Diogo Moreira Ready for Rookie MotoGP Season in 2026

MotoGP, Sportrik Media - Diogo Moreira says he feels fully prepared to begin his rookie MotoGP campaign in 2026 with LCR Honda, following an intensive pre-season programme that included extensive training alongside Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez.

Moreira steps up to the premier class as the reigning Moto2 World Champion, while Marc Marquez enters the season as the defending MotoGP world champion and Alex Marquez as last year’s championship runner-up. The Brazilian therefore benefited from training alongside two of the most competitive riders on the grid as he prepared for his transition to MotoGP.

The 21-year-old explained that his preparation began almost immediately after the conclusion of the previous season, allowing little downtime as he focused on adapting to the physical and technical demands of the premier class.

“At the end, I think we are ready to start this season,” Diogo Moreira told MotoGP.com at the LCR Honda season launch.
“We did a very good job this winter, and we trained a lot.”

Moreira emphasised the importance of maintaining continuity in his training programme following the Moto2 finale.

“After Valencia, the last race, we stopped only one week, so I think we are really ready to start,” he added.

Training alongside Marc and Alex Marquez proved particularly valuable, offering direct insight into the standards required to compete at the front of MotoGP.

“We trained a lot together with Marc and Alex,” Moreira said.
“At the end, it is very good to train with them, and I learned a lot. I think we are ready to start the season.”

Moreira had his first experience of MotoGP machinery during the Valencia test last November before returning to the track in Sepang this week for the official Shakedown Test. Over the three days in Malaysia, he made clear progress, improving his best lap time by 1.6 seconds between the second and third days.

“At the end, it was super good,” Moreira reflected.
“I think we did a very good job over these three days in Malaysia.”

Despite the encouraging progress, Moreira acknowledged that further work remains as he continues to understand the limits of his new MotoGP bike.

“We still need to keep working on the new bike and try to understand more where the limit is,” he added.
“I think we are ready to go to Thailand.”

With a strong preparation phase completed, measurable gains during pre-season testing, and the benefit of training alongside established MotoGP frontrunners, Moreira heads into his rookie season with cautious confidence. The opening round in Thailand will provide the first competitive benchmark of his adaptation to MotoGP and his early integration within the LCR Honda project.