{"id":544475,"date":"2026-03-16T17:37:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T17:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/544475\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T17:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T17:37:10","slug":"motogp-back-in-business-in-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/544475\/","title":{"rendered":"MotoGP back in business in Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caught your breath yet? After a long winter of waiting, the season opener in Thailand certainly didn\u2019t disappoint, with two stunning showdowns opening our account for 2026. Now we\u2019re off to Brazil for the first time in more than two decades, racing in Goi\u00e2nia for the first time in even longer, and with a first time Championship leader in Pedro Acosta<\/a> (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). We have a home hero, a new pecking order (so far!) and so many unknowns up and down the grid that we don\u2019t want to call it. But if Buriram was unpredictable enough, Brazil could prove even more so as the 22-rider field gear up to take on a venue that\u2019s completely new to each and every one of them.<\/p>\n

LEADING THE CHARGE: ACOSTA & KTM<\/p>\n

Controversial? For some. But what a debut Tissot Sprint win that was for Acosta in Thailand. A no inches given, fairing-bashing head-to-head between the #37 and Marc Marquez<\/a> (Ducati Lenovo Team) was an unbelievable way to begin proceedings in 2026, and after Acosta backed his scintillating Saturday outing up with another gutsy effort to a podium on Sunday, he\u2019s World Championship leader and spearheads the MotoGP field heading to Brazil. It wasn\u2019t the Sunday victory Acosta craves, but it was a weekend which proved serious steps have been made compared to this time last season. Could that first 25-pointer arrive in Goi\u00e2nia? That\u2019s the question we\u2019re all asking about the early title frontrunner.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing box, Brad Binder<\/a> also enjoyed a positive stint in Thailand. Acosta took much of the KTM limelight, but the South African\u2019s double top seven means he\u2019s P6 in the championship going to Round 2. That will give Red Bull KTM Tech3\u2019s Enea Bastianini<\/a> and Maverick Vi\u00f1ales<\/a> even more hunger for this weekend. The latter, who showed stand-out promise at the Sepang Test, suffered a real low-key weekend in Buriram, with Bastianini picking up a P12 to ensure some points were on offer for Guenther Steiner\u2019s squad. With Acosta leading the championship and Binder finding some form, there’s clearly pace in the RC16 for the two Tech3 team\u2019s MotoGP winners to extract.<\/p>\n

ARISE, APRILIA<\/p>\n

They\u2019d threatened levelling up during pre-season, but delivering the goods in a Grand Prix setting is a different ball game \u2013 and come Sunday afternoon, Bezzecchi<\/a> and Aprilia were unstoppable. Acosta may lead the championship, but leaving Thailand, there was a real sense that one factory have bridged the gap to Ducati. Maybe even more than just bridged it?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s early days to call it, but at a track where Marc Marquez and Ducati cleaned up one year prior, Bezzecchi was the outstanding rider. The #72 slipped up in the Sprint, but a lap record pole position and a Sunday cruise to P1, coupled with Raul Fernandez<\/a>\u2019s (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) double podium, Jorge Martin<\/a> (Aprilia Racing) looking much more like his 2024 title-winning self, and Ai Ogura<\/a>\u2019s (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) Grand Prix top five, meant the Noale camp had a ball in Buriram. The quartet are P2, P3, P4, and P5 in the standings heading to Brazil. So now, it\u2019s all about trying to back up Thailand\u2019s success on unfamiliar territory \u2013 for all.<\/p>\n

DUCATI ON A BOUNCE BACK MISSION<\/p>\n

Buriram is certainly not what the reigning champions had on the menu for Round 1 \u2013 nor was it what many expected to happen. But that\u2019s so often MotoGP. And while they\u2019re currently down after losing their ridiculously impressive consecutive podium streak of 88 in a row, Ducati are certainly far from out and bouncing back will be the mission in Brazil. Fabio Di Giannantonio<\/a> (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) lands in South America as the Ducati frontrunner in the championship and the Italian radiated positivity \u2013 while also lamenting bad luck \u2013 in Thailand, so maybe fortunes change in Goi\u00e2nia?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what reigning MotoGP king Marc Marquez will be hoping for. An unlucky, unusual rear tyre puncture cost the #93 a podium shot on Sunday in Thailand, so the seven-time World Champion kickstarts his Brazil visit 23 points adrift of his Buriram Sprint rival Acosta. No one is counting the World Champion out though (we\u2019ve watched the sport before, don\u2019t worry), especially on a level playing field this weekend. At new tracks too, Marc Marquez\u2019s record is second to none. Although Bezzecchi at Buddh was quite something to watch\u2026<\/p>\n

