Honda MotoGP boss Alberto Puig says the grand prix giant’s ambition is “to win as soon as possible” after a positive first test of 2026 in Malaysia.

Joan Mir put Honda fastest of all on day two at the official test in Sepang, his 1:56.874 being the fifth-fastest time of the test as a whole.

It’s a performance that comes after a final part of the 2025 MotoGP season that saw Mir and Honda on the podium in both Japan and Malaysia, while Luca Marini was in podium contention at Mandalika before he and Raul Fernandez ruined each other’s races mid-race.

The progress from Honda was clear last year and it has been evident this year as well, as confirmed by Puig after the Sepang test.

“We are very pleased because we made big progress on the machine,” the Honda HRC Castrol Team Manager told MotoGP.com.

“We’ve been working on many small details that make a final good result, so it’s not been a revolution of the bike but it has been an improvement in areas that we knew exactly that we need to improve – not massive, but small things that make the final result quite big. 

“The bike is working well, we are more happy now with the engine performance, the bike itself is also better, it’s lighter. We are pleased and the most important thing is that the rider is more happy.

“I can tell you that the target is to win as soon as possible, clearly.”

A victory for Honda in 2026 would mean wins in consecutive MotoGP seasons for the first time since 2018 and 2019 after Johann Zarco’s French Grand Prix victory last year. It would also be a first dry weather win since Alex Rins won the Grand Prix of the Americas in 2023.

For the Honda HRC Castrol team specifically, a win this year for either Luca Marini or Joan Mir would put it on top of the MotoGP podium for the first time since Marc Marquez won the second Misano race in 2021.