Thai GP 2026: favorites, Italians and rookies to watch—who will strike first in Moto2 and Moto3?

Moto2 and Moto3 toward 2026: Pirelli tires for Buriram, names to watch, the Italians, and the rookies.

The new world season is about to kick off, and there’s more than just MotoGP to watch. Moto2 and Moto3, gearing up for the Buriram challenge, have fired up their engines with winter testing, although due to bad weather in Portimao we can consider only the Jerez tests as fairly reliable. Still, those references should be taken with caution, as the Thai track is markedly different from the Andalusian one. Who will land the first blow at the 2026 World Championship opener? A focus on the two classes.

A new season begins with Pirelli as the sole supplier for the smaller classes, before taking over MotoGP as well in 2027, with a key novelty: the shift from development specs to the standard range. Moto2 riders will have soft SC1 and medium SC2 fronts, while at the rear the soft SC0 and medium SC1 differ from those used in the past two years. What was last year’s development spec E0125—using the same compound as the previous range soft but with a different carcass—has now become the new SC0 2026. Riders know this tire well, as in 2025 it was available at 11 GPs and then chosen for the race at Silverstone, Aragon, Assen, Brno, Balaton, Barcelona, Mandalika, and Portimao, almost always unanimously. The medium SC1 is also new, as it corresponds to last year’s development spec D0286, now promoted to the standard range. In 2026, by regulation, the minimum rear tire pressure must not be lower than 1.65 bar (24 PSI). For Moto3, there will be two slick options front and rear as well: soft SC1 and medium SC2 in both cases. As in Moto2, the rear must adhere to a minimum pressure of 1.50 bar (22 PSI).

The first rider to watch is inevitably Manuel Gonzalez, last year’s runner-up after a superb season marred by a few too many mistakes, which aided the furious comeback of eventual champion Moreira. But everything is a lesson, and the Spaniard with Intact GP—remember, a former SSP300 world champion and ex-Supersport—can still write a great story. Testing is always its own thing; the real verdict comes on track. At Jerez, for example, Alex Escrig (KLINT Racing/Forward) emerged, smashing the lap record. Perhaps a third constructor will join the fight at the front! KALEX and Boscoscuro are well established; the brand-new Forward project can exploit the concessions to make progress.

We’re hoping to see our Italian riders up front too—three of them this year in the intermediate class. Chief among them is Celestino Vietti (SpeedRS Team/Boscoscuro), who looked in great form at the Andalusian track and is in his second year with the Vicenza constructor, a reason to expect a step forward. His new teammate Luca Lunetta will clearly need time, having just arrived from Moto3, while the current question mark is Tony Arbolino. After a year with Boscoscuro and Pramac Yamaha, he’s returning to KALEX with REDS Fantic Racing, but in testing we saw him almost always near the back of the timesheets...

As for the rookies: first and foremost, the Moto2 champion and runner-up, José Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo/KALEX) and Angel Piqueras (MSi Racing/KALEX). The former is still recovering from the serious Sepang crash, while the latter has already begun to find his feet, awaiting the real first test at Buriram next weekend. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia/KALEX) is the latest promotion from Moto3; keep an eye also on Alberto Ferrandez, the new signing for Pramac Yamaha/Boscoscuro . Daniel Munoz (Italtrans Racing/KALEX) isn’t exactly a rookie, but this will be his first full season, while Sergio Garcia fully returns with Italjet Gresini and KALEX after the premature split from MSi Racing in 2025.

With the champion and runner-up promoted to the intermediate class, this year’s pecking order is wide open. Early signs have already appeared and they speak mostly Spanish: Maximo Quiles (Aspar Team/KTM), Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing/Honda), Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), David Munoz (Intact GP/KTM), to name a few—though surprises may be in store. In the official Jerez tests, the Briton Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power/KTM) also stood out, and the Argentine Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) shouldn’t be underestimated either.

Turning to Italy, which showed promising things at the Andalusian track. Guido Pini, who left KTM for a second world season with Honda and Leopard Racing, sent decidedly positive signals in the early outings that marked the start of his adaptation process. Good signs too from Matteo Bertelle (LevelUp MTA/KTM): after a year heavily affected by a serious injury, the rider from Padua is certainly aiming for redemption. The third Italian in the class is Nicola Carraro (Snipers Team/Honda), quite far down the order in the Jerez tests, but expected to step up in this new world campaign.

There’s no shortage of debutants to watch. Such as Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo), reigning Rookies Cup and Moto3 JuniorGP champion, or Finland’s Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3), a major player in those championships. The rest of the rookies also come from there: Spain’s Jesus Rios (Snipers Team), Argentina’s Marco Morelli (Aspar Team), Ireland’s Casey O’Gorman and Austria’s Leo Rammerstorfer (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Japan’s Zen Mitani and Indonesia’s Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia), and Malaysia’s Hakim Danish (MSi Racing). Joel Esteban (LevelUp MTA) returns full-time, and it’s the first complete season for Adrian Cruces (CIP Green Power) after various substitutions and wild cards.