It’s the quiet before the storm. Or perhaps the storm clouds starting to bubble up before they unleash hell on MotoGP as we know it.
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The 78th season of the motorcycle world championship gets underway this weekend with the Thailand Grand Prix in Buriram, with 20 of last year’s 22 riders and 21 of the 22 Grands Prix from last season set to go around again until the campaign wraps in Valencia in late November.
But don’t that let apparent sense of calm fool you.
The winds of change are beginning to swirl from this season, the final of the 1000cc regulation set that goes in the bin after its conclusion for 850cc bikes with less reliance on aerodynamics that make modern-day MotoGP bikes unrecognisable from the recent past and with a ban on ride-height devices, next year’s machines also switching to Pirelli tyres to end the exclusive use of Michelin rubber from 2016.
Of the aforementioned 22 riders, just four – Honda pair Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira, Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu – so far have contracts that span this year and next. It’s a volatile mix of riders looking to take a leap of faith with an employer who can offer them the best chance to win on bikes that haven’t yet turned a wheel, and manufacturers trying to race one another and the clock to lock in the riders they feel could be difference-makers as MotoGP resets.
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The subplot of 2027 will hover over the 2026 season, which begins with Marc Marquez coming back as the premier-class world champion for the seventh time but off another major injury, and with Australia’s Jack Miller having a huge role to play in Yamaha’s attempts to climb out of the sport’s basement with a brand-new V4-engined bike that brings the Japanese giant into lockstep with its rival brands.
It’s a great time to be a MotoGP diehard in Australia, too; the Thailand season-opener falls into a very convenient time zone for local fans, with qualifying (2.50pm AEDT Saturday February 28), the sprint race (7pm AEDT the same day) and Grand Prix (7pm AEDT Sunday March 1) the perfect way to get underway for a new season.
Here’s your snapshot guide of who is racing, where they’re racing and what to look out for, with Aussie fans able to watch every MotoGP practice, qualifying session, sprint race and Grand Prix live and ad-break free from lights out to the chequered flag on Fox Sports and Kayo.
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WHERE IS MOTOGP RACING IN 2026?
While the locations of the 22 rounds for this season are largely familiar, the order of the calendar has been altered – and there’s a new track in a country with a MotoGP past that is back in the present.
After a 22-year absence from the sport, Brazil returns this season at the Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna circuit in Goiania, 200km from the country’s capital, Brasilia. MotoGP last raced in Brazil in 2004 in Rio de Janeiro, with the race replacing Argentina on the schedule as round two as part of a heavy long-haul swing that subsequently takes in Texas and Qatar before the sport returns to its European heartland.
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Elsewhere, some calendar staples – and one newcomer – have exchanged places. Catalunya has moved from September last year to May in 2026, while Silverstone (was May, now August) has gone in the other direction. Aragon shifts to round 14 from round 8, while Hungary – new to the calendar last season – is now round 9 in June after slotting in during August last year.
Australia – in Phillip Island’s last blast before the race relocates to Adelaide in 2027 – retains its late-season October date as part of the four-round flyaway set of races that precedes the sport returning to Europe for a Portugal/Valencia back-to-back to wrap the season.
The 2026 MotoGP calendar
Round 1, Feb 27-Mar 1: Thailand (Chang International Circuit)
Round 2, Mar 20-22: Brazil (Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna, Goiania)
Round 3, Mar 27-29: USA (Circuit of the Americas, Texas)
Round 4, Apr 10-12: Qatar (Lusail International Circuit)
Round 5, Apr 24-26: Spain (Circuito de Jerez)
Round 6, May 8-10: France (Le Mans)
Round 7, May 15-17: Catalonia (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya)
Round 8, May 29-31: Italy (Mugello)
Round 9, Jun 5-7: Hungary (Balaton Park)
Round 10, Jun 19-21: Czechia (Autodromo Brno)
Round 11, Jun 26-28: Netherlands (TT Circuit Assen)
Round 12, Jul 10-12: Germany (Sachsenring)
Round 13, Aug 7-9: Great Britain (Silverstone)
Round 14, Aug 28-30: Aragon (Motorland Aragon, Spain)
Round 15, Sept 11-13: San Marino (Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli)
Round 16, Sept 18-20: Austria (Red Bull Ring, Spielberg)
Round 17, Oct 2-4: Japan (Motegi)
Round 18, Oct 9-11: Indonesia (Mandalika)
Round 19, Oct 23-25: Australia (Phillip Island)
Round 20, Oct 30-Nov 1: Malaysia (Sepang)
Round 21, Nov 13-15: Portugal (Portimao)
Round 22, Nov 20-22: Valencia (Circuit Ricardo Tormo)
WHICH RIDERS ARE ON THE 2026 MOTOGP GRID?
Of the 20 riders who are back from last year’s grid, not one has moved teams, indicative of the state of stability in the rider ranks before the dominoes begin to tumble – and fast – once one big name officially makes the first move to shore up their future for the 850cc era.
The two riders new to the grid in 2026 are both MotoGP rookies, albeit with vastly different backgrounds. At Honda, 21-year-old Moreira comes in at the satellite LCR team in place of Thai rider Somkiat Chantra to partner Zarco, two of the four riders with 2027 contracts in the one team. Moreira, the first Brazilian MotoGP rider since three-time race-winner Alex Barros retired in 2007, was last year’s Moto2 champion.
