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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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t that let apparent sense of calm fool you.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> 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\u2019s machines also switching to Pirelli tyres to end the exclusive use of Michelin rubber from 2016. <\/p>\n Of the aforementioned 22 riders, just four \u2013 Honda pair Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira, Aprilia\u2019s Marco Bezzecchi and Yamaha\u2019s Toprak Razgatlioglu \u2013 so far have contracts that span this year and next. It\u2019s 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\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n EXPLAINER<\/a> How MotoGP is following the F1 blueprint, and what that means<\/p>\n ISLAND OUT <\/a> Adelaide street circuit to replace Phillip Island on 2027 MotoGP calendar<\/p>\n 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<\/a> but off another major injury, and with Australia\u2019s Jack Miller having a huge role to play in Yamaha\u2019s attempts to climb out of the sport\u2019s basement<\/a> with a brand-new V4-engined bike that brings the Japanese giant into lockstep with its rival brands. <\/p>\n It\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n Here\u2019s your snapshot guide of who is racing, where they\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n How Phillip Island became too ‘hard’ | 01:09<\/p>\n WHERE IS MOTOGP RACING IN 2026?<\/p>\n While the locations of the 22 rounds for this season are largely familiar, the order of the calendar has been altered \u2013 and there\u2019s a new track in a country with a MotoGP past that is back in the present. <\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n PIT TALK PODCAST: Renita and Matt are joined by MotoGP writer and broadcaster Neil Morrison to debate the five moments that shaped the 2025 season. Listen to Pit Talk below.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, some calendar staples \u2013 and one newcomer \u2013 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 \u2013 new to the calendar last season \u2013 is now round 9 in June after slotting in during August last year.<\/p>\n Australia \u2013 in Phillip Island\u2019s last blast before the race relocates to Adelaide in 2027 \u2013 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. <\/p>\n The 2026 MotoGP calendar<\/p>\n Round 1, Feb 27-Mar 1: Thailand (Chang International Circuit)<\/p>\n Round 2, Mar 20-22: Brazil (Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna, Goiania)<\/p>\n Round 3, Mar 27-29: USA (Circuit of the Americas, Texas)<\/p>\n Round 4, Apr 10-12: Qatar (Lusail International Circuit)<\/p>\n Round 5, Apr 24-26: Spain (Circuito de Jerez)<\/p>\n Round 6, May 8-10: France (Le Mans)<\/p>\n Round 7, May 15-17: Catalonia (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya)<\/p>\n Round 8, May 29-31: Italy (Mugello)<\/p>\n Round 9, Jun 5-7: Hungary (Balaton Park)<\/p>\n Round 10, Jun 19-21: Czechia (Autodromo Brno)<\/p>\n Round 11, Jun 26-28: Netherlands (TT Circuit Assen)<\/p>\n Round 12, Jul 10-12: Germany (Sachsenring)<\/p>\n Round 13, Aug 7-9: Great Britain (Silverstone)<\/p>\n Round 14, Aug 28-30: Aragon (Motorland Aragon, Spain)<\/p>\n Round 15, Sept 11-13: San Marino (Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli)<\/p>\n Round 16, Sept 18-20: Austria (Red Bull Ring, Spielberg)<\/p>\n Round 17, Oct 2-4: Japan (Motegi)<\/p>\n Round 18, Oct 9-11: Indonesia (Mandalika)<\/p>\n Round 19, Oct 23-25: Australia (Phillip Island)<\/p>\n Round 20, Oct 30-Nov 1: Malaysia (Sepang)<\/p>\n Round 21, Nov 13-15: Portugal (Portimao)<\/p>\n Round 22, Nov 20-22: Valencia (Circuit Ricardo Tormo)<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Jack Miller will race for the final time in MotoGP at Phillip Island this October before the Australian GP relocates to Adelaide. (Photo by Robert Cianflone\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n WHICH RIDERS ARE ON THE 2026 MOTOGP GRID?<\/p>\n Of the 20 riders who are back from last year\u2019s grid, not one has moved teams, indicative of the state of stability in the rider ranks before the dominoes begin to tumble \u2013 and fast \u2013 once one big name officially makes the first move to shore up their future for the 850cc era. <\/p>\n 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\u2019s Moto2 champion. <\/p>\n MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n ADELAIDE CIRCUIT UNVEILED<\/a>: Meet the track set to host the Australian GP<\/p>\n MILLER 2025 REPORT CARD<\/a>: The great what-if that still hurts, and Aussie\u2019s path to revival<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n The Turkish rider with the spectacular style will turn 30 during August of his rookie MotoGP season, and will partner Australian Miller at Yamaha\u2019s Pramac Racing squad. Miller\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Now 31, Miller\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n