The Honda RC213V and Joan Mir set a new reference over a single lap while Luca Marini kept pace as weather curtailed the afternoon's running.

The Honda RC213V and Joan Mir set a new reference over a single lap while Luca Marini kept pace as weather curtailed the afternoon's running.

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Sepang Test Day Two MotoGP 2026   Wednesday, 4th February 2026   Sepang Test, Sepang International Circuit   Mir Reigns Supreme on Second Day in Sepang     The Honda RC213V and Joan Mir set a new reference over a single lap while Luca Marini kept pace as weather curtailed the afternoon's running. With a positive first day in their pocket, the Honda HRC Castrol squad were immediately back to work around the 5.54-kilometre-long circuit. Wednesday's action would again show that even in its early stage, the 2026 Honda RC213V has continued on the path set out in 2025 as engineers continue to work on refining all of the small details. Leading the charge was Joan Mir who blitzed the field early in the day and set a 1'56.874. 0.6s faster than his Q2 time from the Malaysian GP just a few months ago. Although the time is impressive, Mir and Honda HRC remain focused on the work ahead with plenty more still to come in the 2026 season. Rain would see Mir do just two laps after the lunch break. Another productive day saw Luca Marini continue to focus on the testing plan in the morning, the afternoon rain prematurely ending his chances to push from a single fast lap. 0.676s back from his teammate, the Italian was left content with what he achieved given the more limited track time. This evening will be spent finalising the plan and finding the balance between testing final items in Sepang and what can also be assessed in Buriram. A final day of testing remains, and Honda HRC Castrol are eager to make the most before heading to Buriram, Thailand for the second test and first race of the season. Work to be done, but the first two days have certainly helped to maintain Honda HRC's momentum into the new year.       Joan Mir 36 Honda HRC Castrol    "I think we have to be happy about the lap time today! This morning, I was feeling quite strong and I was able to push for a good lap, my confidence is growing and this translates to what we saw today with the new tyre. Today we focused on the lap time in the morning before getting back to the puzzle of testing after. Tomorrow, we need to make another step and make up for the time we lost to the rain. At the moment I am happy with what we've done but there will also be a lot of work to do after the test."          Luca Marini 10 Honda HRC Castrol    "We had a busy morning, trying to make the most of every lap and really hit our targets. Even without the second session, we did a lot. Between me and the other Honda riders we split the work load a little bit which also has helped us to be more productive. It's been a good test so far and we are not in a big rush to do a huge job tomorrow; we can focus on what we need to do and find the balance."

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