The Shakedown Test is the first event in the books for 2026, painting an intriguing picture ahead of a record-breaking season of competition. Factory test riders, rookies and race riders with a manufacturer in Rank D – currently Yamaha – are allowed to take part, and by the close of action it’s Aleix Espargaro top of the pile for Honda with a notable 1:57.173.
HONDA
The #41’s timesheet-topping time, 1:57.173, is a few tenths faster than Joan Mir’s 2025 Malaysian GP qualifying time that saw the #36 start P7. Aleix Espargaro’s Shakedown lap would have put him fourth on that grid, a solid signal of progress, of which there seem to be many down at Honda. Word on the ground is that the Japanese giants have defined a good direction despite losing the extra benefits since they moved up to concession Rank C by that single point in the 2025 finale.
KTM
Pol Espargaro put Red Bull KTM Factory Racing second on Day 3, and only a tenth off the top with a 1:57.299. That’s also faster than their top qualifier in Q2 last year in Malaysia, Pedro Acosta, by just over half a tenth, which bodes well. KTM had a three-man test team out throughout the Shakedown, comprising Pol Espargaro, MotoGP Hall of Famer Dani Pedrosa and long-time member of the project Mika Kallio. Some key visible updates on the agenda were aero changes for the Austrian factory – although rumours also abounded about components looking even further into the future…
YAMAHA
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo was third Day 3, half a second off the top spot. That’s around half a second off his Q2 time from 2025 – but remember, the Iwata marque are rolling out for 2026 with their all-new V4-powered YZR-M1. Their concession rank, D, means they have unlimited testing and they fielded all their veteran race riders at the Shakedown: Quartararo, teammate Alex Rins and Prima Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller, the latter of whom topped Day 2.
Test riders Augusto Fernandez and MotoGP Legend Andrea Dovizioso have also been hard at work, as well as rookie Toprak Razgatliouglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) making it a whopping six riders who’ve been out on track for Yamaha over the three days. On the agenda, with a whole new bike AND philosophy, was pretty much everything.
DUCATI
At Ducati, sole test rider Michele Pirro was hard at work despite a couple of crashes across the event, rider ok. The big headline from the Borno Panigale factory actually broke cover on Day 1 – their new aero – but otherwise, Pirro has been pounding round Sepang taking the shakedown literally, prepping the machinery for the arrival of the race teams on Tuesday. Alex Marquez, meanwhile, watched on from the sidelines on Saturday ahead of the BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP team presentation later in the evening in central KL.
APRILIA
Test rider Lorenzo Savadori was focusing on shaking down too – the Aprilia Racing machinery ahead of the arrival of Marco Bezzecchi on Tuesday, and the Trackhouse MotoGP team bikes for Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura. Jorge Martin, we know, will sit out the test itself in Malaysia but will be on site with the team. Their chassis choice is reportedly made, and it’s aero where there are choices on the table for Bezzecchi, Fernandez and Ogura to compare during the official Sepang Test.
ROOKIE WATCH: MOREIRA AND RAZGATLIOUGLU
The Brazilian and the Turkish rider are the two rookies in 2026 and get the three-day Shakedown Test as extra track time. Diogo Moreira had a few technical issues with his Pro Honda LCR machine but ended Day 3 on a 1:58.338 after breaching the 1:59s on Day 2. Toprak Razgatliouglu was very close behind on his Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP machine, putting in a 1:58.465 as his best on Saturday. Both will be looking to take more and more steps forward as they settle in – and their next chance is the Sepang Test from the 3rd to the 5th of February.
Across that test, we’ll have Live Timing and our After the Flag show broadcasting direct from on the ground in Malaysia – live every day to catch the last bit of testing and then bring you interviews and insight from riders and team personnel as we get back in official action. Join us for more – and official, open doors testing – from Tuesday!