On the other side of the red garage, lack of front-end feeling and differing conditions to the Test blighted what looked set to be a bright weekend for Francesco Bagnaia<\/a> (Ducati Lenovo Team) in Thailand. Both the Italian and last year\u2019s runner-up, Alex Marquez<\/a> (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), had weekends to put behind them \u2013 especially the latter, who walked away from the Chang International Circuit with zero points compared to Pecco’s eight. Fermin Aldeguer<\/a>, now confirmed to return, will hope to slot back in with their learnings already processed and find a few answers waiting for him as he gets back in the fold at BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP.<\/p>\n

Behind Di Giannantonio and Marc Marquez in the championship, meanwhile, it\u2019s Franco Morbidelli<\/a> (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), who has shown some solid flashes of speed in pre-season and Thailand. A special weekend arrives for the rider who has Brazilian roots, and the #21 will be craving a podium challenge to make it a weekend to remember.<\/p>\n

MOREIRA ARRIVES TO HOME SHORES<\/p>\n

Speaking of, a very warm welcome is promised to our home hero Diogo Moreira<\/a> (Pro Honda LCR) this weekend, with the MotoGP rookie landing in Brazil as a points finisher in his first attempt. It was a weekend that quietly impressed. Now, with the home crowd on side and no one else having track knowledge on a MotoGP bike in Goi\u00e2nia, more points are certainly on offer for Moreira as a special weekend awaits for Brazil’s #11.<\/p>\n

BUILDING UP<\/p>\n

It was a case of more bad luck for Joan Mir<\/a> (Honda HRC Castrol) in Sunday\u2019s Thai encounter after an issue stopped the 2020 World Champion from bagging a healthy points haul. Mir was HRC\u2019s leading light during Round 1, but a top 10 for teammate Luca Marini<\/a>, points for Johann Zarco<\/a> (Castrol Honda LCR) AND the aforementioned Moreira meant it was a decent start for HRC \u2013 but not enough, based on their own adjusted aims for 2026. MotoGP’s most successful factory aren’t where they want to be just yet, but there continues to be significant progress. Mir’s Sunday performance demonstrated that, so maybe Brazil can offer more? Certainly, no one else on the grid arrives with any more knowledge of the track \u2013 which could prove helpful for those looking to develop.<\/p>\n

SEARCHING FOR MORE<\/p>\n

That\u2019s definitely true of Yamaha. The new V4-powered YZR-M1 era hasn\u2019t begun as smoothly as they would have liked, but there were positives \u2013 and now it\u2019s a venue no one else has dialled in. The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP duo of Fabio Quartararo<\/a> and Alex Rins<\/a> got points on the board in Thailand, and Toprak Razgatlioglu<\/a> put together about as quality a weekend as he and Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP could have asked for. The rookie was right in the mix with the experienced runners, despite absolutely everything being new to him. His teammate Jack Miller<\/a> pushed on and then dropped back but put more miles on the clock as they look to learn and improve. Results will likely not be the focus for the Brazilian GP \u2013 but maybe a new circuit can bring the Yamahas closer to the frontrunners.<\/p>\n

From Thailand’s terrific opener, we\u2019re landing back in brilliant Brazil for Round 2<\/a>. As we look ahead to the three days on track, we really couldn’t tell you how the script will play out \u2013 just the way we like it. Brazil, are you ready?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Caught your breath yet? After a long winter of waiting, the season opener in Thailand certainly didn\u2019t disappoint,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85,83],"class_list":["post-544475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}