Marc Marquez makes on-track return ahead of MotoGP Sepang Test
By Lee Seng Foo5 months ago
(Photo credit: Dorna)
Marc Marquez provided the clearest indication yet of being on track for the 2026 MotoGP season after taking part in a private test on Thursday.
The 2025 world champion, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury at the Indonesian Grand Prix last October, returned to riding action aboard a Ducati Panigale at the Aspar Circuit.
Marquez later shared his delight at being back on track via social media, expressing his excitement at returning to the asphalt after weeks of rehabilitation.
The Spaniard gradually stepped up his recovery programme in recent weeks, progressing from mountain biking to dirt bike riding before making his latest on-track appearance.
His latest outing boded well for his full comeback at the Sepang Test, which is scheduled to take place in less than a month’s time.
The 2026 MotoGP season begins at the Thai Grand Prix from February 27 to March 1.
Fans can catch all 22 races of the 2026 season live on SPOTV NOW.
This summer’s transfer market could be one of the busiest in recent years, with several high-profile stars already confirmed to be leaving their clubs and set to enter free agency.
Mohamed Salah, Casemiro and Robert Lewandowski headline the list of big names on the move, with their departures expected to spark interest from clubs across Europe, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Salah and Lewandowski have long attracted interest from Saudi clubs, with Al Ittihad reportedly seeing a £150 million bid for the former rejected in 2023. Casemiro, meanwhile, could also emerge as a target in the Saudi Pro League, where he would potentially reunite with former Real Madrid team-mates Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
Veteran stars such as Luka Modric, Angel Di María and Paulo Dybala are also among the notable names nearing the end of their contracts, adding further intrigue to what could be a fascinating summer window.
Here is a look at some of the biggest players who could be available on free transfers this summer.
After a dramatic and injury-hit Catalan Grand Prix, MotoGP heads to one of its most iconic venues as the 2026 season rolls into Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix.
Ahead of the action, live on SPOTV NOW, here are five key facts to know.
Ducati’s home fortress
Ducati Lenovo Team finally ended their lengthy Sunday podium drought at the Catalan Grand Prix when Francesco Bagnaia was promoted to third, offering a timely boost ahead of their home race.
Few circuits have been kinder to Ducati than Mugello. The Italian manufacturer has won seven of the last eight premier-class races at the Tuscan venue, with Fabio Quartararo’s 2021 victory for Yamaha the only interruption to that dominant run. Bagnaia himself has been especially formidable at Mugello, winning multiple times in front of his home fans, making this an ideal opportunity for Ducati to build momentum after a difficult start to 2026.
The MotoGP full-time grid could be depleted when the paddock arrives in Mugello. Álex Márquez and Johann Zarco have joined Marc Márquez on the injury list following separate crashes at the Catalan Grand Prix, while Fabio Di Giannantonio sat out the Barcelona Test and Jorge Martín also suffered a heavy fall during that session.
Since the grid was reduced to 22 full-time riders in 2023 following Suzuki’s departure, the lowest turnout of full-timers in that span was 17 at the 2025 German Grand Prix and the 2023 Argentine Grand Prix. Depending on late medical clearances, Mugello could see teams calling up a handful of replacement riders.
Ai Ogura’s impressive sophomore MotoGP season could deliver another milestone this weekend. The Trackhouse Racing rider has scored points in five of the opening six Grands Prix, highlighted by a podium finish in the United States, and already sits on 77 points. That leaves the Japanese star just 13 points shy of surpassing his entire rookie-season tally of 89 points from 22 races last year.
If he continues his strong form at Mugello, Ogura could eclipse that mark before the championship even reaches its halfway stage, underlining how quickly the 2024 Moto2 world champion has adapted to premier-class racing.
Aprilia have been the early pace-setters in 2026, with Marco Bezzecchi spearheading a dominant start to the season. As a constructor, Aprilia have already recorded four Grand Prix wins this year, matching their best tally set in 2025, with some help from Trackhouse MotoGP Team.
With Ducati still searching for consistency and several rivals dealing with injury setbacks, Mugello could give Aprilia the chance to set a new single-season record for premier-class victories, all before the campaign crosses its one-third point.
