MotoGP Riders 2026

Seven-time MotoGP World Champion and nine-time World Champion across all classes, Marc Marquez is one of the most successful riders of his generation. Famed for his aggressive cornering and elbow-dragging style, he rebuilt his form at Gresini after injury-hit Honda years before earning a factory Ducati Lenovo seat.

Fun facts

• His number 93 comes from the year he was born: 1993.
• The ant is his personal symbol: small, determined and able to carry far beyond its size.
• In 2013, he became the youngest premier-class race winner and World Champion.

The 2024 MotoGP World Champion and 2018 Moto3 king, Spain's Jorge 'Martinator' Martin made history as the first independent-team rider to seize the premier-class crown. Now he brings his fearsome one-lap pace and Sprint mastery to Aprilia's factory squad.

Fun facts

• The "Martinator" nickname nods to the Terminator, reflecting his relentless, aggressive pace.
• He wanted #88 but it was already taken, so he settled on #89 when he reached MotoGP in 2021.
• In 2024 he became the first independent-team rider to win the premier-class title since Valentino Rossi in 2001, with a record 16 Grand Prix podiums that year.

Italian charger Marco 'Bez' Bezzecchi, a VR46 academy graduate, stormed to multiple MotoGP wins in 2023, including the milestone 1000th Grand Prix at Le Mans. Now leading the factory Aprilia charge, the aggressive Italian is a relentless podium threat.

Fun facts

• He won the historic 1000th premier-class World Championship race at the 2023 French GP at Le Mans.
• His #72 is a workaround: he wanted 12 for his birthday on the 12th, but it was taken, so he picked the closest-looking free plate.
• He gave Valentino Rossi's VR46 team its first MotoGP wins with a three-victory 2023 season.

The 'Shark of Mazarron', Pedro Acosta blitzed to the 2021 Moto3 crown and then the 2023 Moto2 title as that class' youngest ever champion before jumping to MotoGP. Now leading Red Bull KTM's factory charge, the Spaniard is widely tipped as a future premier-class champion.

Fun facts

• He is the youngest Moto2 World Champion in history, taking the 2023 title at 19 years and 172 days.
• As a Moto3 rookie in 2021 he won after starting from pit lane, charging through the field for a victory never seen before in the class.
• Nicknamed the "Shark of Mazarron" after his Spanish hometown, he was tipped as a future champion from his earliest Grand Prix days.

The 2024 Moto2 World Champion, Ai Ogura is the first Japanese rider to claim a world title since 2009. The Asia Talent Cup graduate banked his maiden MotoGP podium with a third at the 2026 French GP, flying the flag for Trackhouse aboard the Aprilia.

Fun facts

• His #79 combines the numbers he raced earlier: #7 in his early career and #9 in the Asia Talent Cup.
• His 2024 Moto2 crown made him the first Japanese World Champion since Hiroshi Aoyama in 2009.
• His third place at the 2026 French GP was the first MotoGP podium for a Japanese rider since 2012.

MotoGP race winner Fabio 'Diggia' Di Giannantonio stunned the paddock with a breakthrough maiden victory at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. The Rome-born Italian now races a Ducati for Valentino Rossi's Pertamina Enduro VR46 squad, blending podium pace with razor-sharp qualifying speed.

Fun facts

• "Diggia" is the short form of his long surname Di Giannantonio, and it even appears in his official website address.
• Born and raised in Rome, his emotional maiden MotoGP win came at the 2023 Qatar GP just as his grid future looked uncertain.
• Four podiums in 2025 carried him to a career-best sixth overall with Valentino Rossi's VR46 squad.

Spain's Raul Fernandez smashed the Moto2 rookie record with 8 wins in 2021, finishing runner-up in the title fight. Now leading Trackhouse Aprilia, he broke through for his maiden MotoGP victory at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.

Fun facts

• In his rookie 2021 Moto2 season he won eight races (the most ever by a class debutant) and finished championship runner-up.
• His maiden MotoGP win at the 2025 Australian GP delivered Trackhouse Racing its first premier-class victory.
• He runs #25 because his preferred #23 was taken; his younger brother Adrian also races Grand Prix bikes.

The 2014 Moto3 and 2019 Moto2 World Champion, Alex Marquez has come of age on the Gresini Ducati, taking his maiden MotoGP win and a career-best runner-up finish in 2025. Younger brother of Marc, he is now a serial podium threat in his own right.

Fun facts

• His #73 came from subtracting his birth day from his birth year (96 − 23 = 73) when his favourite numbers were taken.
• In 2025 he and brother Marc became the first siblings to finish 1-2 in a premier-class championship, with Alex as runner-up.
• He is a double World Champion across classes, taking the 2014 Moto3 and 2019 Moto2 titles.

