Jorge Lorenzo believes the 2026 MotoGP riders’ title will be a “piece of cake” for Marc Marquez after being blown away by what he saw the Ducati ace do at the Sebang test.
The full MotoGP field assembled for the first time in 2026 at the Sepang International Circuit this week for the first pre-season test. Confirmed that it is the latest iteration Ducati Show, the drivers on the Desmosedici GP26 set the fastest lap times and the Sprint Race simulation runs.
Gresini Racing Alex Marquez He left Sepang as overall pacesetter after setting a 1:56.402 on the third and final day. The 29-year-old completed the opening pre-season test with the best 10-lap Sprint Race simulation after setting an average lap time of 1:58.027 on Thursday.
Jobs Ducati star Mark Marquez He only managed the fourth fastest single lap at 1:56.789, and his Sprint Sim average of 1:58.289 was third fastest. Teammate Francesco Bagnaia Set the second-best sprint sim average at 1:58.166, but the sixth-best single lap at 1:56.929.
Jorge Lorenzo surprised by Marc Marquez’s pace at Sepang test as shoulder ‘wasn’t right’
Lorenzo was surprised by the cornering stability of the Ducati 2026 bike At the Sepang test, the GP26 was “extremely” smooth when climbing and accelerating compared to its competitors’ bikes. Marc Marquez was particularly impressed with his performance in GP26.
Read more: Marc Marquez’s first MotoGP title with Ducati was defined in five moments
Despite the title lap time of Alex Marquez, three-time MotoGP champion Lorenzo Marc Marquez believes it was the biggest “surprise” at Sepang. Lorenzo now expects Marc to easily win the 2026 title as he was quick in Malaysia even though his shoulder is not fully recovered.
Lorenzo said. Duralvita: “The three Ducatis – Alex, Peco and Marc – were very, very similar, and they were the only ones to have a good time in the Sprint simulation.
“Three or four laps in the 57s for Aprilia, KTM and Honda, 58 low and then up to 59 or two minutes. So Ducati, the truth is the bike is a rocket and it seems very easy for the pilots…
“It was Marc who surprised everyone a bit, actually, because his hand wasn’t good and he beat second place on the first day by two or three tenths of a second. And Sepang is not one of his favorite circuits, because he is right-handed.
“So that was quite a surprise. But of course Marc is well equipped with a powerful bike like Ducati.”
Jorge Lorenzo has predicted the 2026 MotoGP riders’ title will be a “piece of cake” for Marc Marquez.
The Sepang test marks the first time Marc Marquez has returned to a Ducati MotoGP bike since suffering a coracoid fracture and ligament damage to his right shoulder that required surgery last October. Aprilia’s Marco Bezecchi took it out on lap 1 at the Indonesian GP.
Marquez missed the final four rounds of the 2025 MotoGP campaign due to injury, which came just one round after clinching the riders’ title. A native of Cervera Marquez won the 2025 title in a record five roundsLeaving Japan with a 201 point lead.
Last season he won 11 of the 18 Grands Prix he entered in 22 rounds to reach a record seventh MotoGP title so far. Now, Lorenzo fully expects Marquez to follow the number eight in 2026, equaling Giacomo Agostini’s 500cc record.
