Sepang Test 3

Alex Márquez emerged as the undisputed king of pre-season testing, topping the final day in Sepang with a blistering 1:56.402. The Gresini Ducati rider's time was not only the fastest of the three days but came within a tenth of the all-time pole position record. Márquez’s dominance was twofold; he also clocked the fastest average pace during the afternoon’s Sprint simulations, signaling that the GP26 is already a refined weapon in the hands of the satellite teams. The session saw a major shift in the standings as Marco Bezzecchi surged into second place (1:56.526) during a late time attack, disrupting what was nearly a Ducati top-five lockout. Behind them, the VR46 duo of Fabio Di Giannantonio and a recovering Marc Márquez (4th) ensured three Ducatis finished in the top four. Day 2 leader Joan Mir ended the test with the 5th fastest combined time, as Honda focused more on long-run stability than one-lap pace on the final day. The most significant development, however, was the return of the Yamaha V4. After being grounded on Wednesday, the Iwata factory received the "all-clear" to resume testing. Alex Rins led the charge for the blue brand, finishing 14th overall with a 1:57.580. While the team remains over a second off the lead pace, the focus was purely on mileage and safety validation following the mechanical scares of earlier in the week. Meanwhile, rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu finished as the top newcomer in 19th, narrowly edging out Honda’s Diogo Moreira.