LCR Honda rider a lock for 2026 Rookie of the Year
Diogo Moreira has earned the call to the Honda HRC Castrol team for 2027, where the 22-year-old will partner Fabio Quartararo.
Moreira entered the Moto3 Championship in 2022, got promoted to Moto2 in 2024, winning the championship the following season. Moreira earned five wins and 13 podiums between Moto3 and Moto2. The Brazilian rider then inked an HRC deal, setting him up with the LCR Honda team this season, in just his fifth year on the Grand Prix stage.
After building up his understanding of the RC213V step by step, Moreira broke into the top ten at the Catalan GP and has since consistently fought for top Honda honors. A Sprint podium at Motegi, Honda's home race, made the case that he was ready for the factory garage. As of this writing, Moreira has outscored fellow rookie Toprak Razgatlıoğlu by a 74-18 margin, and with the 2025 World Superbike Champion's season now ending due to injury, Moreira has rookie of the year honors sewn up.
"It is a fantastic feeling to arrive with the factory Honda HRC team in MotoGP, it is something that every rider dreams of when they are young," Moreira said, thanking both HRC and the LCR squad he credited as "crucial" to his adaptation to the premier class. "I am looking forward to next year and to helping Honda HRC return to where they must be."
HRC Motorcycle Racing Division General Manager Yuzuru Ishikawa pointed to the Brazilian's adaptability, an important skill under the new technical regulations that arrive in 2027.
"Moreira has always been able to adapt to new bikes quickly, everything from motocross to Moto3, Moto2 and now MotoGP," Ishikawa said. "We have a highly competitive rider line-up next season across Honda HRC Castrol and the LCR Team and I am sure that all of these riders will push each other not only to raise their level on track, but also to help HRC's engineers create the best bike possible in this new era of racing."
With Moreira's move confirmed, the LCR Honda position will be filled by David Alonso, who signed a contract with HRC in July. Like Moreira, Alonso has had a rapid ascent, finishing third in his first full season in Moto3 in 2023 before winning the title in 2024, with 14 wins in 20 races. The Colombian moved up to Moto2 in 2025, and as of this writing, has two wins and nine podiums in nearly two full seasons.
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