MotoGP 2026

Circuit: Chang International Circuit · Buriram

Buriram opens the World Championship in the suffocating heat of north-east Thailand: a flat layout of very long straights and brutal braking zones that hammers the brakes as hard as the riders' necks. Passes bloom at the end of every straight, so traction out of the slow corners is everything. In 2025 Marc Márquez launched his factory Ducati era with a commanding win ahead of his brother Álex and Pecco Bagnaia, making it clear from round one who would rule the season. The 2026 opener again puts winter set-ups to the test.

Circuit: Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia - Ayrton Senna · Goiânia

Brazil returns to the calendar for the first time in decades, and it does so at Goiânia, a short, twisty circuit reworked to host MotoGP. With no recent premier-class data, the weekend is a blank page: whoever reads the tyres and the grip of a fresh surface first will hold the edge. Its compact layout promises quick laps, tight packs and few places to breathe — perfect ground for comebacks and surprises. As an outright debut there is no previous podium to lean on: everything is still to be written on the return of the Brazilian crowd.

Circuit: Circuit Of The Americas · Austin

Austin blends a steep climb to Turn 1, a lightning-fast esses section lifted straight from Silverstone and a slow, bump-ridden final sector that punishes both bike and rider. For years it was Marc Márquez country, but its worsening bumps have turned it into a physical lottery. In 2025, with Márquez out of the feature race, Pecco Bagnaia took one of his best wins of the year ahead of Álex Márquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio. It demands bravery on the brakes, precision through the esses and total front-end confidence to attack its rapid changes of direction.

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez - Ángel Nieto · Jerez

Jerez is a party: hundreds of thousands pack its hillsides for the year's first big European showdown. The slow, tightly-linked layout rewards corner speed and chews the rear tyre like few others, with the mythical Jorge Lorenzo final corner as a last chance to pounce. In 2025 it was Álex Márquez who claimed his maiden MotoGP win there, beating an inspired Fabio Quartararo on the Yamaha and Pecco Bagnaia. Managing the rubber and nailing the qualifying lap matter here more than at almost anywhere else on the calendar.

Circuit: Le Mans · Le Mans

The Bugatti circuit is pure stop-and-go: violent braking, first- and second-gear chicanes and a Breton rain that can arrive at any moment to turn the race upside down. Le Mans breaks attendance records year after year and serves up nail-biting finishes. In 2025 the shifting sky threw everything into chaos and Frenchman Johann Zarco nailed a perfect tyre gamble to stun his home crowd — Honda's first win in a long while — ahead of Marc Márquez and rookie Fermín Aldeguer. Here the tyre call is worth as much as raw talent.

Circuit: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya · Barcelona

Montmeló pairs long, sustained-load corners with a surface that sheds grip as the weekend goes on, turning front and rear tyre management into an art. The final-corner braking zone is a classic spot for a last-lap lunge. In 2025 Álex Márquez dominated to win ahead of brother Marc and Enea Bastianini, delivering one of the most complete weekends of his season. With little traction on offer, whoever is smoothest on the throttle and kindest to the rubber already holds half the race in hand.

Circuit: Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello · Mugello

Mugello is from another planet: set in the Tuscan hills, it strings together lightning-fast sweeps and crests that raise goosebumps, capped by a straight where speeds brush 350 km/h. It is the temple of Ducati and the tifosi, and a fast lap here is among the most spectacular on the calendar. In 2025 Marc Márquez won again ahead of Álex Márquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio, reaffirming the romance between the Borgo Panigale marque and its home track. Flow, bravery and a strong engine: without all three, there is nothing to do here.

Circuit: Balaton Park Circuit · Balatonfőkajár

On the shores of Lake Balaton, Hungary reclaimed its Grand Prix in 2025 with a new, short and narrow circuit packed with linked corners that leave little room to breathe. Its lack of history makes it a puzzle: set-up, braking markers and rhythm all have to be built almost from scratch. On debut Marc Márquez won again ahead of a brilliant Pedro Acosta and Marco Bezzecchi, proving his adaptability has no rival. Being so twisty, agility and millimetric precision matter here far more than brute power.

Circuit: CREDITAS Autodrom Brno · Brno

Brno returned to the calendar with a resurfacing that gave grip back to one of the paddock's best-loved tracks: wide, undulating and full of long, loaded corners that rise and fall through the Moravian hills. Its width invites alternative lines and wheel-to-wheel duels into the big stops. In 2025 Marc Márquez delivered another masterclass ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta, stringing together wins on his way to the title. A rider's circuit, where rhythm is built on front-end confidence and the bravery to attack each downhill braking zone.

Circuit: TT Circuit Assen · Assen

Assen is 'The Cathedral', the only circuit to have featured every year since 1949, and it is ridden like a symphony: fast corners linked with barely a straight, tipping the bike from side to side in continuous flow. The final chicane invites one last desperate move. In 2025 Marc Márquez won again ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Pecco Bagnaia, adding another notch to his charge toward the title. Rhythm is lost with a single misjudged line here, because every corner sets up the next: it is all linkage, harmony and corner speed.

Circuit: Sachsenring · Sachsenring

The Sachsenring is unique: ten left-hand corners and only three rights, with the dizzying downhill 'waterfall' plunging to the final turn. That imbalance leaves the right side of the tyre cold all lap — a constant danger in the handful of rights. For over a decade it was Marc Márquez's private estate, and in 2025 he kept the streak alive: another win ahead of brother Álex and Pecco Bagnaia. A short, feel-based track, it rewards whoever trusts the front blindly on its cold flank and threads the delicate final descent.