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Razgatlioglu, meanwhile, finally comes to MotoGP from World Superbikes after a long flirtation with the world championship and after three production-bike titles, first with Yamaha in 2021, then consecutive crowns with BMW in 2024-25.
The Turkish rider with the spectacular style will turn 30 during August of his rookie MotoGP season, and will partner Australian Miller at Yamaha’s Pramac Racing squad. Miller’s former teammate, Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira, ended up in a seat swap with Razgatlioglu at BMW in Superbikes, his world championship career likely over after five victories in seven seasons.
Now 31, Miller’s 12th MotoGP campaign will be his second for Yamaha, and comes after his lowest-scoring season since 2016, when he was a sophomore with Honda.
His vast experience with Honda, Ducati and KTM before arriving at Yamaha and his renowned technical acumen saw him retained to steer Yamaha’s nascent V4 project, the true competitiveness of which will only likely be revealed after he hangs up his helmet. But Miller has a role to play to shepherd Yamaha into the 850cc era, and the Townsville native’s value – and future – won’t be solely dictated by where he finishes in the standings.
The 2026 MotoGP grid
No. 5: Johann Zarco (35 years old, France) – LCR Honda
7: Toprak Razgatlioglu (29, Turkiye) – Prima Pramac Yamaha
10: Luca Marini (28, Italy) – Honda HRC Castrol
11: Diogo Moreira (21, Brazil) – LCR Honda
12: Maverick Vinales (31, Spain) – Red Bull Tech3 KTM
20: Fabio Quartararo (26, France) – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
21: Franco Morbidelli (31, Italy) – Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team (Ducati)
23: Enea Bastianini (28, Italy) – Red Bull Tech3 KTM
25: Raul Fernandez (25, Spain) – Trackhouse MotoGP Team (Aprilia)
33: Brad Binder (30, South Africa) – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
36: Joan Mir (28, Spain) – Honda HRC Castrol
37: Pedro Acosta (21, Spain) – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
42: Alex Rins (30, Spain) – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
43: Jack Miller (31, Australia) – Prima Pramac Yamaha
49: Fabio Di Giannantonio (27, Italy) – Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team (Ducati)
54: Fermin Aldeguer (20, Spain) – Gresini Racing MotoGP (Ducati)
63: Francesco Bagnaia (28, Italy) – Ducati Lenovo Team
72: Marco Bezzecchi (27, Italy) – Aprilia Racing
73: Alex Marquez (29, Spain) – Gresini Racing MotoGP (Ducati)
79: Ai Ogura (25, Japan) – Trackhouse MotoGP Team (Aprilia)
89: Jorge Martin (28, Spain) – Aprilia Racing
93: Marc Marquez (33, Spain) – Ducati Lenovo Team
WHICH TEAMS ARE ON THE 2026 MOTOGP GRID?
The same 11 teams who raced in MotoGP last year are back, but the pecking order and prospects of each have taken a turn despite Marquez extending Ducati’s run of rider championships to four consecutive seasons last year.
Aprilia’s factory team surged to become MotoGP’s second-strongest last year after Bezzecchi more than made up for the injury-affected absence for most of the season of reigning world champion Jorge Martin; Honda, after Zarco took an emotional and unlikely victory in his home Grand Prix in France, was the only other manufacturer to win a race.
Raul Fernandez’s shock win of last year’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island – in his 76th MotoGP start and having never previously led a lap – for Trackhouse Aprilia means all 11 teams have at least one premier-class victory, while KTM’s Tech3 team begins a new era with F1 cult figure and former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner officially taking over as the team’s owner from founder Herve Poncharal from this season.
The 2026 MotoGP teams (by manufacturer)
Ducati: Ducati Lenovo (Bagnaia, M. Marquez), VR46 (Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio), Gresini (A. Marquez, Aldeguer)
Aprilia: Aprilia Racing (Martin, Bezzecchi), Trackhouse (Fernandez, Ogura)
KTM: KTM Factory (Binder, Acosta), Tech3 (Vinales, Bastianini)
Honda: Honda HRC (Mir, Marini), LCR (Zarco, Moreira)
Yamaha: Yamaha Factory (Quartararo, Rins), Pramac (Miller, Razgatlioglu)
Safety concerns for Adelaide addressed | 01:19
WHICH OTHER AUSSIES ARE IN ACTION?
Along with Miller, Aussie riders will fly the flag in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes again this season, with race-winner Senna Agius staying with the IntactGP team in Moto2 for a third full season, and compatriot Joel Kelso hoping another change of address will see him emulate Agius on the top step of the podium in Moto3.
Sydney’s Agius won two Grands Prix in the intermediate class last year to finish 10th in the world championship, his undoubted highlight a dominant victory at his home race at Phillip Island last October.
The 20-year-old is thought to be a MotoGP rider in the making and Miller’s potential successor as Australia’s representative on the premier-class grid in the future, and 2026 shapes as a crucial season to continue that ascension.
Darwin’s Kelso, moves to the MLav Racing team to ride a Honda for former MotoGP racer Michael Laverty in 2026, the 22-year-old’s fifth full season in the entry-level class that will be pivotal to him taking the step up to Moto2.
Kelso’s 2025 was his strongest season yet, finishing sixth on a KTM and taking four podiums and two pole positions, his best showing also coming in his home Grand Prix when he finished second from pole in Australia.
Kelso’s Moto3 countryman from last season, Wollongong’s Jacob Roulstone, will race in the European Moto2 class this season off the world championship grid, the same series that provided a springboard for Agius to move up to the world championship when he won the title in 2023.
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