MotoGP braces for high-stakes 2026 season with grid in flux

Feb 25 : The 2026 MotoGP season is shaping up to be one of the most pivotal transition years in recent memory with a 22-race campaign defined by an engine freeze, contract intrigue, comeback arcs and the final roar of the 1,000cc era.

With the season opening in Thailand this weekend, this will be the final year before MotoGP downsizes to 850cc machinery in 2027, marking the end of an era that began in 2012.

Crucially, manufacturers must run homologated 2025-spec engines this year, effectively freezing performance development and putting a premium on optimisation rather than innovation while the beating heart of the machine remains locked in.

For dominant factories such as Ducati, that stability is an advantage. But for the challengers like Yamaha and Honda, who have fallen by the wayside, it increases the urgency to extract every possible gain from existing hardware.

Yamaha's long-anticipated V4 engine project looms in the background of this transition phase, while Aprilia and KTM aim to prove their current bikes are championship-ready.

CROWN AND FITNESS WEIGH HEAVY ON MARQUEZ

Reigning champion Marc Marquez enters 2026 carrying both his seventh MotoGP crown and the weight of a season-ending injury that served as another reminder of the physical toll defining his career.

After years of arm and shoulder trauma, every crash now carries consequences, making risk management as crucial as outright aggression over the long haul.

Ducati's machine remains the benchmark on the grid and Marquez's adaptability is unmatched. However, three crashes in pre-season testing in Buriram means the lingering question is no longer about his speed but his durability.

Younger brother Alex stepped out of Marc's shadow last year when he finished runner-up