The Moreira case: Honda leaves him out of the Pirelli tests at Brno, Puig explains the decision

Honda leaves Diogo Moreira out of the MotoGP tests at Brno, an important first step for 2027. Why? Alberto Puig explains.

The MotoGP tests are taking place today at Brno, the first real ones with the new Pirellis and the 850s. There are some notable absentees; perhaps the most surprising is Diogo Moreira, who, along with the injured Zarco, is the only rider confirmed at Honda even for 2027. Yet he’s not among the riders on track today at the Czech circuit... HRC has fielded Joan Mir and Luca Marini (both on their way out) together with test rider Takaaki Nakagami. It’s a choice other manufacturers haven’t made (many riders about to leave their current teams are sitting out, like Bagnaia or Martin) and it might indeed seem odd. Alberto Puig, in his final season as team manager of the MotoGP squad before the new replacement, explained why during the just-concluded GP in the Czech Republic.

“We’re using our current riders, Joan and Luca,” said Alberto Puig, then added the reason. “We rely on the riders who know our bike best. For this reason we’ve taken this approach, and we hope to get from them the best possible information about the new bike. We’ll see what the next tests bring,” he added, as reported by Speedweek. And what about Moreira? “There will be other tests.” The reigning Moto2 champion and MotoGP rookie is therefore being left aside.

It may not seem very logical, but Puig then stated that “We carefully evaluated [Diogo’s] situation before making our decision. We want him to understand the current 1000 as well as possible. Giving him a second bike to test in his first year in MotoGP would be the worst decision we could make. It would only confuse him. Our goal is not to sow confusion among the riders. We are convinced we have the best possible plan,” he concluded.