Aprilia shined as pre-season concluded at the Buriram Test, with Marc Marquez edged down to third heading into Thai GP week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) was under lap record pace on the final day of 2026 pre-season, setting a 1\u201928.668 at Buriram to close out testing with the fastest ever lap of the venue, be it the official race weekend record or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next up it was Ai Ogura putting Trackhouse MotoGP Team into second, 0.097 off \u2018Bez\u2019, with the top three completed by\u00a0<\/strong>Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) despite a third tumble in two days for the #93. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Aprilia Racing & Trackhouse MotoGP Team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bezzecchi undertook a long run, led for most of the afternoon before firing in an all-time lap record in the final 15 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A 1\u201928.668 is a major benchmark ahead of next weekend\u2019s Grand Prix and with an average lap time of 1\u201930.454 after 20 laps, is the #72 in the strongest position for 2026? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Bezzecchi and teammate Jorge Martin trialled rear aero variations, perhaps to use both at certain points throughout the year. It was P8 for Martin as the 2024 World Champion returns in earnest, and his reports on how he feels getting back to it were overwhelmingly positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, MotoGP Team pairing Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez checked out some back-to-back testing of Aprilia\u2019s rear aero too. Both were up inside the top ten on the combined times with less than an hour and a half of pre-season to go but the gauntlet was laid down in the final 30 minutes in Ogura\u2019s time attack, 0.097s from Bezzecchi in P2. We make that most likely the third ever fastest lap of the track. Fernandez was 11th<\/sup> but all four Aprilias look competitive as 2026 looms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ducati Lenovo Team, BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP & Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s felt like the great debate of MotoGP\u2019s 2026 pre-season: 2024 aero vs 2025 aero at Ducati. Straight out the box this morning having been second on day one, Marc Marquez topped the morning session and was spotted with the older of the aero variations, along with his teammate Francesco Bagnaia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a slow start for the reigning Champion in the afternoon as illness plagues him and when he did go out, he crashed at Turn 3 \u2013 but rider OK. Pecco was in great form, knocking eight tenths off his time from day one, and once Marquez headed back out too, he finished third and only just pipped Bagnaia in fourth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there was Tower of Champions for testing, it\u2019d have gone to Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP). Comfortably clear in Malaysia, Thailand welcomed him to the top on day one and he was 5th<\/sup> on day two. He was also with the 2024 aero package as he follows the factory team suit. It perhaps didn\u2019t conclude in the best way for the #73, who fell at Turn 9 but was all OK and did head back out. Stand-in teammate Michele Pirro improved his time and finished in 22nd<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping up their solid pre-season, Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team\u2019s Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio worked methodically on the final day of testing. Morbidelli left it late to go out in the afternoon but when he did, he finished seventh and whilst over one lap he\u2019s quick, race pace may not be there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t all straightforward for \u2018Diggia\u2019, with the #49 experiencing tech problems in the morning before finishing in ninth after setting his fastest lap in the last half an hour during his time attack. In contrary to Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio has strong pace but he suffered over one lap during the Buriram test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Red Bull KTM Factory Racing & Red Bull KTM Tech3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Completing the top six and making it three manufacturers towards the sharp end of the order, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) ends the test much higher up than Day 1. Eight tenths quicker on Sunday as well and getting a Grand Prix simulation bagged, hard yards in high heat brought positivity. For teammate Brad Binder, the South African struggled but did put in a fast lap late on to move up to P12 with encouraging improvements over one lap coming at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having been the best KTM on day one, Maverick Vi\u00f1ales didn\u2019t improve in outright one lap speed on Sunday, taking P15 overall. He seems to be preferring the 2025 package, whereas the other three RC-16s are on the latest spec. Teammate Enea Bastianini likewise didn\u2019t leap up the timesheets although he did improve, taking a tenth or so off his time from the opening day. But that\u2019s one-lap speed and racing is a far more complex game, so KTM will be interesting to watch come lights out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honda HRC Castrol, CASTROL Honda LCR & Pro Honda LCR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a quieter day for Honda on Day 2, but the positivity continues and they end the test in the top ten. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) rocketed himself up into P10 by the final chequered flag of the day whilst Luca Marini, who was the fastest Honda for the majority of the day, ultimately took 13th. The pair were just under 0.8s off the pace of Bezzecchi at the top but head into 2026 in a strong position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elsewhere for the Japanese manufacturer, Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) spun some laps with Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) as they finished 14th<\/sup> and 19th<\/sup> respectively. Zarco worked on consistently controlling of the bike from one lap to another whilst Moreira\u2019s goals were to learn from his rivals \u2013 where better to start than your teammate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP & Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For Yamaha, Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) did a long run before lunch and set an average lap time in the low 1\u201932s before going all-out for a time attack in the closing ten minutes. The Aussie got Yamaha into the 1\u201929s with a 1\u201929.701. Along with Grand Prix simulations, he and rookie teammate Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP had on Saturday. For Razgatlioglu, his final day didn\u2019t start well with technical issues and in the end, the Turkish rider just missed out getting into the 1\u201930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst it\u2019s been far from the ideal start to 2026, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was their second-fastest rider on day two of testing in Thailand and able to join Miller in the 1\u201929s with just 0.029s splitting them both. Teammate Alex Rins was able to improve too and ended the test with his one-lap blast putting him around half a second from Miller. The all-new V4-powered Yamaha YZR-M1 is just that \u2013 all new \u2013 so they\u2019ll be looking to move further and further forward as the first race weekend of the season approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Aprilia shined as pre-season concluded at the Buriram Test, with Marc Marquez edged down to third heading into<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[339,311],"class_list":["post-9773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-motogp","tag-motorsports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t