The first day of 2026 produced reams of critical data for Honda HRC engineers to pore over as Joan Mir and Luca Marini finished in 12th and 14th respectively. Overnight rain left the circuit damp in a number of spots, causing a heavy delay to proceedings as th View this email in your browser   Testing Report Tuesday, Nov 18th 2025   Valencia Test MotoGP 2025 Honda HRC Castrol kick start 2026 in Valencia The first day of 2026 produced reams of critical data for Honda HRC engineers to pore over as Joan Mir and Luca Marini finished in 12th and 14th respectively. Overnight rain left the circuit damp in a number of spots, causing a heavy delay to proceedings as the Valencia Test began. A revised schedule saw action go until 17:30 Local Time to account for the lack of morning activity. After an early lunch, the Honda HRC Castrol team quickly got to work to make the most of the available track time. Completing a total of 37 laps, Joan Mir ended the day as the fastest Honda rider in 12th place. Less than half a second off the top spot, times were deceptively close as the battle for 2026 supremacy began. Honda HRC's objective for the one-day test was to confirm and finalise a number of items tried in recent rounds by Honda HRC riders ahead of the winter development program. Luca Marini was able to complete a best time of 1'29.916 across his 44 laps of the Ricardo Tormo circuit. Like his Honda HRC Castrol teammate, Marini was able to tick off a number of different items. With the track in a unique condition due to the rain and a half day of running exclusively by MotoGP machines, Marini remained unphased by his position and lap time compared to other riders. Now a winter of rest for some and intense work for others begins as the start of 2026 gets closer day by day. Joan Mir  36 12th  1'29.872 "A productive test, working on a few items for 2026 with a similar base to what we've had. Today was about understanding what we need for the Sepang Test, after a year like this it's good to have a day where we can confirm everything after everyone has been working so hard to deliver as much material as soon as possible. Some positives and negatives as always, but we're able to find the direction and let the engineers and Test Team get to work. I have a lot of trust and confidence in how the winter will go in Japan, now we need to enjoy the winter and arrive strong and healthy in Malaysia." Luca Marini  10 14th  1'29.916 "Today we had a really busy day, trying a lot of things in a really short amount of time and it was easy to get lost in a situation like this. The team and engineers did a great job to keep everything focused through the day. Now we need to sit down and check what we have learned deeply, make a plan together and move forward over the winter. We made a good step in each area of the bike, it maybe doesn't show on the times because the track condition and the tyres complicate everything. Now a little bit of time to recover before we arrive in Sepang and start again." Valencia Test Results Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap 1 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA Trackhouse Racing Aprilia 1'29.373 2 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 0.027 3 Marquez Alex 73 SPA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.084 4 Aldegeur Fermin 54 SPA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.177 5 Acosta Pedro 37 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0.208 6 Vinales Maverick 25 SPA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 0.247 7 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.268 8 Bulega Nicolo 11 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.288 9 Binder Brad 33 RSA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0.338 10 Bagnaia Francesco 63 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.358 11 Ogura Ai 79 JPN Trackhouse Racing Aprilia 0.461 12 Mir Joan 36 SPA Honda HRC Castrol Honda 0.499 13 Zarco Johann 5 FRA LCR Honda Honda 0.521 14 Marini Luca 10 ITA Honda HRC Castrol Honda 0.543 15 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.554 16 Martin Jorge 89 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 0.621 17 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 0.918 18 Razgatlioglu Toprak 7 TUR Prima Pramac Yamaha Yamaha 1.294 19 Rins Alex 42 SPA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1.347 20 Miller Jack 43 AUS Prima Pramac Yamaha Yamaha 1.491 21 Moreira Diogo 11 BRA LCR Honda Honda 1.824 22 Vietti Celestino 13 ITA Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati 3.138 Copyright Free Images For editorial use only, click here to download images. Location Information The Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana was completed in 1999 and held rounds of the MotoGP and Spanish Motorcycle Championships in the same year. The Cheste track has several layouts, running anti-clockwise with varying lengths. MotoGP events are held on a 4km track comprising of five right handed corners, eight… read more. Length 4.005 kilometres / 2.489 miles Width 12 metres Left corners 9 Right corners 5 Longest straight 0.876 kilometres / 0.544 miles Constructed 1999 Circuit Records Pole Position 1m 28.809s (162.3km/h) Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia, 2025) Race Lap 1m 30.145s (159.9km/h) Brad Binder (KTM, 2023) 2023 Race Winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 2025 Sprint Winner Alex Marquez (Ducati) Circuito de la Comunidad Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, Cheste, Spain –  View in Google Maps www.circuitvalencia.com You are receiving this email because you have registered your interest with Honda Racing Corporation If you no longer want to receive emails from Honda HRC Castrol, please click here to unsubscribe .