Two-time MotoGP World Champion (2022 and 2023) and the 2018 Moto2 king, Italy's Francesco 'Pecco' Bagnaia leads Ducati's factory charge, fusing surgical precision with relentless race-day pace as one of the premier class's elite.

Fun facts

• His nickname "Pecco" came from his sister Carola, who as a toddler couldn't pronounce "Francesco".
• He is the only rider to win back-to-back premier-class titles for Ducati, in 2022 and 2023.
• Before settling on #63 he raced tribute numbers honouring Noriyuki Haga and Troy Bayliss in his junior years.

The 2020 Moto2 World Champion and a multiple MotoGP race winner, Italy's Enea 'La Bestia' Bastianini brings ferocious pace to Red Bull KTM Tech3.

Fun facts

• His nickname "La Bestia" (The Beast) reflects an aggressive, never-give-up riding style.
• His 2022 rookie-customer season produced four wins on a year-old Ducati, including a last-lap pass on Bagnaia at Aragon.
• He won the 2020 Moto2 title in his final year in the class before stepping up to MotoGP.

The Murcia-born Spaniard who stormed up from Moto2 and won the 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix to become the second youngest rider ever to win a MotoGP race, behind only Marc Marquez. Fermin Aldeguer pilots the Ducati for Gresini Racing.

Fun facts

• His 2025 Indonesian GP win, at 20 years and 183 days, made him the second-youngest premier-class race winner ever, behind only Marc Marquez.
• He was the first rider to win a MotoGP race in his rookie season since Jorge Martin in 2021, and took 2025 Rookie of the Year.
• He closed out his Moto2 career with four straight wins in the final four rounds of 2023 before stepping up with Gresini.

The 2016 Moto3 World Champion, South Africa's Brad Binder made history as the first rider to win a premier-class MotoGP race for KTM, taking a breakthrough victory at Brno in 2020. The fearless factory KTM ace is famous for blistering starts and never-say-die charges through the field.

Fun facts

• His 2020 Czech GP win made him the first rider ever to win a MotoGP race for KTM, and the first South African to win in the premier class.
• He was the first rookie to win a premier-class race since Marc Marquez in 2013.
• Famous for blistering starts and never-say-die charges, he is one of the grid's most fearsome Sprint-race specialists.

A six-time Moto2 race winner and 2020 Moto2 runner-up, Italy's Luca Marini brings VR46 Academy pedigree and the racing bloodline of half-brother Valentino Rossi to Honda HRC Castrol, where the veteran spearheads the factory's MotoGP development charge.

Fun facts

• He is the maternal half-brother of nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi.
• He finished runner-up in the 2020 Moto2 championship, losing the title by just nine points to Enea Bastianini.
• All six of his Grand Prix wins came in the Moto2 class.

The 2021 MotoGP World Champion and France's first ever premier-class king, Fabio 'El Diablo' Quartararo blends razor-sharp pole pace with silky corner speed as he spearheads Yamaha's factory charge.

Fun facts

• In 2021 he became the first French rider ever to win the premier-class World Championship.
• His nickname "El Diablo" dates to his junior years racing in Spain, where he was a child prodigy.
• His explosive 2019 rookie MotoGP season brought seven podiums and Rookie of the Year.

The 2025 Moto2 World Champion and the first Brazilian ever to win a Grand Prix title in any class, Diogo Moreira charges into his rookie MotoGP season with LCR Honda carrying a nation's hopes.

Fun facts

• He is the first Brazilian to win a Grand Prix World Championship in any class, taking the 2025 Moto2 crown.
• His 2025 title was a stunning comeback: 61 points down after the French GP, he finished 24 points clear.
• He was named Rookie of the Year in both Moto3 (2022) and Moto2 (2024) before his MotoGP graduation.

The 2017 Moto2 World Champion and 2020 MotoGP runner-up, Franco Morbidelli was the first graduate of Valentino Rossi's VR46 Academy. Now he lines up for Pertamina Enduro VR46 aboard a Ducati, hunting podiums on the sport's biggest stage.

Fun facts

• He was the first official graduate of Valentino Rossi's VR46 Riders Academy, his family moving to Rossi's hometown of Tavullia to back his career.
• Despite the name, he is unrelated to the Morbidelli motorcycle marque or F1's Gianni Morbidelli.
• All three of his MotoGP wins came in one dominant 2020 campaign, carrying him to runner-up in the championship.