Circuit: Silverstone Circuit · Silverstone

Silverstone is wide, blindingly fast and flowing, with the famous Maggotts and Becketts esses taken almost flat out to test the bike's composure at high speed. British weather always adds a layer of uncertainty. In 2025 it was the stage for Aprilia's big blow: Marco Bezzecchi broke the Ducati stranglehold with a win ahead of Johann Zarco and a Marc Márquez who still banked golden points. A circuit for the brave rider and a balanced bike, where corner speed and stability through the direction changes make the difference.

Circuit: MotorLand Aragón · Alcañiz

MotorLand Aragón is a two-faced circuit: a technical, twisty opening sector feeding into a very long downhill left-hander and a back straight where everything is clawed back. Its surface offers plenty of grip, which sends corner speeds soaring. In 2025 Marc Márquez dominated again ahead of Álex Márquez and Pecco Bagnaia, another family one-two on the road to the title. The blend of slow and fast sections forces a compromise set-up, and whoever best sets the bike for the big final left usually controls the pace of the race.

Circuit: Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli · Misano

Misano, beside the Adriatic and named after Marco Simoncelli, is where Ducati does most of its testing, and it shows: a technical, medium-high-rhythm layout the Borgo Panigale marque knows to the millimetre. The Italian crowd fills it with colour and pressure. In 2025 Marc Márquez won ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Álex Márquez, adding another victory to his dream season. Its mix of loaded corners and hard braking rewards total balance and whoever manages tyres that suffer in the September heat.

Circuit: Red Bull Ring - Spielberg · Spielberg

Set in the Styrian Alps, the Red Bull Ring is a stop-and-go of uphill straights and ferocious braking, with a chicane added for MotoGP on safety grounds after several scares. It is a power-and-brakes circuit, historically Ducati-friendly terrain. In 2025 Marc Márquez won again ahead of surprise rookie Fermín Aldeguer and Marco Bezzecchi. The key is braking stability and traction to catapult uphill: lose the front in the heavy deceleration zones and you pay dearly on a layout that forgives very little.

Circuit: Mobility Resort Motegi · Motegi

Motegi, owned by Honda, is the year's toughest stop-and-go for the brakes: a run of short straights capped by extreme braking that pushes the carbon discs to their thermal limit. It is the great exam of deceleration stability and standing-start traction. In 2025 Pecco Bagnaia broke a grey run with an emphatic win ahead of Marc Márquez and Joan Mir, reminding everyone what he can do when he and the bike click. There are no fast corners to claw time back here: it all comes down to who brakes latest and best manages brake temperature.

Circuit: Pertamina Mandalika Circuit · Mandalika

Mandalika, on the Indonesian island of Lombok, runs beside the sea under suffocating humid heat and over an abrasive surface that shreds tyres. Its 17 corners mix fast sections with a slow, technical final sector where the front is easily lost. In 2025 it produced one of the freshest results of the year: rookie Fermín Aldeguer took his maiden MotoGP win ahead of Pedro Acosta and Álex Márquez, a podium of the pure new generation. Tyre management is an obsession here: whoever saves rubber for the end has the race in the bag.

Circuit: Phillip Island · Phillip Island

Phillip Island, perched over the ocean in southern Australia, is for many the most beautiful circuit in the world: blazing fast, flowing and exposed to a wind that reshapes the race lap by lap. Its high-speed seaside corners produce pack racing and constant overtakes. In 2025 wind and tyre wear sparked a shock: Raúl Fernández gave Aprilia an unexpected win ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi. Slipstreaming and bravery through the fast corners are everything here, and a smart tyre strategy can turn an outsider into a winner.

Circuit: Petronas Sepang International Circuit · Sepang

Sepang, home of pre-season testing, pairs two kilometre-long straights with wide, increasing-radius corners under a tropical heat and humidity that drain rider and tyre alike. Because everyone knows it so well from testing, set-ups are usually finely honed and the gaps shrink. In 2025 Álex Márquez took a fine win there ahead of Pedro Acosta and Joan Mir. Its long acceleration zones reward power and traction, while the sustained-load corners punish the tyre's flank: managing wear under that swelter is half the battle.

Circuit: Lusail International Circuit · Lusail

Lusail runs at night under the lights, with the Qatari desert chill dropping the track temperature and complicating tyre warm-up. Its smooth, fast, flowing layout and very long main straight invite pack duels. In 2025 Marc Márquez won ahead of Pecco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli in another display of consistency. The key is getting heat into the tyre from lap one without over-using it, and exploiting the straight-line slipstream to attack into braking zones where the nocturnal grip is always an unknown.

Circuit: Autódromo Internacional do Algarve · Portimão

Portimão is a rollercoaster: it climbs and plunges through the Algarve hills with blind crests, a dizzying drop to the finish line and corners taken without seeing the exit. It is one of the most physical and spectacular circuits of the year, where the confidence to commit blind makes the difference. In 2025 Marco Bezzecchi handed Aprilia another big win ahead of Álex Márquez and Pedro Acosta. The front tyre works at its limit over every crest here, and whoever dares to ride committed over the blind rises finds lap time the rest simply cannot see.

Circuit: Circuit Ricardo Tormo · Cheste

Cheste is a closed amphitheatre where the crowd sees almost everything from any grandstand: a short, very twisty layout heavy on left-handers that usually closes the season at maximum tension. Its slow rhythm rewards corner speed and front-end composure. In 2025 Marco Bezzecchi crowned Aprilia's great season with a win ahead of Raúl Fernández and Fabio Di Giannantonio. As the final round, scores are settled here: the pressure, the November chill and tyres that are hard to warm up turn every lap into a final exam.