Marco Bezzecchi
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola feels MotoGP teams can all “go home” after seeing the lap times that Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati set amid his Sprint Race simulation in Sepang.
But Bagnaia does not agree with Rivola that the MotoGP season is already done and dusted before an actual race, despite the Italian recording the second-best average lap time. Ducati riders even locked out the top three, with Alex Marquez on top and Marc Marquez in third.
Alex ended Thursday’s Sprint Race simulations with the quickest 10-lap average at 1:58.027, as the Gresini racer continued to get to grips with his Desmosedici GP26. Ducati have given Alex Marquez a factory-spec 2026 bike after ranking second to Marc in the 2025 standings.
Works Ducati duo Bagnaia and Marc Marquez set 10-lap averages of 1:58.166 and 1:58.289, with no other manufacturer able to get within 0.387 seconds of the top three. Pedro Acosta (1:58.676) was the best KTM rider, and Marco Bezzecchi (1:58.936) was the top Aprilia rider.
What jumps out from the race simulations? ⏱️
Massimo Rivola thinks rival riders can ‘all go home’ after Francesco Bagnaia’s Sepang Sprint test
Aprilia CEO Rivola acknowledges that lap times in testing are not completely realistic as each team will have likely used different fuel loads, as well as picking different engine settings. Yet the lap times that he saw Bagnaia, in particular, produce left Rivola feeling rather downbeat.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
Rivola is pleased with the progress that Aprilia achieved over the winter, in their bid to hand Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin a bike with which they can try to topple Ducati. But more work is needed for the Noale natives to end their Borgo Panigale rival’s run of success this season.
“In testing, it’s always difficult to understand how much fuel we had, how many tyres we had, and what conditions they were in,” Rivola told Moto.it. “Pecco just did a Sprint simulation, and we could almost all go home and see each other again in 2027.
“We definitely have a better bike than last year. And since last year didn’t go badly, we can be optimistic. Ducati remain the benchmark.”
Pecco Bagnaia feels Sepang’s ‘extreme grip’ made his Sprint simulation misleading
Bagnaia, however, does not feel his lap times during the Sprint Race simulations at the 2026 Sepang test should cause as much alarm among Ducati’s rivals as Rivola believes. The Italian thinks the “extreme” grip levels after three days of testing in Sepang made lap times quicker.
The 2022 and 2023 MotoGP riders’ champion also highlights that he won the Sprint Race at last season’s Malaysian Grand Prix with slower lap times than the ones he set this Thursday. Bagnaia won the 2025 Sepang Sprint in 19:53.725, for an average of 1:59.372 over 10 laps.
Bagnaia said, via quotes by GPOne: “Great! But the track conditions are definitely incredible. The more laps you do, the faster you go.
“Last year, I won the Sprint by lapping quite a bit slower. Today, the simulation was very fast, but that’s due to the fact that the tyres dropped less and there was extreme grip. Therefore, the times are true, but not realistic for the race. We’ll have to wait.”
Pecco Bagnaia ‘had a bit of trouble’ with the front tyre during his Sepang Sprint sim
Honda lead the way in total lap count! Which rider from this list has benefited the most from MotoGP’s Sepang test?
Let us know in the comments below!
Along with the Sepang International Circuit’s “extreme” grip levels after three days of testing making the Sprint Race simulations somewhat misleading, Bagnaia notes that he also had “a bit of trouble” with his front tyre. So, while Rivola admired his pace, Bagnaia has work to do.
He added: “I lost a bit in the last three laps. I had a bit of trouble staying consistent with the front tyre. We’re working on it to understand what I can do better.”
Bagnaia’s final three laps were by far the worst of his Sprint simulation in Sepang, as the 13-time Sprint Race winner regressed from setting times in the 1:57s to 1:58.590, 1:58.769 and 1:58.929. Alex (1:58.859) and Marc (1:58.824) also set their slowest times on their last laps.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
