Honda, did you see? Moreira makes history at Motegi, Sprint podium "to the rhythm of samba"

Diogo Moreira, “in samba rhythm,” writes another small piece of history with his result in the MotoGP Sprint at Motegi.

Another benchmark set by Alex Barros has been beaten and updated by his heir Diogo Moreira, adding yet another slice of history. Barros’s last podium—actually a victory—dates back to April 2005 at Estoril in the Portuguese Grand Prix: we’re talking about a GP, there were no Sprints back then, but it’s still a fasting ended for his country. Fortuitous, yes, but his race (full report and results here) was remarkable, even if the Brazilian’s first historic podium on track was “gifted” by track limits that penalized Martin and Bastianini (the most disappointed, having lost the podium). The LCR Honda rider, however, crossed the line in 4th place, clearly the best Honda in this MotoGP mini-race at Motegi, with a team celebration and a hug with friend Marc Marquez, the race winner. Could this be the push that “convinces” Honda to give him the factory seat in 2027? It still hasn’t been made official who will be Quartararo’s teammate between him and the rookie Alonso...

“When I saw the crash at Turn 3, I told myself today was the right day, I had to push,” Diogo Moreira said hot off the track in parc fermé before the podium. “Lap after lap I felt better and better with the bike and tried to save the tires for the end. On the last lap I saw that Martin and Bastianini touched the green, and I said to myself, yes, maybe we’re on the podium!” And so it was, with confirmation coming shortly after he crossed the finish line. Big celebrations in LCR Honda; Lucio Cecchinello could barely contain himself. “I couldn’t have imagined it,” he told motogp.com right after the race. “We certainly had some luck, but we also ran an incredible race, with a great pace. To be honest, we didn’t expect him to be able to do those lap times, especially in the second half of the race, but he managed the tires really well, which was something that worried us a lot. It’s fantastic! He deserved it; I’m happy for him and for the whole team.” Tomorrow no one will want to make mistakes, the race will be longer and we’ll need to pay even more attention to tire management, but we can expect more surprises.

-> Follow us on Instagram as well: @Corsedimoto