Diogo Moreira, the only Brazilian rider on the MotoGP grid in the 2026 season, secured his best career result in the early hours of Saturday (3), by finishing the Sprint at the Japanese Grand Prix, the 16th round of the championship, in second place at the Motegi circuit. The result represents the first top-3 for the LCR Honda rider in the world’s premier category of motorcycle racing.
Moreira lined up from ninth on the grid and, in the opening meters, he advanced to fifth, executing overtakes and also benefiting from an incident that eliminated Álex Márquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio, and Pedro Acosta from the battle. After overtaking Marco Bezzecchi, the Brazilian finished the race in fourth, but penalties against Jorge Martín and Enea Bastianini propelled him to second place.
“Today was the day. I saw the crash in Turn 3 and said: ‘okay, I’ll give my best and we’ll see’. I tried to accelerate, and with every lap I felt more comfortable on the bike and was trying to avoid tire wear at the end. And in the last lap, after Martín and Bastianini touched in the green zone. In the end, everything’s fine. We’re on the podium and I’m very happy. Let’s enjoy this moment,” Moreira said shortly after the race concluded.
The result also marks an end to a Brazilian drought in MotoGP. The last podium by a Brazilian rider in the category, in any form of race, was achieved by Alexandre Barros in 2007, when the then Pramac rider finished third at the Italian Grand Prix, held at Mugello.
With this morning’s result, Moreira remains 14th in the championship standings, but advances to 74 points, and is 20 points behind the closest rival, the South African Brad Binder.
The Japan MotoGP will be contested this Sunday, with lights out at 2:00 a.m.