France's double Moto2 World Champion (2015 and 2016) and a MotoGP race winner, Johann Zarco is a fearless, shrewd racer who knows how to wring every drop out of the LCR Honda.

Fun facts

• He was the first rider of the Moto2 era to win back-to-back intermediate-class titles, in 2015 and 2016.
• His maiden MotoGP win came at the 2023 Australian GP after a long wait of 120 premier-class starts.
• His 2025 Le Mans victory made him the first French rider to win the French Grand Prix in 71 years.

The 2020 MotoGP World Champion and 2017 Moto3 title winner, Spain's Joan Mir is the first Moto3 graduate to claim the premier-class crown. Now spearheading Honda HRC Castrol's charge, the Mallorcan brings championship-winning racecraft and relentless consistency to the 2026 grid.

Fun facts

• He is the first Moto3 World Champion to go on to win the premier-class title.
• His 2020 crown made him the first Suzuki champion since Kenny Roberts Jr. in 2000.
• He won that 2020 title with just a single race victory all season, on relentless podium consistency.

A four-time MotoGP race winner, Australia's Jack Miller stunned the paddock with a shock victory at the 2016 Dutch TT and remains one of the grid's boldest racers. Nicknamed 'Thriller', the veteran lines up for Prima Pramac Yamaha alongside teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu in 2026.

Fun facts

• His shock 2016 Dutch TT win at Assen came as a privateer in treacherous wet conditions.
• He jumped straight from Moto3 to MotoGP in 2015, skipping the intermediate class entirely, a rare direct promotion.
• Nicknamed "Thriller", the Australian is one of the grid's boldest and most popular racers.

Spain's Alex Rins is a MotoGP race winner across multiple manufacturers, taking premier-class victories with Suzuki and Honda. The number 42 broke through at the 2019 Americas GP and won the 2019 British GP by just 0.013 seconds. Now he chases more glory on the factory Yamaha.

Fun facts

• He won the 2019 British GP at Silverstone by just 0.013s over Marc Marquez, one of the closest finishes in MotoGP history.
• Five of his six premier-class wins came aboard the Suzuki, the other at COTA on a Honda.
• He finished championship runner-up in both Moto3 (2013) and Moto2 (2016) without converting either into a title.

Three-time World Superbike Champion 'El Turco' brings his fearless stoppie-celebrating swagger to MotoGP as Turkey's first-ever premier-class rider, lining up for Prima Pramac Yamaha in his eagerly awaited rookie season.

Fun facts

• Three-time World Superbike Champion (2021, 2024 and 2025), he arrives as Turkey's first-ever premier-class Grand Prix rider.
• His late father Arif was a stunt rider nicknamed "Wheelie Arif", and Toprak is famous for his own front-wheel "stoppie" celebration.
• He is managed by five-time World Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu, a fellow Turk who discovered and mentored him.

The 2013 Moto3 World Champion and the first rider to win premier-class races on three different manufacturers, Spain's Maverick Vinales now hunts a fourth marque with Red Bull KTM Tech3, bringing veteran savvy and searing pace to the KTM.

Fun facts

• He is the only rider to win premier-class Grands Prix with three different manufacturers: Suzuki, Yamaha and Aprilia.
• His first name comes from his father being a Top Gun fan, and he switched to #12 to match his birthday on 12 January.
• He reached MotoGP after just a single season in Moto2, having won the 2013 Moto3 title.

Iker Lecuona rides for BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP on a Ducati in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.

Augusto Fernandez rides for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP on a Yamaha in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.

Pol Espargaro rides for Red Bull KTM Tech3 on a KTM in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.

Somkiat Chantra rides for Honda HRC Castrol on a Honda in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.

Takaaki Nakagami rides for Honda HRC Castrol on a Honda in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.

Cal Crutchlow rides for Castrol Honda LCR on a Honda in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.

Jonas Folger rides for Red Bull KTM Tech3 on a KTM in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.

Lorenzo Savadori rides for SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team on a Aprilia in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.

Ducati's long-serving MotoGP test rider, Michele Pirro has been shaping the Desmosedici from the inside since 2013. The San Giovanni Rotondo native won the 2011 Valencia Moto2 race with Gresini, and in 2026 he stepped back onto the grid for the team as a stand-in.

Fun facts

• His only Grand Prix win came at the 2011 Valencia Moto2 race, riding for Gresini.
• He has been Ducati's MotoGP test rider since 2013.
• In 2026 he stood in for Gresini at the Thailand and Italian Grands Prix.

Aleix Espargaro rides for Honda HRC Castrol on a Honda in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.