MotoGP will fire up the 2026 season with a blockbuster global launch in Singapore, Motorsport.com has learned.
Dorna, together with all 11 MotoGP teams, has chosen the city-state as the new host for the sport’s collective season kick-off, beating rival bids from Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne.
The announcement means Singapore takes over from Bangkok, which staged the championship’s first-ever global launch earlier this year to great success. The event will span two days, February 6–7, 2026.
This decision has reshaped the preseason testing schedule:
- The official Shakedown test for rookies and test riders will be held at Sepang.
- The first official test follows at Sepang from February 2–4.
- Teams will then truck their gear four hours north to Singapore, ready to set up on February 5 ahead of the showcase.
The venue and timing for the second preseason test remain undecided. Options include heading directly to Buriram, which will host the season-opening race on March 1, or delaying by around 10 days.
While a later test could complicate final bike updates before Round 1, it would ease financial pressure for smaller-budget teams.
From a logistics perspective, Singapore is less practical than Kuala Lumpur, but far more manageable than Melbourne, which was seriously considered but deemed too resource-heavy.
This will also mark the first MotoGP launch under Liberty Media, which recently acquired Dorna. Liberty has already flexed its muscles with Formula 1, staging a glitzy collective launch in London earlier this year — though F1 will revert to individual launches in 2026.
