The team completed an intensive three-day programme with the KTM RC16, as teammates Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini logged an impressive combined total of 280 laps around the 5.543km circuit.

Featuring one of the longest laps on the MotoGP calendar, Sepang’s mix of slow corners, long straights and fast, flowing sections provided the ideal environment to work through a comprehensive testing programme. Across the three days, the Tech3 riders evaluated a range of components and updates, including a new chassis, swingarm and aerodynamic package.

Following a short winter break, the opening day of the Sepang Test saw the RC16 continue its development trajectory, with encouraging progress across all four KTM bikes. A late push saw Viñales take his #12 bike to P3, while teammate Bastianini focused on fine-tuning his positioning on the bike and completed the day in P12.

Hot and humid conditions continued on day two, before rain arrived ahead of the afternoon session and brought running to an early end for much of the field, including Bastianini’s #23 machine. One of the few riders to remain on track was Viñales, who switched to a wet set-up and completed a further eight laps in challenging conditions, ending the day in P5.

The final day of testing shifted focus towards longer runs, with Bastianini completing a Sprint simulation in the morning session. With only a hint of rain in the afternoon, the team continued to work through its remaining test items, bringing the Sepang Test to a close with Bastianini finishing the day in P10 and Viñales in P14.

Across the three days of running, Tech3 completed its planned testing programme in full, gathering valuable data and continuing to refine the KTM RC16 package ahead of the opening race. Maverick Viñales finished the test in ninth position, with teammate Enea Bastianini close behind in P11, marking a productive and positive start to the 2026 MotoGP pre-season.

Tech3 will return to action at the final official pre-season test in Buriram on 21–22 February, ahead of the opening round of the 2026 MotoGP season in Thailand from 27 February–1 March.

The completion of the Sepang Test now paves the way for the MotoGP Season Launch in Kuala Lumpur on 6–7 February, where fans will have the opportunity to see the KTM RC16 in action as Viñales and Bastianini ride through the streets of the Malaysian capital.

Maverick Viñales: "This has been a positive test for me. On the first day, I was really happy with the bike, and you could see from the strong lap-times that day that I was comfortable. We then build on this, by working through the entire test programme the rest of the days, looking at set-up changes and different items. I feel positive heading into the start of the season with this bike. There are still a lot of areas for us to explore, but we will spend the next week looking at the best plan heading into the Thailand test. Another important thing for me is that I’ve assessed my physical fitness at this event, I’m feeling really good on the bike and now looking ahead to the start of the season."

Enea Bastianini: "We’ve completed a lot over the last three days and I’m happy with the results. We did a lot of work over the winter on the bike, particularly in the wind tunnel, and you can see the positive changes out on track. I think we’ve improved in every area, and I feel comfortable on the bike. I have spent a lot of time with my new Crew Chief, Andreas Madrid, this week and I feel really confident heading into the 2026 season with him. Of course, this is just the first test, so we want to analyse what we’ve worked on here and then try some more things in Thailand so we can continue to improve."

Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: "I’m pleased to say that we are leaving the Sepang test with a positive feeling, with most of our test plan completed and we’re happy.

A key thing on Maverick’s side was to check his shoulder condition on a MotoGP bike. We have clearly seen across the three days that he is back to full strength, which is really positive. Alongside this, one of the key objectives for him at this test was to check the 2026 parts. We saw that he was very quick straight away with the standard bike and then step-by-step we implemented each new part for this season. There are some areas that we still need to work on, but overall, we can already see that this package is a bit quicker and he’s ended the test in P9. We know it’s just a test, but to see Maverick back in the top 10 is a real positive for us.

For Enea, one of the main targets was to build some confidence with his new Crew Chief, Andreas, and this has very clearly been done. They’ve worked hard over the last three days, completing over 120 laps and working through the entire programme. We’ve made some adjustments to his position on the bike and he’s now feeling really comfortable and in control – which was another key aim for us this week. We are pleased that we can walk away from this week with another item crossed off our list. He finishes the test in P11, which is already big step forward compared to last year.

I want to thank the whole team for their hard work across these three intensive days and now we must look forward to the next test in two weeks in Thailand, ahead of the start of the season."