Honda completes another test with 2027 bike as Ducati sets date for GP27 debut

Honda completed a private MotoGP test at Sepang on Thursday and Friday, with Takaaki Nakagami riding its 2027-spec RC214V prototype.

After rain hampered the test Honda carried out with its first 2027 bike test at Sepang on 17-19 December with Nakagami, Motorsport.com has learned the Japanese manufacturer’s test team returned to Malaysia this week to continue work on the RC214V, which is being developed according to the 2027 MotoGP rules.

Honda has now completed two tests with its new bike; the maiden December outing in wet conditions with very limited running, and a two-day session this week in which it was able to ride in dry conditions to understand the current stage of development of its new prototype.

As revealed previously, Honda has entrusted Nakagami with the first phase of development of the RC214V, while Aleix Espargaro, the other HRC test rider, will continue working on the 2026 bike, the latest version of the RC213V that Joan Mir, Luca Marini, Johann Zarco and rookie Diogo Moreira will race this year.

The Catalan Grand Prix, held on 17 May, will mark the dividing line between the current bike and next year’s machine. On Monday 18 May, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will host an official MotoGP test in which the teams, with their full-time riders, will make the final adjustments to the 2026 bikes on Michelin tyres. On 19 and 20 May, the test riders will take over, with Aleix focusing entirely on the RC214V from that point onwards.

The date for debut of Ducati’s and Aprilia’s 2027 is set

Before that, however, all MotoGP manufacturers will have already put their prototypes on track with new 850cc engines and Pirelli rubber, with the Italian manufacturer replacing Michelin as the series' sole tyre supplier from next season.

So far, in addition to Honda, KTM has also put its 2027 RC16 on track, turning its first laps at Jerez in December with Pol Espargaro.

Another manufacturer that tested its 2027 bike with one of its test riders was Yamaha, which did so discreetly at its private Iwata circuit in mid-December last year.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

That leaves only two manufacturers yet to run their 2027 bikes on track: Italian brands Ducati and Aprilia. Both will hold a private test at Jerez in mid-March, during the break between the season-opening Thai Grand Prix and the second round in Brazil.

For these two test days, Aprilia will rely on its test rider Lorenzo Savadori, while Ducati will send Nicolo Bulega to ride the GP27 on Pirelli tyres, with Michele Pirro continuing development of the GP26 on Michelin rubber.

The first official MotoGP test on Pirelli tyres with full-time riders will take place in Brno on 22 June, the day after the Czech Grand Prix.

Chantra injured

Honda's World Superbike riders Somkiat Chantra and Jake Dixon also took part in the two-day private test at Sepang this week, riding the race-spec CBR1000RR-R. 

Chantra, who raced for LCR Honda in MotoGP last year, suffered an injury and had to be moved to a hospital.

“Chantra suffered a crash during a private test at the Sepang International Circuit while riding a production Honda CBR1000RR-R,” Honda said in a statement.

“The Thai rider was taken to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, where X-rays revealed a fracture to his right forearm. Back in Thailand, Chantra will undergo further medical evaluations.”