MotoGP riders and Team Managers reflect on Jerez Test

 Jerez Test Quotes

Ai Ogura – P1

“We have mainly been working on the medium tyre today, and we were not really trying to do a time attack, but, at the end, we went out with one soft rear to see how it is with the work we did over the day. I’m happy about the test, we did everything we planned beforehand – no crashes, no big issues, so overall it was good. In one day, it’s hard to make a big step but to understand a few things that are important for the next races, it was very helpful. It was a good test.”

Ai Ogura banked over through a right-hander on the Trackhouse Aprilia at Jerez.

Giovanni Mattarollo – Ogura Crew Chief

“We used the test today to focus on a few items that we have to work on to develop the bike. There was something on the aero and some elements in the chassis of the bike. Then we worked on some strategies to develop and improve upon some weak points we had so far with Ai from the first part of the season, like the start for example. The idea was to do as many starts as possible, which we did and overall, it’s a good feeling to finish in P1.”

Ai Ogura prepares in the garage before heading back out for another Jerez test run.

Raul Fernandez – P2

“It was a really good day. I’m happy because I think we found something for the time attack which was the priority yesterday after we finished the race. We had two rear soft tyres – with the first one, we felt like always – I was uncomfortable with the bike and couldn’t ride it as I wanted. It’s really difficult if you have this feeling but, with the second one, we changed the bike a bit from the data and it looks like this worked well. I did a 1:35 for the first time in Jerez and was also improving almost three tenths in the second sector, but I was wide. I feel that we maybe found something which we need to confirm in Le Mans. During the day, we were working a lot with the medium tyre, we tried some aerodynamics, a new chassis set-up, and all these I liked a lot. With everything we tried I was super fast – I did a 1:36.2 two or three times with the medium rear as we were not just focused on the time attack but also work on the bike setup and the new developments Aprilia gave us. I think it was a positive test.”

Raúl Fernández smiles in the garage after another productive Trackhouse Aprilia run.

Noe Herrera – Fernandez Crew Chief

“Today was an interesting day for us because we had the opportunity to try many things from Aprilia. Basically, we started with a reference from our race bike and after a few adjustments, especially on the electronic side, we worked on a new suspension setting, that Aprilia has developed. It seems like a small advantage for us, but we need to keep analysing that. We also tested many electronic settings which, especially on this track, was the ‘Achilles heel’ for us and found a good direction and improved. We also tried new aerodynamic parts, which have helped Raul with acceleration. Checking the data, it seems to be better for us, even if Raul didn’t feel it. It was a super good test, we were very fast with the medium and at the end, trying a different setup for the time attack, we also improved and found a way to use it for the future, which will be in Le Mans.”

Raúl Fernández banked over from behind through a flowing left-hander at Jerez.

Pedro Acosta – P5

“Maybe a day late but we arrived where we wanted! I’m happy with the new things the factory managed to bring and hopefully we’ll already be able to use them in Le Mans. We found a bit more traction and the new fairing looks like it works. We’ll see. We need to understand what worked today.”

Pedro Acosta debriefs with the Red Bull KTM crew after a busy Jerez test centred on aero, traction and setup work.

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“We tested many, many things today: chassis, swingarm, electronics, aero. We already tried the chassis during the race weekend, but I tested a lot of aeros today, and I think the last one that I used was the most positive. For some things we still need to figure out how to further improve them, but it looks like we did find a bit of front feeling today with the set-up and the aero. This is helpful to me, so I can assess where the limit is. Let’s see what the team will bring for Le Mans.”

Fabio Quartararo exits pit lane on the Monster Energy Yamaha at Jerez.

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P8

“I am happy because I think it was the most intense test we’ve ever done! We made many laps with a lot of things to test. We didn’t have much time for all the items we had to try, but we managed to test most of them giving the best feedback as possible. I think we are getting more and more precise on what we need and how we improve, this is positive. We made some interesting steps with some things we tried, I look forward to use them in the race as soon as they’re ready. The most visible aspect is the fairing, we gave some feedbacks in this area too, I’m happy about other things that are not visible too and helped me to stop the bike and in the entry corner, that is what we needed the most.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio launches hard in a practice start as Jerez teams worked on every detail.

Johann Zarco – P9

“As planned, we tested different bike setups, even though we didn’t have any new parts to develop. From what we saw in the Jerez race, fast corners are still a challenge for us, especially when it comes to turning the bike naturally. Improving in this area will also help us better manage tyre wear over race distance. All the runs we completed provided valuable data for the engineers. It was a good day overall, and getting more laps is always useful”.

Enea Bastianini – P12

“I can be happy about the test today, I think we worked hard and it went well. During the morning session I tested several parts for the factory, including a new fairing and some rear components and then in the afternoon we focused on some of the areas that I have been struggling with. One key priority, which I’ve spoken about, is the difficulties I’ve had with the tyres during the race, so I ran a used set this afternoon to try and understand this better and gain some more data that we can look at. I think this was really successful and I felt good on the bike today. I wasn’t able to complete a Time Attack, but my other laps were very competitive, and I was close to the field in front of me. I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made today, and I think for Le Mans we can be competitive.”

