The massive, two-pronged reset MotoGP faces in 2027 - which will involve all-new bike regs and new tyres - will loom large in the background of 2026 track action from the very outset.
With the first version of the new tyres already tested, last year, and the first 850cc prototypes hitting the track, also last year, any 2026 development race will be cut short before too long.
The engine freeze MotoGP is under through to the end of 2026 - which everyone but Yamaha, as a 'Rank D' concession status holdover, is bound by - is "something that helps a lot" in navigating this, according to Aprilia tech chief Fabiano Sterlacchini.
"To be honest, we have to concentrate at least for the first three-four months on the '26 season," Sterlacchini insisted at the end of last year. "Till March-April, that we keep working on the development of '26.
"The [850cc] engine is already on the way, because the lead time of the engine is huge normally.
"And then in the meantime we are splitting the group of the people to try to address the initial scratch of 2027, so that in April we stop the development of 2026 and we start [in full] the development of 2027."
Some manufacturers' 850cc units, though, aren't just on the dyno but on the track already. KTM, for all of its well-documented financial strife (and lack of firm 2026 commitment), ran the prototype at Jerez in December with Pol Espargaro and Dani Pedrosa.
KTM motorsport boss Pit Beirer told Speedweek that both testers had "enormous fun" with the prototype, and that the initial signs were positive and laptimes "very impressive".
Honda also tested its prototype, as per Motorsport.com, but was hampered by rain at Sepang.
Both manufacturers rely on two regular, up-to-speed test riders, something that should make things easier in this initial phase while 1000cc and 850cc work is still concurrent.
"Taka [Nakagami] will take care of the 850cc and the Pirellis the first three months of the year," clarified fellow Honda tester Aleix Esparagro, who is yet to sample the prototype.
"Romano [Albesiano, Honda tech chief] wants me to stay focused still on the '26 bike, and Taka will take care of the bike at the beginning, and I will start in the summer with the 850cc."
As far as race riders testing the 850cc bikes is concerned, there is a "gentlemen's agreement" - as per Yamaha boss Paolo Pavesio - not to test with full-timers until the summer, though the exact date is still being hashed out.
Where Pirelli stands
New tyre supplier Pirelli, which replaces Michelin in 2027 (Michelin is going the other way and replacing Pirelli in World Superbikes), made its MotoGP 'debut' in a post-race Tuesday test at Misano last September with a test rider from each manufacturer.
Though details are understandably scarce, Pirelli claimed the test was a success and rumblings behind the scenes seemed to corroborate that.
Pirelli has also proven very successful as Moto2/Moto3 supplier, coming in with what it describes as considerably lesser mileage, so there's a lot of confidence that the MotoGP product will be raceable right away.
The bigger question is who it will suit. For it will suit some better than others, even if that's not Pirelli's preference or intent. And Yamaha's hiring of World Superbike superstar Toprak Razgatlioglu into MotoGP and Ducati's ongoing process of transitioning another member of the WSBK elite, Nicolo Bulega, into a MotoGP asset shows there is an expectation the fundamental 'DNA' of Pirelli will carry over.
What is that DNA, though?
Ai Ogura, who won his Moto2 title on Pirellis, told The Race in the middle of last year: "I tried the Pirelli tyre only on a Moto2 bike...I don't know about this 'DNA'...I mean, at least I know the Pirelli tyre on a GP level.
"Sure the tyre will be soft. Compared to Michelin. They are a lot softer.
"The championship is really tight. The rider is trying to find every small advantage. And at least I know the Pirelli tyre as a Moto2 tyre. I hope that gives me a little bit of an advantage. We will see.
"I don't know, but I think...riders will complain that the tyre is too soft!"
And Pirelli motorcycle racing boss Giorgio Barbier confirmed to The Race that the company is going about business the Pirelli way. "We will start with what we know, we know better, especially in terms of process, in terms of machinery. We will start with the base we've got."
But Barbier also hoped for a smooth transition, particularly in terms of rules and allocation.
"For sure we have to manage something because all what they know and what they learned in these more than 10 years now has to change.
"For sure we will keep the rules like they are, as much as possible, because we don't like to change too much this kind of world, to make a revolution. But for sure they have to adapt to our knowledge as well."
