Aprilia is among the manufacturers returning to Jerez later in the week for private testing, when the Noale factory will debut its 850cc prototype on the circuit for the first time. The 850cc machine will run under private conditions at Jerez before the paddock moves to Le Mans for Round 5 on May 8. Ducati ran their GP27 at Misano earlier this month. Aprilia are now ready to fire up their answer.
Johann Zarco was the leading Honda in the Jerez test, ending ninth overall. Luca Marini was first out on track for Honda at the start of the morning session, with the team focusing on small but important gains rather than chasing lap times. Honda has been methodically searching for incremental improvements throughout the 2026 season and used the Jerez test to continue that process ahead of Le Mans in two weeks.
Toprak Razgatlioglu made a candid admission at the Jerez test, saying that on tracks like Jerez he naturally tends to ride like he did in Superbike and that this comes automatically, but it is something he needs to change. The three time WorldSBK champion said he is adapting more to the MotoGP style step by step and that the team now has a large amount of data from him following the test.
Francesco Bagnaia said after the Jerez test that Ducati will probably have to start thinking a little outside the box when it comes to electronics , identifying the area as a key focus heading into the second half of the season. Bagnaia spent the test retesting a fairing that had been tried at the Valencia test last year and at the Sepang preseason test this year. He completed the day 10th overall, with more questions than answers after a difficult weekend.
KTM left the Jerez test satisfied after Pedro Acosta and their engineers found genuine progress with new aerodynamic solutions, with the Red Bull team indicating the updates could be race ready in the near future, Test rider Dani Pedrosa worked on a new lower fairing throughout the day while Acosta focused on different aero configurations. KTM themselves described the investigation into Acosta’s performance as having yielded results at Jerez.
Ai Ogura said he needed to understand why his late test pace was so much faster than his race speed , after the Trackhouse Aprilia rider topped the Jerez test with a 1:35.944 despite not targeting a time attack for most of the day. Ogura spent most of the session on medium tyres working on race setup, only switching to the soft rear for one final run at the end. The lap was better than his race pace all weekend. He wants to know why.
Pramac Yamaha boss Gino Borsoi defended the V4 project at the Jerez test, saying he could not understand the negative perception around Yamaha and that being a second to a second and a half off rivals who have developed their V4 to maximum expression seems like a great job to him. Borsoi also pointed to the V4 as the direct base for the 2027 850cc project, arguing it must be made to work now.
VR46 team director Uccio Salucci declared his independent squad the top Ducati team in MotoGP right now, pointing to Di Giannantonio sitting as the highest placed Ducati rider in the standings and VR46 third in the teams championship. Salucci credited Diggia’s second year with crew chief Massimo Branchini as a key factor, saying they are working better and better together. Factory Ducati has gone nine straight races without a Sunday podium.
Marc Marquez identified front end feeling as his main weakness in 2026 after Monday’s Jerez test, saying it is where he has been struggling most this season. The reigning champion tested a revised fairing, swingarm aero and modified chassis, reporting improved confidence in the left corners that had been one of his strong points in previous seasons. Team manager Davide Tardozzi confirmed Marquez was happy with the new configuration while Bagnaia still carries question marks.
Yamaha’s representative at the Jerez test said the gap to the front is getting closer, adding that Rome was not built in a day. Jack Miller reminded the paddock the V4 project is only eight months old , while Toprak Razgatlioglu said his morning crash cost him around an hour of valuable track time but that every lap counts at this stage of development. Quartararo ended seventh and left on a positive note.