All the 2026 MotoGP Launch Dates for Your Calendar
08 January 2026Excitement and anticipation continues to build around the 2026 MotoGP season, with testing starting up again at the end of January, and teams beginning to officially debut their 2026 liveries at events taking place from next week.
Here’s a look at the dates you need to know for the 2026 MotoGP pre-season:
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP - 13 January
One of only two teams with changes to their rider line up this year, with three-time WorldSBK rider Toprak Razgatlıoğlu joining Jack Miller, Prima Pramac Yamaha will be the first team to unveil their 2026 livery on 13th January. Taking place at the Accademia Musicale Della Chigiana in Siena, Italy, the team will be showcasing the V4-powered bikes that they hope can improve their performance, having finished at the bottom of the team standings in 2025.
Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team - 14 January
The next team to launch, just a day later, will be the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing team, as they unveil their 2026 bikes in Rome. As with 2025, the 2026 season sees Fabio Di Giannantonio riding a factory-spec Ducati, whilst Franco Morbidelli will ride year-old machinery. With both Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli securing podiums in 2025 but no Grand Prix or Sprint wins, the team will be keen to get back on the top step in 2026, and more regularly compete with the other Ducatis on the grid.
Aprilia Racing - 15 January
A day later, in Sky Sports studio in Milan, Aprilia Racing will debut their 2026 livery. Aprilia showed themselves to be Ducati’s closest rivals during the 2025 season, and will no doubt have the goal of fighting for the World Championship this season, after achieving their best performance in the premier class last year. With very few opportunities to prove his potential on the Aprilia in 2025 due to multiple injuries, 2024 MotoGP World Champion Jorge Martin will be keen to show himself as a front-runner, whilst teammate Marco Bezzecchi will be hoping to grow upon his successes in 2025, and challenge for the title.
Ducati Lenovo Team - 19 January
It has become a tradition at this point for the Ducati Lenovo team launch to take place at the Madonna di Campiglio ski resort in Italy, with their 2026 bike launch being no different. Teammates Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia will take to the slopes once again, as they unveil the bikes that they hope will give them success in the final year of MotoGP’s regulations. The team had a very mixed 2025 season, with Marquez taking his seventh MotoGP World Championship, before being ruled out of the last few rounds of the season and testing in Valencia after crashing at the Grand Prix of Indonesia, whilst Bagnaia clearly struggled to find consistent form on the GP25 machine.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP - 21 January
Just over a week after Pramac unveil the livery for their V4 bike, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP will do the same, in Jakarta, Indonesia with Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins. The 2026 season will undoubtedly be immensely important for the factory Yamaha team, as they attempt to improve upon their dwindling performance in recent years, and aim to be consistently fighting back at the top. With the majority of contracts for the 2027 season up for grabs, they will need a stronger performance than what they achieved in 2025 to prevent Quartararo being snapped up by another manufacturer.
Trackhouse MotoGP Team - 21 January
On the same day as the factory Yamaha team, Trackhouse MotoGP Team will showcase their 2026 livery. The duo of Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura will no doubt be hoping to build upon what was a very positive end to the 2025 season, with Fernandez picking up Trackhouse’s first win in the premier class, along with several podiums. Although Ogura’s 2025 season was impacted by injury, he achieved some promising results, including a top 5 finish at the season opener in Thailand, which he will no doubt be wanting to replicate this year.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3 - 27 January
Both KTM MotoGP teams will launch their new liveries at the same online event, and although their rider lineups remain the same, Red Bull KTM Tech3 will be unveiling their first bike under their new ownership, led by Guenther Steiner. Tech3 riders Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales will be aiming to impress their new boss, and progress further up the team and riders’ standings in 2026. In the factory team, Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta will be hoping to be more consistently fighting at the front this season, with Acosta still aiming for that elusive first premier class win.
BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP - 31st January
Rounding out the January livery launches is MotoGP’s Best Independent Team for 2025, BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, presenting their bike at an event in Kuala Lumpur. The team saw spectacular results last year, with Alex Marquez achieving runner up in the World Championship, leading him to be given a factory spec bike for 2026, and Fermin Aldeguer becoming Rookie of the Year after a season that saw him become the first MotoGP rider to win a Grand Prix in his rookie season since Jorge Martin in 2021. The team will surely have high hopes for the 2026 season, aiming to secure more wins and be firmly in the fight for the title once again.
Shakedown test 29th - 31 January
The Petronas Sepang International Circuit will see our first glimpse of on-track action of the year at the end of January, when the Shakedown test sees MotoGP’s 2026 rookies get some additional track time, and factory test riders aim to identify any key issues ahead of further pre-season testing. They will be joined by Yamaha’s full line-up of riders, as their Rank D concessions allow the manufacturer unlimited test days.
LCR Honda - 01 February
The only other team with a lineup change this year, with reigning Moto2 World Champion Diogo Moreira joining Johann Zarco, LCR Honda will be the next to present their 2026 livery during an online event. Having had a very mixed season in 2025, a highlight being Zarco’s home win at the Grand Prix of France, they will be aiming for more consistent race results, whilst hoping rookie Moreira can adapt quickly to MotoGP and be regularly fighting for points.
Honda HRC Castrol - 02 February
The final team to unveil their 2026 livery is Honda HRC Castrol, with Joan Mir and Luca Marini, at an online event on the last day before the Sepang test. With Mir putting the factory Honda team back on the podium last season, and Marini’s points in Valencia solidifying the manufacturer’s progression to concessions Rank C, Honda HRC Castrol will be looking to continue their upward trajectory during the 2026 season.
Sepang test 3 - 05 February
The first 2026 test open to all riders on this year’s MotoGP grid, the Sepang test gives teams three days to collect valuable data after their hard work over the winter break. Most notably, this will be the first time Marc Marquez is back on-track on a MotoGP bike since his crash in Indonesia in October, and everyone will be keen to see how he performs following his lengthy recovery.
Season Launch - 06 and 07 February
After a successful first ever MotoGP Season Launch event in Bangkok in 2025, this year the official Season Launch is taking place in Kuala Lumpur. Though additional information on the event is still to be confirmed, last year’s launch event saw rider interviews, fun fan interactions, team branded tuk tuks, and plenty of burnouts.
Buriram test 21 - 22 February
The last test before the first race weekend of the 2026 MotoGP season, teams and riders will have their final opportunity to prepare for the season ahead.
After that? It’s time to go racing…
Don't miss the chance to catch all the action yourself as MotoGP returns to Silverstone in August.
