It is tempting to leap to conclusions about the 2026 MotoGP season after the first preseason test at Sepang. Five Ducatis in the top seven? Marco Bezzecchi in second? A Honda in fifth? That must mean we are in for a repeat of 2025, right?
As tempting as it is, that would be a mistake. The Sepang MotoGP test has traditionally been not so much a poor guide to the season to come as a deceptive one. It always overstates the strengths of some factories and the weaknesses of others. There might be one rider who emerges from the test as favorite, but that rider rarely wins the title. In the past 15 years, since 2011, the rider who topped the timesheets at Sepang has ended the season as champion only twice: Casey Stoner in 2011, and Marc Márquez in 2014.
