Honda riders make progress at Sepang with marked improvements

MotoGP 2025

Sepang Test – Focus on Honda

Honda appears to have made significant progress at Sepang. Their test riders will remain in Malaysia to continue working on improvements and refining direction ahead of next week’s official two-day test for all riders in Thailand.

Following extensive testing of various setups and new components from HRC, Johann Zarco expressed satisfaction with the gains made, noting he felt better than expected after three days on track. The French LCR rider emerged as the top Honda performer, finishing seventh overall, just ahead of Joan Mir.

Zarco’s fastest lap of 1m57.204 was over seven-tenths quicker than his qualifying time at Sepang last November, and a full two-seconds faster than his best race lap.

Johann Zarco

“We can take this test as a positive result, better than I expected. Today’s performance was really strong, and it’s great for my confidence to be closing the gap to the top riders. Over the past few days, we’ve tried many things, and today we put them all together, which worked out well. I’m really happy about that. These small adjustments have made a difference, I feel now I can control better the bike“.

In the Honda HRC Castrol garage, the plan saw Mir and Marini work through their final items and prepare for a crucial last test in Buriram. Both riders spent a section of the day running nose-to-tail to assess the performance of the 2025 Honda RC213V in a number of scenarios.

Joan Mir maintained his strong form as he wrapped up the final day of the Sepang Test. After focusing on engine specifications on Thursday, Mir completed the remainder of his testing program with the Honda HRC Castrol Team. He finished the three-day session with a best lap of 1m57.279 on Friday—a significant improvement over his 1m58.618 qualifying time at Sepang last November and his 1m59.674 best lap in the Sprint Race. The Spaniard showcased impressive consistency, logging nine consecutive laps under the two-minute mark on Friday.

Joan Mir

“We have to be happy with this test and the step we have made. The engineers and the team have worked incredibly hard over the wintertime and it’s clear on the track, we have a better bike. Today the conditions were better than during a GP weekend, but I was close to two seconds faster than my Qualifying lap. The bike allows me to push and ride in a better way. I am not satisfied because you always want more as a rider, but we have to be happy with where we are. There are still some points to improve on and we have to put some focus there. I am looking forward to the next test, it has been an enjoyable and positive three days.”

Making the most of the final day’s track time, Luca Marini and his team put in another impressive performance to bring his total laps to 175 for the three days. A small crash at Turn 9 during the middle of the day did little to upset his work, changing his leathers before quickly returning to the circuit. Almost a full second faster than his Q1 time from the 2024 Malaysian Grand Prix, Marini ended the test in 15th. The Italian heads to Thailand satisfied with what has been achieved but aware there is still more work to do to continue to close the gap to the front. Marini’s best at the test was a 1m57.789 which compares to his 1m58.520 in qualifying here last November, and a best of 1m59.496 in the races that same weekend.

Luca Marini

“Three super busy days but I think overall we can be satisfied with what we have done. We were able to try many things, some worked and some did not, but this is why we go testing and we have found the line to follow. There’s more to do, there always is, but we have already found some improvements to be more competitive in other circuits. Now we need to use these few days to prepare well for the Buriram Test and maximise what profit we can take from it. There is still time until the first race, that is when we will really know where everyone is.”

Somkiat Chantra made steady progress throughout the three days. The rookie started with a best lap of 2m00.299 on Wednesday, improved to 1m59.038 on Thursday and ended Friday with a best of 1m58.129. That is 1.6-seconds from the outright test benchmark set by Alex Marquez, but less than half-a-second from Luca Marini, who has 75 starts under his belt in the premier class and a whole season on the Honda. Chantra’s time also equalled what test rider Aleix Espargaro achieved the week before during the Sepang Shakedown. That will buoy the Thai rider as he now heads home to prepare for a two-day test on home soil next week. 

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Somkiat Chantra

“These three days have been positive. I’m feeling better with the bike each day. The new parts were helpful, and the long run we did in the afternoon was quite good. I want to thank the team for their hard work; we’ll keep pushing to improve at the Buriram test before the first race.”

At the Sepang Test last year Pecco topped a Ducati 1-2-3-4 with a 1m56.682, in qualifying last year he lowered the all-time Sepang lap record to 1m56.337.

Most of the MotoGP paddock now packs up and heads to Thailand for a two-day test next week, ahead of the season opener at Chang International Circuit on the weekend of March 2. However, Honda’s test riders are staying on for some more laps of Sepang.

Sepang Test Times
Day Three

Sepan Test Combined Times
Day 1-2-3