MotoGP 2026 Calendar Revealed: 22 Rounds, Brazil’s Back & Fresh Highlights

MotoGP™ has unveiled its 2026 calendar, including 22 thrilling Grands Prix across five continents, a historic return to Brazil, and some strategic scheduling changes with fans and riders in mind.

It will be a momentous season, marking the end of the current 1000cc era before a major technical shift in 2027, with new regulations bringing in a significant overhaul for the championship and its participating manufacturers as the new 850cc prototypes arrive.

From the season opener in Thailand to the thrilling finale in Valencia, the 2026 MotoGP™  World Championship calendar offers both stability and surprises. Other notable shifts include the absence of Argentina from the schedule and the continued focus on key international markets beyond the sport’s traditional European powerbase. The following article is the ultimate guide to what makes the 2026 MotoGP™ calendar one for the history books.

The 2026 MotoGP calendar at a glance

The calendar for the 2026 season is as follows:

The 2026 calendar was published on 24th July 2025, much earlier in the year than the September 2024 announcement of the 2025 MotoGP™ calendar, giving everyone in the championship, from the teams, to the riders to the fans, even more time to plan ahead.

Just as it did in 2025, the opening round of 2026 will take place in Thailand at the Buriram International Circuit, which is situated around 410km northeast of the country’s capital of Bangkok. Indeed in 2025, the MotoGP™ season launch took place in Bangkok while Kuala Lumpur plays host to the spectacular event on 6th-7th February 2026, providing more great excitement and entertainment for MotoGP fans, before the racing commences at Buriram over the weekend of 27th February – 1st March.

The second Grand Prix of 2026 (from 20th-22nd March) will be a colourful and historic affair, as MotoGP™ makes a welcome return to Brazil for the first time in 22 years. Courtesy of an agreement between MotoGP™, the government of Goiás, and Brasil Motorsport, the championship is scheduled to visit the Goiânia International Racetrack Ayrton Senna from 2026 to 2030, revisiting the venue which first hosted MotoGP from 1987 to 1989.

Brazil has not hosted MotoGP™ since 2004 in Rio de Janeiro, yet the sport remains hugely popular with Brazilian fans, in part thanks to the talent of premier class Grand Prix winner Alex Barros and rising star Diogo Moreira, who was Moto2™ Rookie of the Year in 2024 and will graduate to MotoGP with LCR Honda next season.

Right on the back of the return to Brazil, the paddock will head north the following weekend for the Grand Prix of The Americas at the iconic COTA track in Texas, before racing takes place under the spectacular floodlights of the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar two weeks later.

A European summer road trip

After that ‘jet set’ opening quartet of Grands Prix, the first of 12 consecutive European rounds will take place in southern Spain from 24th-26th April in front of the passionate crowds at Circuito de Jerez - Ángel Nieto.

Those dozen successive European races will again include a visit to Brno, after the highly popular return to the venue in 2025 for the first time since 2020. The historic Czech track is again proudly on the 2026 calendar, with the country’s second biggest city set to host MotoGP™ up until 2029 inclusive.

Likewise, Balaton Park is again on the 2026 calendar having made a successful debut on the 2025 schedule, hosting MotoGP’s first visit to Hungary since 1992. Other notable points regarding MotoGP’s European-based Grands Prix are some changes in dates, with the Grand Prix of the United Kingdom moving from May (in 2025) to August (in 2026).

That visit to Silverstone will come after a three-weekend summer break for the riders and their teams, whilst Austria also moves to a later date on the calendar, with Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring the venue for the last of 12 consecutive European rounds, after visits to MotorLand Aragon and Misano at the end of the summer.

There are then two ‘flyaway’ double headers with a familiar feel as the riders take on the challenge of Motegi in Japan followed immediately by Mandalika in Indonesia, then after a weekend off, it’s Phillip Island in Australia and Sepang in front of the Malaysian fans. Motegi is another of the venues that has recently confirmed its long-term commitment to MotoGP™, with the July 2025 announcement that it will host Grand Prix racing up until 2030.

What promises to be another enthralling season of MotoGP™ action in 2026 is wrapped up by another double-header at Portimao in Portugal and Cheste in Valencia.

The view from MotoGP Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta

MotoGP™ Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta commented on the return to Brazil, avoiding triple headers (three consecutive GPs in three weeks, which have previously featured on the calendar) and creating a calendar focused on fans and riders, saying, “I think it's one of the better calendars that we've done in the last years, and I think, and I hope it's one that the people from the MotoGP family will receive well.”

