“Coming here is nice for me; it’s a different layout. It’s been a positive day, and we need to keep this up. Tomorrow, we’ll try to keep improving. It’s difficult to find the lines, and that’s why today I followed some rivals to learn from them. We’re working hard. Everything will come in time; the important thing is to improve day by day. Tomorrow, we’ll focus on the race simulation. Let’s see how it goes!”

KTM: Viñales best

KTM’s day was led by Maverick Viñales in eighth (1m29.540). The key technical note from the KTM camp was aero: Viñales used the latest iteration, first seen at Sepang, which looks smaller than the previous version. Buriram, with its stop-start nature and long straights, is a useful place to assess whether “smaller” translates to better stability and less drag without sacrificing turning support.

Brad Binder finished 11th (1m29.757) and described his day as “great”, which points toward a steady build-up rather than chasing a sensational time.

Pedro Acosta was 14th (1m29.850) and the third-best KTM, switching later in the day to the smaller aero. After being KTM’s headline in Sepang, Buriram Day 1 reads as a reset: gather data, confirm direction, then push again on Sunday. The young Spaniard did not run a time attack on Saturday.

Enea Bastianini finished 16th (1m30.153), following a similar working method to Viñales but without finding the same outright pace as yet.

Yamaha: lots of work, little satisfaction

Yamaha remains the paddock’s most complicated “big story” because the programme is not simply about a set-up; it’s about defining a direction. The adaptation phase continues, and Buriram Day 1 looked like hard labour rather than easy progress, and the frustration is palpable.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins ended 18th and 19th at 1m30.507 and 1m30.512, respectively, separated by just 0.005s.

Quartararo completed 67 laps, returning to full work after the finger injury he picked up at Sepang. Yamaha cycled through chassis/swingarm and settings options, with Quartararo’s key comment effectively calling for consolidation: he wants to keep the same bike on Sunday and run repeated laps with one base setup to understand what they truly have. But it is clear he doesn’t think they have much, and they are far from ready.

Fabio Quartararo

“It was a long day. We will try to figure out something to improve a bit more tomorrow. Yamaha know the list of priorities and what they have to do. I just focus on providing feedback on what it is we need. Today we changed quite a lot on the bike. Tomorrow, I want to keep the same bike and do some runs in a row with the same base set-up.”

Rins’ day was framed as productive: with major parts “already decided”, the focus turned to settings and refining understanding ahead of Round 1. That’s the underappreciated detail here: Yamaha’s issue is no longer just “bring new parts”; it’s “extract repeatable performance from what we have, now”.

Alex Rins

“With the parts – chassis, swingarm, etc. – already decided on, we focused on settings today, trying to understand the bike better and to see where we can improve. It was a productive day. We need to keep working, and Yamaha will keep working to give us further updates, and like this, we can improve a bit more.”

Over at Prima Pramac Yamaha, Jack Miller ended 17th (1m30.325, 59 laps) and Toprak Razgatlioglu 21st (1m31.574, 68 laps). Miller sounded reasonably upbeat about the chassis direction being a step forward compared to Malaysia, while acknowledging weak points in Sectors 1 and 2.

Jack Miller

“It was a decent day. We worked through different chassis options and several set-ups, and overall the bike is working reasonably well. I‘m quite happy with our base setting, especially as the chassis feels like a clear step forward compared to Malaysia. Sector 1 and Sector 2 are still our weak points at the moment, which was expected, but in Sector 3 and 4 I feel strong, particularly with the tyre allocation we have here. There‘s still work to do and we know we‘re not going to find 10 km/h overnight, but in general I‘m enjoying the bike and we have a clear direction for tomorrow.”

Razgatlioglu’s focus remained on understanding the rear tyre and building confidence in how he could load it, compared to what he was used to in WorldSBK.

Ergonomics also remain a practical thread in Toprak’s garage: modified handlebars and seat tweaks were part of Saturday’s work, and with Buriram’s physical demands, some comfort is not a luxury but a necessity.

At times, Toprak again ran with no aero on the rear and other times with a low-profile rear aero. This stems from the Turk’s desire for a particular seating position.  MotoGP rules deem there can only be a limited vertical measurement between the seat and the top of the rear aero, which means Yamaha is very limited by what they can do on the tail of the bike.

Toprak Razgatlioglu

“I‘m still in a learning phase and adapting to this bike, but I can see progress in many areas. The biggest challenge at the moment is understanding the rear tyre, while I feel more comfortable with the front. That said, I don‘t yet have the confidence to fully lean on it the way I used to with the Pirelli. I‘m trying to improve corner by corner, and tomorrow I would like to attempt a sprint-style simulation and maybe also a fast lap like Jack did today — he did a very good job. Step by step, we‘re moving forward.”

What Saturday really told us

The headline is Alex Marquez P1, Marc Marquez P2, despite two crashes. The deeper read is that the field is already compressing around 1m29s, and several factories are still making genuine “fork in the road” decisions, particularly around aero, with only one day left before turning those choices into a cemented direction for the season ahead.

Honda looks closer than it has in a long time, Aprilia continues to look coherent across both garages, Ducati remains fast even when the day gets messy, and Yamaha is doing heavy structural work with a stopwatch that is not offering much patience and clearly shows that they are far from ready.

One final day of pre-season testing remains on Sunday before the Thailand Grand Prix opens the 2026 MotoGP season next weekend.

Thailand Test Times Day One

Pos	Rider	Bike	TimeGap
1	A. Marquez	Duc	1m29.262
2	M. Marquez	Duc	+0.129
3	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+0.189
4	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	+0.200
5	J. Zarco	Hon	+0.205
6	R. Fernandez	Apr	+0.224
7	J. Mir	Hon	+0.232
8	M. Viñales	KTM	+0.278
9	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	+0.381
10	F. Bagnaia	Duc	+0.416
11	B. Binder	KTM	+0.495
12	L. Marini	Hon	+0.512
13	J. Martin	Apr	+0.551
14	P. Acosta	KTM	+0.588
15	A. Ogura	Apr	+0.690
16	E. Bastianini	KTM	+0.891
17	J. Miller	Yam	+1.063
18	F. Quartararo	Yam	+1.245
19	A. Rins	Yam	+1.250
20	D. Moreira	Hon	+1.691
21	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	+2.312
22	M. Pirro	Duc	+3.348