The last chance to experiment without the pressures of a race weekend for the Honda HRC Castrol squad as the Buriram Test commences, Joan Mir and Luca Marini positive after the first day on track.
The last chance to experiment without the pressures of a race weekend for the Honda HRC Castrol squad as the Buriram Test commences, Joan Mir and Luca Marini positive after the first day on track.
| | | | Saturday, 21st February 2026 | | | | Buriram Test, Chang International Circuit | | | Marini and Mir find their rhythm at the Buriram Test | | | | | | The last chance to experiment without the pressures of a race weekend for the Honda HRC Castrol squad as the Buriram Test commences, Joan Mir and Luca Marini positive after the first day on track. | | |  | The penultimate test of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship pre-season began at the Chang International Circuit, the Honda HRC Castrol team resuming their work from the previous outing in Sepang. Time between tests gave Honda HRC's engineers the perfect opportunity to assess the data gathered, the most successful manufacturer in Grand Prix racing arriving in Thailand with several new ideas. Joan Mir put in a best lap of 1'29.494 on his final run of the day to go seventh overall and end within a quarter of a second of Alex Marquez, fastest of the first day. Still working on the setup of his Honda RC213V, the #36 was left content with the time he achieved but is aiming to complete more laps tomorrow. Ending the morning session in third place, Luca Marini remained within half a second of the top times throughout the entirety of the day. A total of 60 laps produced a best time of 1'29.774 for the Italian and saw him end in 12th as 0.9s split the top 16. Improving rear grip remains Marini's main focus for the last day of the Buriram Test. Now just a single day of testing awaits, a final chance to gather data and prepare the plan for the opening Grand Prix of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship season. | | |
| | |  | | | Joan Mir 36 | | Honda HRC Castrol | | | | | "A good day overall but maybe not as straight forward as I was expecting because we had a few things to work on between the two bikes we have here. It lost us a bit of time in the morning, but after that we focused and got through a lot for a really positive part of the day. Our package isn't perfect, but we can make a good lap time alone with it, so this is positive for the first day here. More tomorrow as we try a few final items and then turn an eye to the race." | | | | | |
| | |  | | | Luca Marini 10 | | Honda HRC Castrol | | | | | "Another step compared to the last test, improving a little bit more and more. Friday practice is where it matters, but I am satisfied with what we have done so far and what items we have been able to get through. Everyone worked well today as we chase our main target – more rear grip. Everything else is in a good position, especially when we compare to where we were one year ago." | | | | | |
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