Shakedown Day 1: the First Laps of 2026!

The first laps of a new record-breaking season are in the bag as Day 1 of the Shakedown concludes in Sepang. The Shakedown is for factory test riders and rookies – as well as manufacturers with free testing in concession Rank D – so not everyone was out on track or will be. But it signals our return after a looooong winter without the most exciting sport on Earth.

The big news can be split two ways – one, the debut of two exciting new rookies: Toprak Razgatlioglu, who moves over from WorldSBK as a three-time Champion, and reigning Moto2™ Champion Diogo Moreira. Turkish rider Razgatlioglu slots in alongside Jack Miller at Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP, and Brazilian rider Moreira at Pro Honda LCR, teammate to Johann Zarco.

When it got down to the lap times for the rookies, it was Razgatlioglu who was fastest and completed the opening day of 2026 in fourth with a best of 1’59.647. This was despite a couple of gremlins in the opening hour. There was also a mechanical issue for Moreira but the Brazilian was able to put that behind him and finish his day in eighth with a 2’00.894. For context, Razgatlioglu’s time would have been good enough for P1 on the same day in 2025 and whilst Moreira continues his adaptation, day two will surely see both take another step.

On top of the timesheets, however, it was Honda. Aleix Espargaro put the marque top with a lap time only six tenths off Joan Mir’s qualifying time from the 2025 Malaysian GP and that locked up the top spot from midday on. Honda only fielded the #41 on Day 1 in terms of test riders, with their other representation from Moreira, the rookie. The factory has now moved up into concession Rank C so their options aren’t as numerous as this time last season.

KTM, on the tails of their team presentations for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3, were second and third with Pol Espargaro, half a second off the top, and MotoGP Hall of Famer Dani Pedrosa another half a second in arrears. Mika Kallio was also out on track to put in a few laps, further down the timesheets.

With Razgatlioglu leading the way for Yamaha, their test riders were right behind in the reigning WorldSBK Champion’s slipstream. Just 0.111s split the Turkish star and the test team, spearheaded  by Augusto Fernandez. A key rider in the development of Yamaha’s V4 engine from the very start, he set Yamaha’s fastest top speed of the day too at 327.3kp/h – just over 8kp/h down on the fastest on day one, Honda. They were the only Yamaha riders out on track, we’ll have to wait further for our first glimpse of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and his teammate Alex Rins, as well as Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP).

At Ducati, test rider Michele Pirro was out on track and he was the last rider in the 1:59s – but the headline was some new aero spotted down in pitlane. Take a look below! As the reigning champions and often the trend and pacesetters in pre-season, the new look will raise plenty of interest…

At Aprilia, Lorenzo Savadori settled into his long stint at Sepang. The Italian is present at the Shakedown and will follow that up at the Sepang Test as he rides alongside Marco Bezzecchi, standing in for Jorge Martin. He was putting all the Aprilias through their paces, including the Trackhouse MotoGP Team machinery, and was lapping around the 2 minute mark.

credit: MotoGP