Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola feels the MotoGP teams can all go home after seeing the lap times set by Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in the Sprint Race simulation in Septang.
But Bagnaya He disagrees. Rival that MotoGP season Although the Italian recorded the second best average lap time, it was already done and dusted before the actual race. Ducati riders are even locked in with the top three Alex Marquez Above and Mark Marquez Thirdly.
Alex finished Thursday’s Sprint Race qualifying with the fastest 10-lap average of 1:58.027. Gresini Racing continued with the Desmosedici GP26. Ducati has given Alex Marquez a factory-spec 2026 bike. In the year After occupying second place in the 2025 standings from Mark.
It works Ducati The duo of Bagnaia and Marc Marquez set 10-lap averages of 1:58.166 and 1:58.289, respectively, 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 Bezecchi (1:58.936) was dominant. Aprilia Horseman
Massimo Rivola thinks rival drivers ‘can all go home’ after Francesco Bagnaia’s Sepang sprint test
Aprilia CEO Revola admitted that it was not entirely realistic during testing, with each team choosing different fuel loads as well as different engine settings. However, Bagnaya’s lap times left Rivola feeling defeated.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to seed number
Rivola is pleased with Aprilia’s progress over the winter in their bid to give Bezecic and Jorge Martin a bike to try to usurp Ducati. But more work is needed for the Noale natives to stop their Borgo Pangale rivals’ run of success this season.
“During testing it’s always difficult to understand how much fuel we have, how many tires we have and what condition they’re in,” Rivola said. Moto.it. “Peco did a Sprint simulation, and in 2027 we can all go home and meet again.
“We definitely have a better bike than last year. And last year wasn’t bad so we can be optimistic. Ducati continues to be the benchmark.”
Pecco Bagnaia’s ‘extreme grip’ of Sepang made his sprint simulations misleading.
Bagnaia, however, will not feel the lap times during the Sprint Race simulations at the 2026 Sepang test, which Rivola believes should cause more alarm among Ducati’s rivals. The Italian reckons with “extreme” grip levels after three days of testing at Sepang.
The 2022 and 2023 MotoGP riders’ championship will highlight last season’s Malaysian Grand Prix sprint race, which was won at a slower pace than the one he set on Thursday. Bagnaya won the 2025 Sepang Sprint in 19:53.725, averaging 1:59.372 over 10 laps.
Bagnaia said, through the verses GPON: “It’s great! But the track conditions are definitely amazing. The more laps you do, the faster you go.
“Last year I won the sprint with a bit slower cornering. Today the simulation was very fast, but that’s because of the reduced tires and high compression. So the time is real, but it’s not realistic for the race, we have to wait.”
Pecco Bagnaia ‘had a bit of a problem’ with front tire at Sepang Sprint SIM
After three days of testing with “extreme” grip levels from the Sepang International sector making the Sprint Race prototypes somewhat misleading, Bagnaia said he had a “slight problem” with the front tyre. So, while Rivola admires his pace, Bagnaia has work to do.
“I lost a bit in the last three laps, I had a bit of a problem staying consistent with the front tire, we are working to understand what I can do better,” he added.
Bagnaya’s final three laps were far worse than his sprint simulation in Sepang, with the 13-time Sprint Race winner dropping 1:57s to clockings of 1:58.590, 1:58.769 and 1:58.929. Alex (1:58.859) and Mark (1:58.824) also set their slowest times on their final laps.
