Marquez's gloves, Zarco's lessons, the Brazilian GP: Moreira fired up after a points-scoring debut

Diogo Moreira scores points in his first round as a MotoGP rider. An excellent starting point heading into “his” GP, with Brazil awaiting him eagerly.

The first rookie showdown ends in favor of Diogo Moreira, who grabbed his first MotoGP points with 13th place in Sunday’s race at Buriram. An excellent launchpad to fire up his home country ahead of the next round in Brazil, at the Ayrton Senna Autodrome, on the weekend of March 22. There’s a curious note: as seen in a short LCR social video, Moreira used Marc Marquez’s gloves, borrowed for the first GP of the 2026 season. A friend—he’s often been seen training with both him and Alex Marquez. “Mine didn’t fit me,” he later admitted to explain the situation, also pointing out that he’ll have his own kit as usual at the next round.

“Very positive weekend and race, I stuck with the group and learned a lot,” the Pro Honda LCR rookie said at the end of the Thai GP. “But I did have problems managing the tire, which dropped off. I think that’s normal—it was my first long race and we had to figure things out.” Before this, in fact, he had only contested the Sprint, Saturday’s mini-race. “That was super fast,” Moreira admitted to motogp.com after the first event of 2026. “This one was different: everyone started more calmly, but that was good for me—I learned a lot behind Zarco.” For a long stretch, he was indeed seen tucked in behind his garage-mate, who later put Enea Bastianini between himself and the reigning Moto2 champion.

Diogo Moreira keeps a very positive mindset and highlights the team’s satisfaction. It might seem like nothing, but it’s not easy to score right away on debut with this MotoGP! As mentioned, the next round is a brand-new event in his homeland. “It’ll be great with all my family, friends... It’ll be demanding!” Moreira admitted. “But I can’t wait. We’ve got to focus on working and staying concentrated—MotoGP is another world and there’s a lot to do. But I know the track a bit; we can do well.” Naturally, the Pro Honda LCR rookie wants to make a strong impression: the World Championship returns to Brazil and he’s the only representative on the grid.