Diogo Moreira, the reigning champion of Moto2, concluded an exhausting six-day testing session at Sepang, ultimately securing the 20th position on the timesheets. His quickest lap was clocked at 1 minute and 58.476 seconds, which placed him 2.074 seconds behind the leader, Alex Marquez from Gresini Ducati. Interestingly, this performance was slightly less impressive than that of his predecessor at LCR Honda, Somkiat Chantra, who managed a time of 1 minute and 58.129 seconds during the same test as a rookie last year.
Despite the challenges, Moreira demonstrated significant improvement, shaving off two and a half seconds from his pace since the first day of the Shakedown. He finished just behind fellow newcomer Toprak Razgatlioglu riding for Pramac Yamaha. The young racer candidly shared his thoughts: "The balance is... I’m super tired! But I think the progress was super nice. Day by day, the feeling was better. We established a solid base setup, completed numerous laps, and gained a better understanding of the bike. I believe we are heading in a positive direction."
At just 21 years old, Moreira emphasized the importance of patience throughout this learning process. "Stay calm… we have the entire year ahead to improve and learn. The team has been incredibly supportive, and I’m really pleased about that. We need to continue this momentum and surely enjoy the journey ahead."
In terms of performance comparison, the lap times from the 2025 and 2026 tests show some interesting shifts among manufacturers:
- Ducati: 1'56.493s (2025) vs. 1'56.402s (2026), a slight improvement of -0.091s.
- Aprilia: 1'57.328s (2025) vs. 1'56.526s (2026), showcasing a substantial enhancement of -0.802s.
- Honda: 1'57.204s (2025) vs. 1'56.874s (2026), a decrease of -0.330s.
- KTM: 1'57.175s (2025) vs. 1'57.116s (2026), a minor change of -0.059s.
- Yamaha: 1'56.724s (2025) vs. 1'57.580s (2026), reflecting a decline of +0.856s.
Moreira acknowledged that he had limited chances to converse with the more seasoned riders within Honda but expressed confidence in the capabilities of the RC213V motorcycle. "It’s tough to find time to chat because we all have our own responsibilities, but I truly believe the bike is exceptional. We’ve observed Mir, Marini, and Aleix [Espargaro] performing remarkably well during the Shakedown."
His teammate Johann Zarco finished the session in 16th place, managing to clock a time that was 0.875 seconds faster than Moreira’s, after overcoming initial setup challenges with the latest Honda model.
Looking ahead, Moreira has two additional days of testing scheduled at Buriram on February 21–22, followed by his much-anticipated MotoGP race debut the succeeding weekend. Meanwhile, Chantra has transitioned to WorldSBK with Honda's factory team but will unfortunately miss the opening event at Phillip Island due to a training-related injury.
Veteran paddock member Peter, who has been around for two decades, has witnessed the rise and fall of stars like Valentino Rossi and remains closely tied to the ongoing narratives surrounding Suzuki's exit and Marc Marquez’s injury struggles.
