Aerodynamics and 2026 in focus: Bagnaia leads at Buriram, Martin gains, Marquez slips

Final MotoGP tests, the morning session on the Thai track has concluded: here’s how it went so far.

The MotoGP morning test at Buriram ends with Pecco Bagnaia leading Jorge Martin, back on track after recent procedures and therefore his first contact with the RS-GP26, while Luca Marini’s Honda RC-V stands out in third place. Encouraging signs, even if the lap times aren’t remarkable: let’s remember that Bagnaia’s absolute record is 1:28.700, so far from the current benchmark. It’s the time for the final tests, with a focus on elements to be homologated—especially aerodynamics—and on preparation for the first GP of 2026. Noted incidents include a double crash for Marc Marquez (Turn 12 and Turn 5), earlier Ai Ogura had gone down (Turn 1), and finally Jack Miller also crashed (Turn 8) just before the stoppage: the riders are fine.

As the team itself stated, Marco Bezzecchi’s test is partly focused on confirming the solutions already tried at Sepang. Some updates that arrived in Buriram will therefore represent an important part of the program. Further novelties are also to be tested: some specs for this type of track in terms of setup, others more general, to make choices with the full season in mind. On Jorge Martin’s side, the main goal is to progressively rebuild confidence with the bike. The testing workload in terms of items to try is therefore limited, with a focus mainly on riding and regaining feel with the RS-GP. Also noteworthy is a special livery at Trackhouse Racing for these final tests, in addition to the “hedgehog” aerodynamics seen at Sepang and also appearing on the satellite team’s RS-GPs.

Final crucial tests for the MotoGP class, with the 2026 World Championship kicking off next week on this very track, and it will be a real battle after these two days of running. It will also be interesting to assess the true level of the two rookies, who were far from the front in this morning’s session on the Thai circuit. The one seemingly most in difficulty is Toprak Razgatlioglu: at Sepang there was already a rude awakening—not only due to Yamaha’s V4 woes—and now there’s a fresh examination on a different track. He’s at the back, ahead of only Michele Pirro (standing in for the injured Fermin Aldeguer), but as mentioned earlier, these references should still be taken with a grain of salt. The work continues, they’ll be back out shortly and run until 6:00 PM, which is 12:00 PM in Italy. Below are the times so far.