Why Ducati has given rivals a reality check in MotoGP Sepang test

Joan Mir and Luca Marini feel Honda has improved its MotoGP bike across the board over the winter, but they conceded that the Japanese manufacturer still faces the same gap to Ducati as last year.

Following a strong end to its 2025 campaign, Honda has managed to unlock more pace in the off-season, with Aleix Espargaro describing the current version of the RC213V as the best bike he has ever ridden during last week’s Sepang shakedown.

The improved performance was confirmed by Mir and Marini when they took over the testing duties at Sepang his week, with Mir ending the test inside the top 10 in the standings.

However, Mir conceded that Ducati remains out of reach heading into the new season, but not because Honda hasn’t made enough strides with its MotoGP challenger. Instead, he suggested that Ducati itself has raised its level to cement its place at the front.

“It was good, but if you check the pace of the Ducati guys, especially Alex [Marquez], we are far,” he said summing up the test. “We made an improvement compared to last year. I've been able to ride in that 1m58s [bracket] for most of the [long] run, till the last two-three laps when I did a 1m59s [lap].

“It's not a bad pace, but I think Ducati made a step this pre-season and they are very strong.

“We are not aiming for Ducati under any circumstances. That would be a mistake because we are far behind. It has been a bit of a reality check [for Ducati’s rivals] because we have seen that they have continued to improve.”

Joan Mir, Honda HRC

Photo by: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Mir scored a podium during October’s Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, with Marini finishing eighth to complete a double top-10 finish for Honda.

Marini echoed Mir’s comments about the progress Honda has made in the last few months, but believes these gains have been largely been negated by rivals making a similar jump over the winter.

“We improved the bike in many areas, especially braking entry,” he said. “We can be satisfied, but still there is a lot of work to do because it looks like every manufacturer always improves, so the gap is a little bit the same as the [Malaysian] GP here. 

“We need to keep pushing and keep working like this. I think Thailand will be very important to set the bike well, especially for the first race. We still have some new items there [at the Buriram test], let's see what we can find.”

Mir set the ninth-fastest time on the final day of the test, ending up nine tenths down on pacesetter Alex Marquez on the Gresini Ducati. 

For the Honda riders, a lack of grip remains the biggest weakness of the RC213V, especially with its engine having become much more powerful over the last 12 months.

“Grip is still [limited], we are very far,” explained Mir. “The grip is the only thing that we should focus a bit more on, because with more grip, you can control the spin more, your drop on the tyre is less, so it's everything.”

He added: “In terms of race pace, I'm there. If the race was tomorrow, I think we can fight for the top five, top four, but not a lot more.”