“The biggest news is of course Brazil, it's a big market for the sport and one where we feel that we have a lot of potential, so that will be the second race on the calendar. We start in Thailand again, which was hugely successful this year, even if they only had four months between (the 2024 and 2025) events, so we're looking for even more success for 2026.”

“Then there are a couple of major date changes for Silverstone and for Austria. There are no triple headers again and I think that's something that will be well received. One of the things that we had spoken to the riders about was having no triple headers and also having a decent summer break. It's not possible every year, but we've been able to accomplish that for 2026, and everybody will be able to have a good holiday in summer next year.”

“We're happy this year that we've been able to publish the calendar sooner than ever. There are a lot of similarities between 2025 and 2026 and being able to publish the calendar earlier makes a lot of things easier.”

2025 vs 2026 MotoGP™ Calendar – Key Features

Although there are novelties for fans to look forward to on the 2026 MotoGP™ calendar, there are also many similarities with the 2025 calendar, highlighting the stability and traditions of the sport.

Many historic, world-famous tracks such as Assen, Le Mans, Mugello, Motegi, Silverstone and Phillip Island all feature on both calendars, as do iconic newer venues such as Buriram, Circuit of the Americas and Lusail, with 22 Grands Prix in five continents on the schedule again.

That number of race weekends is a 37.5% increase on the 16 GPs which featured on the calendar in 2000, for example, highlighting just how much the sport has grown in the last 25 years. 

Fans can expect that trend of an increasingly global profile for the championship to continue in the years to come.

Although South America loses the Gran Premio de Argentina from the calendar in 2026, the event will have a new home and will be back on the schedule in 2027 in Buenos Aires. Work is currently being carried out for a return to the Autodromo Oscar y Juan Galvez (which hosted GPs in the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s) just outside the Argentine capital, meaning fans only have a one-year gap before the most exciting sport on Earth is back in the country.

Another exciting development to look forward to is the new Harley-Davidson championship which will race at six MotoGP™ weekends in 2026. The new 12-race series will feature at selected Grands Prix across Europe and North America, with riders competing on race-prepared Harley-Davidson Road Glide motorcycles in two races per round. The grid is expected to include six to eight teams, with two riders per team – all supported by Harley-Davidson Factory Racing.

Meanwhile, 2026 will be the final year of the current 1000cc era, with major technical changes coming in for the premier class in 2027. Those significant updates to the regulations will see the participating manufacturers switch to 850cc capacity bikes for 2027, increasing mileage and making the sport safer, more efficient and more sustainable.

The other major changes fans can look forward to for 2027 are as follows:

·       MotoGP™ racing with 100% sustainable fuel – rising from the minimum 40% the sport has raced with since 2024.

·       Aerodynamics will be reduced and more tightly controlled, with the aim of minimising their negative effects.

·       All ride-height and holeshot devices will be banned.

·       To level the playing field even further, GPS data from all riders will be available to all teams after each session.

·       Pirelli become the new official tyre supplier to MotoGP (therefore becoming the single tyre supplier for the MotoGP, Moto2 & Moto3 categories).

But before 2027, there is a whole lot more to look forward to throughout 2026, including the much-anticipated return to Brazil and another action-packed season of 22 Grands Prix! In addition to that, fans will also finally get a chance to see three-time WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu compete against the very best in MotoGP in 2026.

Check out the full story here on Razgatlioglu’s 2026 switch to Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP.

FAQs about the 2026 MotoGP™ season:

Q: When does the 2026 MotoGP™ season start?
A: The 2026 MotoGP season begins on March 1, 2026, at the Buriram International Circuit in Thailand.

Q: Which new races are on the 2026 MotoGP™ calendar?
A: The standout addition is the Brazilian Grand Prix at Goiânia, marking Brazil’s first MotoGP race in over two decades.

Q: Which races were removed from the 2026 MotoGP™ calendar?
A: The Argentina Grand Prix at Termas de Río Hondo is not included in the 2026 schedule. Argentina will return to the calendar in 2027, at the renovated Autodromo Oscar y Juan Galvez, near Buenos Aires.

Q: How many races are there in the 2026 MotoGP™ season?
A: The season features 22 races, matching the record set in 2025.

Q: Why is 2026 significant for MotoGP™?
A: It’s the final season of the 1000cc MotoGP era, ahead of major regulation changes in 2027.