MotoGP Round 1 - Chang International Circuit - Buriram, Thailand

[budman]

Well I guess it is time to kick of '26.

There are some big questions to be answered for sure.

Will MM still be a dominator? He took both races and poll here last year.
Will little bro have anything to say about that?

Aprilia is looking AOK to me.. Can Jorge be the Martinator again?
Can Bez continue to rise? He was the fastest in testing, but... that is testing.

It looks like it will be a Duc vs. Ape deal this year. Better than a Duc on Duc show!

Can Pedro throw down and get in mix right away and get KTM on the score card early?
Mavrick had a pretty good preseason too. Hoping to see a solid weekend for orange.

Will Honda continue to rise and give the big 2 some challenge? I am thinking yes and actually I am going to say I expect Mir to rise vs fall... fricking always fall. Plus we have Zzzzzarco and the first Brazilian world champ rookie Diogo Moreira hoping to gleam some wisdom from the Frenchman.

Can Yamaha crack the top 5? I was gonna say 10, but I felt that would be mean.
I am hoping that StopRak and Miller have epic stoppie offs after a solid result. And Fabio.... lets make your last year with Blue a good one. Lord know Rins needs one too.

More of course.. lots more.

VR 46 guys looking pretty good except Aldeguer will watch his Gresini circulate the track from the pits.

And Pecco... he has to be looking for a good start. He needs to bust out and start the year with some confidence.

Excited to catch the boys this weekend. Enjoy!!

Multiple choice Public Poll (6 choices)

 

[FLH03RIDER]

Just and FYI... This my have been mentioned earlier.
Circuit of The Americas (COTA) is transitioning to a private membership model, making 2026 the final year for public track day rentals. Starting in 2027, the track will become "THE CIRCUIT," an exclusive, members-only club with restricted access.

Races this year:
MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas (March 27-29, 2026) and the MotoAmerica Superbikes at Texas (September 11-13, 2026)

Not sure what that means for 2027 MotoGP and Superbike season at COTA, errrr... "The Circuit".

 

[FLH03RIDER]

And why no Marco Bezzecchi #72, Aprillia on that list?

OOPS... sorry "BEZ" is there!

 

[budman]

Anyone expect Fabio to be top 5 in qualifying.

I don’t expect it but I would not be shocked.

I would be shocked if stopRak is fastest Yamaha.

 

[180yzfr1]

Is it just me or does MotoGP website suck to navigate?

 

[El_Diablo_R1M]

Anyone expect Fabio to be top 5 in qualifying.

I don’t expect it but I would not be shocked.

I would be shocked if stopRak is fastest Yamaha.

My Boy FQ20 will be there on Top5

 

[El_Diablo_R1M]

Is it just me or does MotoGP website suck to navigate?

Yup, very hard and weird layout since the last update . I use their App and cast it on my TV which is a LOT more user friendly.

 

[180yzfr1]

Yup, very hard and weird layout since the last update . I use their App and cast it on my TV which is a LOT more user friendly.

I will give it a go, thanks.

 

[budman]

Looks like I left a couple of fast boys off the poll.

Apologies to Digi and Ai.

I missed this sort of stuff.

 

[budman]

Ok. Here are my take aways from the first day.
Going to start with the weakest bike from last year and build up to the best.

So Yamaha
I am pleasantly surprised. None are sniffing a direct Q2 but not as bad as I would have thought and as a group the pretty much fell where I thought.

Toprak was a bit of a surprise. He did well.
Fabio with some luck and doing his magic could make it to Q2 but he won’t sniff the top 3 rows if he does.

I think he has a legit shot at a top ten and the other guys all have a shot at being in the points. Looking forward to seeing them race.

Honda.
Solid step up. Good to see HRC in the game. I believe the will be. Maybe not right away but it will come. Mir should stay on the damn bike this year because he won’t have to go way over the limit to stay in the game. Marini has a good shot at Q2 and the rookie looked pretty good.

Having Zarco on the other side of the box should help a ton and later in the year he will be stepping into the top 10 now and again.

KTM
I am a bit surprised how well they did. Pedro was solid. We all know the kid is badass. He deserves to be a top three dude with his talent. Binder surprised me. That dude can slam a moto. I think he is the most aggressive rider in terms of demanding performance from a bike but lacks the subtle smooth to be a top dude. Maybe he will surprise us. Hope so.

Mav. Fucking just go faster please. With Jorge as his personal eyebrow trimmer he should have a little more mental power. Can he turn that into podiums?.. maybe. He needs to storm to Q2 tomorrow.

The Beast is a black hole of I don’t know for me.

Aprilia
Just wow. Looking good. If I had to drop coin on who would be champ Bez would have my vote and Jorge very well could light up and we would have two Ape boys in the podium and fighting for the championship. Ogura could be a sleeper. I think he can deliver several top 5’s and stick in the top 10 at most if the races.

Fernandes is like the Beast for me. Cane be awesome can be what da fun.

Ducati
Pecco is toast. I think he has lost his edge and if he can’t find it this weekend it is going to be a long year.

I believe Marc will not be the dominant rider he was last year. He needs to stay healthy and in the game if he wants to repeat last years glory. I don’t think he will.

Digi may out do A Marq for second Ducati bad ass. He has been a bit weird as he has been fast and brilliant and not. He looks damn good in neon yellow and if Vale has got inside his head he may just be a top 5 guy all year.

Okay. Tear that shit apart and tell me where I suck!

 

[ScottRNelson]

I just finished watching the sprint race. Wow! That felt so much better to watch than any of the WSBK races last week. It's cool that Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM are all competitive with each other. Somebody else will have to put in the spoilers here.

