MotoGP stars train in Mandalika, Valentino Rossi to join VR46’s Sepang build-up?
VR46 MotoGP Academy riders set for Mandalika training ahead of Sepang test, Valentino Rossi to join them on track?
Ahead of next week’s opening MotoGP test at Sepang, the VR46 Riders Academy will again be ‘warming up’ with some Superbike training at Mandalika.
Footage shared on social media shows Superbikes prepared in the pit garages carrying the race numbers of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), Luca Marini (Honda), Franco Morbidelli (Ducati), as well as a #46 Yamaha for team owner Valentino Rossi.
Just as last year, the two-day Mandalika training trip - made possible by VR46’s title sponsor Pertamina - is aimed at not only getting riders back up to circuit speeds after a winter of mainly dirt track training, but acclimatising to the kind of heat and humidity they will face at Sepang.
"I'm very happy to have some time in Indonesia to start riding again, before the test in Malaysia, because [Sepang] will be super important," Bagnaia said at the recent Ducati launch.
With Honda moving from concession band D to C, none of the VR46 Academy riders are eligible to take part in this week’s Sepang Shakedown, which runs from January 29–31.
As a result, their first MotoGP laps of 2026 will come when Official testing begins at Sepang on February 3.
The Academy’s MotoGP riders are set to be joined on track at Mandalika by Morbidelli's VR46 team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio, plus Celestino Vietti, Andrea Migno and Matteo Gabarrini.
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.