Enea Bastianini carries the front wheel on exit as Tech3 searched for better race feel.

Diogo Moreira – P13

“We tried many things today, and I’m happy because we now have a good base to work from. We collected useful data to better understand the bike, and despite the crash, we managed to do a good job. There are still some areas to improve, and we need to keep working, but overall it has been a positive and productive test”.

Diogo Moreira with the elbow down during a strong and productive Jerez test.

Luca Marini – P14

“A really busy day for us here, I was hoping to finish earlier but we kept on working right until the very last moment. In some areas we were able to make some small steps but there was not one big thing, lots of small pieces which can help to add together for something more in the future. Especially on the electronics we were looking for some improvements with acceleration and here we were able to make some positives. These are things which I think can help us in Le Mans where we can see how things are in a normal GP, always in a test you have a lot of grip so it’s not always a true representation. A good day of learning.”

Luca Marini clips the inside kerb on the Honda HRC Castrol machine during Monday’s Jerez test.

Joan Mir – P15

“Trying to understand the direction of our setting to make some more progress in the future, so it was a busy day. There were many ideas we had to try and make another step, many things that you can’t try during a normal weekend so today has been productive. For the future we understand what we need to do and I am clear with the direction we need to go. Hopefully we can already see some short term gains in the next few races”

Joan Mir in the garage between runs as Honda searched for more gains at Jerez.

Brad Binder – P16

“Today we tested some different fairings and it helped a bit with turning in the faster corners, which was nice. Other than that, we tested a different rear shock which seemed to calm things down and hook-up out of the corners better. Corner entry was a bit more settled as well. Two small changes but in areas where we needed it. Pretty good, and now the guys can go through what we tested and put it together further down the line.”

Brad Binder pitches the KTM into a braking zone during Monday’s development work at Jerez.

Jack Miller – P17

“It was a busy Monday for us. We had a lot to get through and tried to tick off as many items as possible. There were new parts and solutions to test, but we also focused on revisiting some of the issues we encountered over the weekend and, importantly, confirming the things that were working. It was useful to go back over certain areas in a calmer environment and make sure we had taken the right direction, without the pressure of a race weekend. That kind of validation is just as important as trying new things. I‘m quite happy with the base chassis set-up at the moment, but at this stage of development even small changes can have a big impact and sometimes take you a step backwards. We know what we need to do — it‘s about staying focused, working through our priorities, and continuing to build towards a higher level of competitiveness for the bike, the team and ourselves as riders.”

Jack Miller drives the Yamaha off a right-hander during the post-race Jerez test.

Franco Morbidelli – P19

“This testing day was very useful because we understood many things. We tried to find some solutions to the problems that didn’t allow us to be as fast as we wanted, but without looking at the laptime. We must dedicate more time to these solutions in order to find ideal configurations to confirm. We leave Jerez with many data to analyse.”

Franco Morbidelli banked over through a long right-hander in Monday’s Jerez running.

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P21

“We had a lot of items to test today, and it‘s a shame about the small crash because it cost us around an hour of track time. It wasn‘t anything serious, just a mistake, but at this stage every lap is important. We worked through several things, especially on the electronics, which is an area where I still need to improve my understanding and where we also need to make progress with the bike. I focused a lot on that today to give as much feedback as possible to the engineers. Now they have a lot of data from me and from the other Yamaha riders, so I‘m sure they will be very busy analysing everything before Le Mans and coming back with new ideas to test. Days like this are also very important for me personally. On tracks like Jerez, I naturally tend to ride like I did in Superbike — it comes automatically — but this is something I need to change. Step by step, I am adapting more to the MotoGP style.”

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu elbows the kerb on the Prima Pramac Yamaha during the Jerez test.

Alex Rins – P22

“Today we tried so many different things and so many different items. The feedback was positive. I tried to give good feedback to the team’s engineers, so they have an idea on how to keep working on the bike and prepare the next steps. I’m looking forward to riding at the Le Mans track – a circuit that I like – in two weeks’ time. Let’s see how the bike works there.”

Álex Rins runs up alongside the blue-painted Jerez backdrop.

Team Managers

Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“Monday tests are always full of work and material and it’s never easy to find the correct information when the track conditions are so good but there are always positives. We had our new aero package and it met our hopes and expectations. We have to make an analysis but I think we’ll use it quite soon. The work is never-ending but we also looked at different parts and suspension. A good test.”

Pedro Acosta blasts out of a turn aboard the KTM RC16 during Monday testing at Jerez.

Sebastian Risse – KTM Technical Director

“After the first four rounds we had quite a clear idea of what we still wanted to improve for this season. We’d had two weekends of very good results and two with very common points to work on. This was the focus for today as well as the second aero homologation. We went through all the items we had with the riders quite successfully. There was a common opinion and some positives to be taken for the next race as well as for the rest of this season. We have another test coming up in Barcelona and through today and that session we want to take our technical steps for the year. We are going with the plan. We learned a lot here. We had a difficult Spanish GP and today we were able to show we just missed a bit of track time because the potential was there.”