I'm curious how long it will take Toprak to score his first point. Maybe he can help Yamaha become competitive somehow, like he did for BMW. For now I expect him to remain a backmarker.

 

[Lucky Jones]

That last pass for the lead looked a little hinky, but typical for that dude.

I don't remember him taking that particular line through the corner before.

Guess the stewards thought so too.

Fun last couple of laps, but certain actions up front on lap 2 (?) hosed my Fantasy league...

 

[budman]

First. Simon balls up good call slapping Marc
It sends a message if nothing else. I am not 100% sure it was the right call, but I think it was a good call.

Congrats Pedro!!! Great ride.

Lots of drama. 3 brands on the podium.
That was hella fun!!!!!!!!!!!

Marc was wicked fast and I was surprised that Pedro was able to stay with him.

The Ape's were fast.

Binder solid to put two KTM's in the points.

Raz was top Yamaha until he was not. Bummer but a nice job.

Digi should be mad as F at A Marc. At least he came back and got a couple points.

The other rookie Diogo did pretty good. . Nice.

Mir's Honda did pretty darn OK.

Pecco got his shit together and did OK too. A single point still is not what was expected.

 

[Ridley]

According to my cable provider the race will be live at 12:00am on FS1.

 

[Jammer]

Looking forward to watching. Sitting in the DVR.

 

[180yzfr1]

Personal eyebrow trimmer.

 

[mheinee]

Fyi, no Ducati's on the podium.
And Aprilia looks formidable even though it's only the first race of the year, it gives hope '26 may be more interesting than we may have thought.

Mark

 

[budman]

Well that was a good show.. with some holy shit moments and awesome racecraft.

Toprak was a bit of a surprise. He did well.
Fabio with some luck and doing his magic could make it to Q2 but he won’t sniff the top 3 rows if he does.

Toprak exceeded my expectations and showed to be in the mix with the other Yamaha riders. Well done there. Fabio and Alex leaving Thailand with some points, but not a lot to smile about.

Honda.
Solid step up. Good to see HRC in the game. I believe the will be. Maybe not right away but it will come. Mir should stay on the damn bike this year because he won’t have to go way over the limit to stay in the game. Marini has a good shot at Q2 and the rookie looked pretty good.

Mir was solid... and it was a technical issue that took him out. Great to see him take downs some Ducs along the way. Marini ended up top HRC guy with Zarco right behind, but the racing was so good at the front we never really got to see those guys.

Moreira in the points was cool. Good first outing for the rookie and he will be loved when the guys show up to Brazil!

KTM
I am a bit surprised how well they did. Pedro was solid. We all know the kid is badass. He deserves to be a top three dude with his talent. Binder surprised me. That dude can slam a moto. I think he is the most aggressive rider in terms of demanding performance from a bike but lacks the subtle smooth to be a top dude. Maybe he will surprise us. Hope so.

Shucks boy howdy did KTM provide some excitement.
Pedro with the Sprint win and a solid second takes the C'ship lead with him to So. America. Binder with a top 10 (7th) was solid. They lead the team standings.. who would have thought that.

Mav. Fucking just go faster please. With Jorge as his personal eyebrow trimmer he should have a little more mental power.

Well good eyebrows does not equate to riding well. Mav was the last KTM dude and racing with the Yamaha's.

Aprilia
Just wow. Looking good. If I had to drop coin on who would be champ Bez would have my vote and Jorge very well could light up and we would have two Ape boys in the podium and fighting for the championship. Ogura could be a sleeper. I think he can deliver several top 5’s and stick in the top 10 at most if the races.

Aprilia had one hell of a weekend.

Fernandes is like the Beast for me. Can be awesome can be what da fuk.

Well the fricking fast Raul showed up this weekend. On the podium twice!. Hope he keeps that going!!


And Bez sure did make up for yesterday's ooops.
3 race wins in a row counting the end of last season.
Smooth fast and controlled. Great ride.


The Martinator looked the best he has since his broken season and that bodes well. I expect he will get even stronger.

Ogura did a good job coming through the pack. 4 Ape's in the top 5 was not expected but pretty awesome!!

Ducati
Pecco is toast. I think he has lost his edge and if he can’t find it this weekend it is going to be a long year.

Pecco got points and I think we will see some good results this year, but I think his shot at another title is toast.

I believe Marc will not be the dominant rider he was last year. He needs to stay healthy and in the game if he wants to repeat last years glory. I don’t think he will.

That double pass on Jorge and Pedro was the shit! The tire thing was an OMG deal.

Leaving with only 9 points on the weekend has him behind, but for sure plenty of time to bounce back. He will. More solid Marc moments to come.

Digi may out do A Marq for second Ducati bad ass. He has been a bit weird as he has been fast and brilliant and not. He looks damn good in neon yellow and if Vale has got inside his head he may just be a top 5 guy all year.

Digi top Ducati dude. Not expected, but a decent result in 6th.

The top 10 in points has started to show we are entering a new era with MotoGP.

 

[Jammer]

Absolute domination by Bez.

He basically killed the rear tire by the last 2 laps, but he pushed hard to get a big lead.

Pedro is the rider of the race in my opinion. Seeing the young buck battle and pass the old sage was exciting.

All 4 aprilias at the top 5. Shows how much of a stride they made this year. This might cause Ducati some concern for the season.

Marc was lucky to remain upright and not high side after he hit the curb. Lucky dude.

 

[augustiron]

Bud quoting and responding to Bud is lol