Alex Marquez between Gresini and KTM: at Sepang he sends a clear message to his rivals

Alex Marquez is happy with the speed of the Ducati Desmosedici GP26 at Sepang and confident for the new season: he doesn’t miss a quip about his future.

The first MotoGP test of 2026 has ended, and at the top of the timesheet is Alex Marquez, the fastest of all after three days of work in Malaysia. The 2025 runner-up is riding the Desmosedici GP26, like the factory Ducati riders and Fabio Di Giannantonio of the VR46 team. He felt comfortable at Sepang and is positioning himself to be a frontrunner again this year.

The BK8 Gresini Racing rider is very satisfied with today’s work; he managed to be particularly competitive on his bike: "It was a really good day," reports crash.net, "we started very well from the morning. We managed to put everything together and extract the potential from the package we have today. However, in Thailand we’ll still have some things to try and improve. But today I think we pulled out the potential, not only on the time attack lap, but the sprint simulation was also quite good."

Marquez Jr. was the best of all both in the time attack (1'56"402) and in the sprint race simulation (average 1'58"0, Pecco Bagnaia 1'58"1, Marc 1'58"2). It’s too early to get carried away, but starting well in pre-season is always encouraging. The next test at Buriram will be crucial for making some final decisions before racing begins, for example on the aerodynamics package: "We have some margin to try a few things in Thailand. Today I used the 2024 aerodynamics more, because it’s the one I know best and that gives me the best feeling. But there are still things to test."

It’s inevitable to talk about the future, as the Spanish rider could be tempted by the chance to join a factory team in the 2027 MotoGP season: "I have several options. The most concrete offer is from Gresini, because I know the team, I know everything about it, including the emotional side, which is important for a rider. It’s a good choice. If I can take a risk, I’ll do it next year, because no one knows which will be the best path. That’s why the market is going crazy: everyone wants the best riders. At the moment, I’m pretty relaxed, I more or less know what the options on the table are."

Staying with the BK8 Gresini team is certainly a very valid option, as shown by the results achieved by Nadia Padovani’s squad in these years of partnership with Ducati. Alex himself had a fantastic 2025 and looks well-placed for 2026 too. But there’s also talk of KTM’s interest for their factory setup, where he would presumably replace Pedro Acosta (future with Ducati?). The decision shouldn’t be long in coming: "If I can decide before the test in Thailand, I will. If not, I’ll wait a bit longer. But I’d like my future to be defined before the first race. I have a fairly clear idea." The feeling is that he could leave the Gresini garage, but we’ll have to wait for the official announcements.