Brad Binder works through data with his crew after testing different fairings and rear-shock options.

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“As we saw during Austin week and the Grand Prix here at the weekend, the overall atmosphere has been much more positive, and that’s also the case today. We tested a few components on the bike and had a run with the new aero package, which addresses some of the weak points that we have. We also tried a few different combinations, and some of those clearly put a smile on Enea’s face. Now we’re full of confidence and ready to head to Le Mans for the fifth round of the championship.”

Enea Bastianini compares notes with the Tech3 crew after another run in the Jerez test.

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director

“Our plans for today were quite extensive, as you can imagine, as this was the first test since the preseason. Like during the Spanish GP weekend, we are comparing new material. We had the same materials for all four riders in an effort to get information as clear as possible. Today the riders tried a new chassis, a different aero package, a different rear arm, plus varied set-ups – both electric and chassis. Apart from the wind, it was a good day, so we were able to collect good information. We leave with some positive riders’ feedback and have some ideas on the next steps, which we will try to prepare in time to bring to Le Mans.”

Fabio Quartararo on the brakes for Monster Energy Yamaha during the Jerez test.

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha Team Director

“Test days like this are extremely valuable. During a race weekend, as much as you would like to try new things, the priority is always the race, so you don‘t have the time to properly analyse, discuss and evaluate every option. At a certain point, you have to choose a direction and commit to it. Days like today, instead, allow us to work more methodically, which is crucial for our development and learning process. At this stage, it‘s not about refining small details — it‘s about testing different solutions, sometimes very different from each other, to understand what works and what doesn‘t. It‘s a time-consuming process, but also a very important one. We are fortunate to have a rider like Jack, who brings a huge amount of experience and very valuable technical feedback. At the same time, it‘s impressive to see the level of input we get from Toprak — he has a fresh perspective, is very intelligent and extremely curious, and that is a great asset for the team.”

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu debriefs with a crew member in the Prima Pramac Yamaha garage.

Jerez MotoGP Test Combined Times

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

1	A. Ogura	Apr	1m35.944
2	R. Fernandez	Apr	+0.005
3	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	+0.328
4	M. Marquez	Duc	+0.333
5	P. Acosta	KTM	+0.355
6	A. Marquez	Duc	+0.450
7	F. Quartararo	Yam	+0.495
8	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	+0.533
9	J. Zarco	Hon	+0.714
10	F. Bagnaia	Duc	+0.727
11	J. Martin	Apr	+0.739
12	E. Bastianini	KTM	+0.743
13	D. Moreira	Hon	+0.934
14	L. Marini	Hon	+0.952
15	J. Mir	Hon	+1.033
16	B. Binder	KTM	+1.036
17	J. Miller	Yam	+1.064
18	F. Aldeguer	Duc	+1.095
19	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+1.127
20	D. Pedrosa	KTM	+1.539
21	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	+1.546
22	A. Rins	Yam	+1.597
23	L. Savadori	Apr	+1.793

2026 MotoGP Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	M. Bezzecchi	101
2	J. Martin	90
3	F. Di Giannantonio	71
4	P. Acosta	66
5	M. Marquez	57
6	R. Fernandez	54
7	A. Marquez	53
8	A. Ogura	48
9	F. Bagnaia	34
10	E. Bastianini	30
11	B. Binder	28
12	L. Marini	27
13	F. Morbidelli	25
14	J. Zarco	24
15	F. Aldeguer	20
16	F. Quartararo	11
17	D. Moreira	9
18	J. Mir	4
19	A. Rins	3
20	T. Razgatlioglu	1
21	J. Miller
22	M. Viñales
23	M. Pirro
24	A. Fernandez

2026 MotoGP Calendar

Rnd	Date	Event	Circuit
1	01 Mar	Thai	Chang International Circuit
2	22 Mar	Brazil*	Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna
3	29 Mar	US	Circuit of the Americas
4	26 Apr	Spain**	Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto
5	10 May	France	Le Mans
6	17 May	Catalonia	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
7	31 May	Italy	Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
8	07 Jun	Hungary	Balaton Park Circuit
9	21 Jun	Czech	Automotodrom Brno
10	28 Jun	Netherlands	TT Circuit Assen
11	12 Jul	Germany	Sachsenring
12	09 Aug	GB	Silverstone Circuit
13	30 Aug	Aragon	MotorLand Aragon
14	13 Sep	San Marino	Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
15	20 Sep	Austria	Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
16	04 Oct	Japan	Mobility Resort Motegi
17	11 Oct	Indonesia	Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit
18	25 Oct	Australia	Phillip Island
19	01 Nov	Malaysia	Petronas Sepang International Circuit
20	08 Nov	Qatar	Lusail International Circuit
21	22 Nov	Portugal	Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
22	29 Nov	Valencia	Circuit Ricardo Tormo