MotoGP will not be the only attraction in Mugello, with the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup returning for its second round of the season as a support class. After making its debut at the Circuit of the Americas in March, the championship resumes with plenty of intrigue, including Indonesian outfit Niti Racing welcoming former MotoGP race winner Andrea Iannone to its line-up.
Championship leader Archie McDonald arrives as the rider to beat after his strong opening weekend in Texas, while Óscar Gutiérrez and Jake Lewis will also be names to watch as the unique support series adds another spectacle to the Italian Grand Prix weekend.
When Auckland FC defeated Sydney FC to win the 2026 A-League Grand Final, the New Zealand outfit joined one of football’s most unusual groups: clubs that have won the top-flight title of a league outside their own country.
Cross-border participation is uncommon enough in football, but foreign clubs winning those competitions is rarer still. Here are the other teams that have achieved the feat.
AS Monaco (Monaco → France)
Based in the Principality of Monaco but competing in the French league system since the early 20th century, Monaco have won Ligue 1 eight times, with titles spanning from 1960-61 to 2016-17. Unlike guest clubs in regional leagues, Monaco’s participation in France is a long-standing arrangement, making them one of the permanent outliers in European football’s national league structure.
Singapore FA (Singapore → Malaysia)
The representative Singapore side competed in Malaysian domestic football for decades and were one of the major cross-border participants in the competition. They won Malaysia’s top-flight league twice, in 1985 and 1994, and remain the second-most successful side in Malaysia Cup history with 24 titles.
LionsXII (Singapore → Malaysia)
Singapore returned to Malaysian domestic football in 2012 under a cross-border arrangement through LionsXII, who made an immediate impact by finishing second in their debut Malaysian Super League campaign before winning the title in 2013. The club also lifted the 2015 Malaysian FA Cup before exiting the football scene completely.
Albirex Niigata (S) (Japan → Singapore)
Albirex Niigata (S) became one of Singapore football’s most successful foreign clubs after joining the S.League in 2004 as a satellite side of Japan’s Albirex Niigata. They won their first league title in 2016 and added five more crowns in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023, along with multiple domestic cup wins. Their sustained dominance made Albirex the most successful foreign club in Singapore’s top-flight history, although the club are set to be rebranded as FC Jurong from next season and transition into a permanent local identity.
Étoile became the first foreign club to win Singapore’s top-flight title when they claimed the 2010 S.League championship in their debut season. Made up largely of French players, the guest club topped the table under coach Patrick Vallée in an experiment by Singapore football authorities to internationalise the competition. The club folded after the 2011 season due to financial difficulties.
DPMM (Brunei → Singapore)
Brunei’s DPMM won the 2015 S.League title, becoming the first Bruneian club to capture Singapore’s top-flight crown, before repeating the feat in 2019. Both were landmark moments for a club that had spent most of their existence competing outside Brunei’s domestic structure.
Derry City (Northern Ireland → Republic of Ireland)
Based in Northern Ireland but competing in the Republic of Ireland’s league system, Derry City won the League of Ireland Premier Division in 1988-89 and 1996-97. Their first title was part of a domestic treble, with them also winning the FAI Cup and League Cup in one of the most successful seasons in the club’s history.
Despite being based in Oswestry, England, The New Saints have dominated Welsh domestic football for much of the modern era. TNS are the most successful club in Cymru Premier history with 18 league titles along with a long period of sustained domestic cup dominance.
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch passed away at the age of 41, NASCAR confirmed on Thursday.
The news broke just hours after Busch’s family announced that he had been hospitalised due to a severe illness and would miss the upcoming Coca-Cola 600 race weekend.
Busch was one of the defining figures of modern NASCAR, winning Cup Series titles in 2015 and 2019 while becoming the all-time winningest driver across NASCAR’s three national series with 234 victories.
He remained a full-time Cup Series driver in 2026, with his most recent race win coming in 2023.
Beyond his success in the Cup Series, Busch also dominated in NASCAR’s Xfinity and Truck Series, cementing his legacy as one of the most versatile and prolific winners the sport has ever seen.
Tributes quickly poured in from across the motorsport world following news of his passing, as teams, drivers and fans remembered one of NASCAR’s biggest stars.
