Quick illustrated recap from the Valencia MotoGP Test

MotoGP 2026 gets underway

It was a late start after heavy overnight rain slowly cleared from the track surface.

Raul Fernandez closed out the single-day Valencia Test by setting the benchmark time on the Trackhouse Aprilia, leading an Aprilia one-two with Marco Bezzecchi only 0.067s behind.

Fabio Di Giannantonio

Fernandez’s chart-topping pace is perhaps not surprising, as he had very little on his work schedule to test and could instead just cut laps without having to evaluate a conga line of new parts being thrown at the RS-GP.

Noe Herrera – Crew Chief for Fernandez

“It has been a positive test overall for us. We didn’t have so many new parts this time, just some improvements for the exhaust, some fuel strategies for difficult races and some parts that didn’t give us extra performance, but a lighter bike – so improving also on that. Also, we tried a strategy for tyre wear to save the tyre for difficult races like this one, but we need to analyse it properly because we didn’t see a direct benefit. Not really big changes actually, we just needed to understand if these new small things are working for Raul and then in Sepang to be ready to start, hopefully, with a new package.”

Raul Fernandez

Alex Marquez completed the top three for Gresini as teams began turning their attention to 2026 development immediately after the 2025 season finale.

Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jack Miller

The day was full of new parts, returning champions, and a couple of eagerly awaited MotoGP debuts…

Moto2 World Champion Diogo Moreira completed his first MotoGP laps on the 2025 specification Honda

Aprilia evaluates major aero update

Aprilia fielded extensive new aerodynamic components as Bezzecchi tested new front, side and rear bodywork.

Some of the aero tested by Bezzecchi included changes to the air intake ducting and a broad array of tail aero to evaluate throughout the day. The Italian put in more laps than any other rider, but the shortened day still left their test schedule far from complete. Bezzecchi topped the speed charts at 340.3 km/h.

Jorge Martin also completed important laps on the chassis that Bezzecchi raced late in the season, giving the 2024 Champion valuable reference time after an injury-plagued year. Martin has had so little seat time that he is still even trying to find the best way to fit on and ride the RS-GP.

Jorge Martin

Fernandez and teammate Ai Ogura focused on settings and electronic work, with no major new parts from Noale. Both riders ended the day satisfied, with Fernandez fastest overall and Ogura completing 64 laps.

Raul Fernandez

Ducati begins work on GP26

Francesco Bagnaia was encouraged by improved front-end confidence on the early GP26 prototype, despite a late fall at Turn 2. He ended the day tenth.

Francesco Bagnaia

Nicolo Bulega continued his stand-in duties with Ducati Lenovo and closed the day eighth, having briefly run inside the top four.

Nicolo Bulega

At Gresini, Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer finished third and fourth, completing 93 laps between them and conducting early development work for next season.

Alex Marquez

Fabio Di Giannantonio was seventh for VR46, while stand-in Celestino Vietti completed an emotional MotoGP debut with 21 laps.

Celestino Vietti

KTM rolls out revised side fairing

Red Bull KTM introduced a new side-fairing package for Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder.

Pedro Acosta

Acosta was again the fastest RC16 rider, finishing fifth, while Binder logged 52 laps for ninth.

Pedro Acosta

Tech3 teammates Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini trialled revised seat ergonomics, with Viñales finishing sixth and Bastianini 17th.

Enea Bastianini

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“Enea Bastianini began the work with his new crew chief, Andres Madrid, who we are welcoming to our team! The target was for them both to get to know each other, and understand how they both work. Enea had a few items selected together with KTM to try out, but we unfortunately could not complete all our plan since we did not ride this morning. The main thing for Enea was trying a new seat configuration, because he has not really felt comfortable all year long. I think that there were some positives and negatives that we will look into in the winter. The plan was different for Maverick Viñales because of his shoulder of course. The main target for him was to recover his confidence on the bike, he did many laps, and I think that it is progressively coming back, we saw him smiling all day, which is a good sign. On top of that, he also had a few items to try, the seat too, and some aero elements, as we really needed to give feedback to KTM so they can prepare all the new parts, and eventually make some adjustments if required for the next test. I think we did a pretty good job today, now it is time for everyone to get some much needed rest after a busy season. We will all reflect on this season, and prepare in the best way possible for the next test in Malaysia in February. Thank you to everyone for their support, thank you to all the team for their efforts today, and I wish everyone a good winter, and see you all in Sepang!”

Honda debuts updated RC213V

Honda’s revised 2026 RC213V received its first laps from its three contracted riders. The package includes a new engine, updated tail section and revised aero.

Joan Mir

Joan Mir, Johann Zarco and Luca Marini ended the day in twelfth to fourteenth, covered by 0.044s.

Johann Zarco

Moto2 World Champion Diogo Moreira completed his first MotoGP laps on the 2025 specification Honda, finishing 22nd and completing a productive acclimatisation day.

Diogo Moreira

Yamaha V4 project steps up a gear

Yamaha’s new V4-powered YZR-M1 armada arrived in force on Tuesday, but it was really a case of starting from square one, searching for a base setup for both the chassis and electronics.

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Toprak Razgatlioglu completed his first public MotoGP session and finished within eight-tenths of Fabio Quartararo, and ahead of Alex Rins and Jack Miller.

Toprak Razgatlioglu up to his usual antics

Power output remains limited as Yamaha continues early development. The Yamaha was the slowest through the speed trap: 325.8 km/h for Miller, 327.4 km/h for Quartararo and Rins, while Toprak was fastest at 330.5 km/h. Even that speed was 10 km/h slower than the speed trap benchmark set by Bezzecchi.

Fabio Quartararo

Quartararo’s best of 1:29.927 placed him 15th overall.

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Rins reported positive initial impressions and said he was the only Yamaha rider not to use a soft tyre at any point during the day.

Jack Miller

Yamaha will remain for an additional private test on Wednesday.

Alex Rins

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director

“Today was the first day of 2026 winter testing. We were not so much looking at performance but rather focused on gathering as much data as possible. Unfortunately, the conditions of the track due to last night’s heavy rain didn’t help proceedings. But luckily, a few months ago we anticipated this, and we have a private test here booked for tomorrow. This extra day will most likely give us the time needed to evaluate the updated parts, such as a different chassis and a different aerodynamics package, and we can also work on set-ups.”

A short break before 2026 begins in earnest

The Valencia Test marks the final on-track action of 2025 for the grid as a whole. The next phase of preparation begins with the Sepang Shakedown in early February as teams refine their 2026 machinery.

MotoGP Valencia Test Times
November 2025

Valencia Lap Records

• All Time Record: 2025 – M. Bezzecchi (ITA) – 1’28.809 – 162.3 km/h
• Best Race Lap: 2025 – R. Fernandez (SPA) – 1’29.976 – 160.2 km/h
• Best Pole: 2025 – M. Bezzecchi (ITA) – 1’28.809 – 162.3 km/h
• Top Speed: 2025 – M. Bezzecchi (ITA) – 342.0 km/h