MotoGP World Championship has not taken place in the country since 2004; Diogo Moreira rekindles the Brazilian's passion for MotoGP
The MotoGP of Brazil took place last Sunday (22), at the Ayrton Senna International Autodrome, in Goiânia (GO). The Brazilian GP, which had not been to the country since 2004, filled the racetrack with more than 140 thousand people. In addition to the 22-year drought without MotoGP in Brazil, it had also been 19 years — since Alex Barros — that a Brazilian had not raced in the elite, a hope that was satiated with the 2025 Moto2 champion and new rider in the main category, Diogo Moreira. The problem is that all this excitement about MotoGP was overshadowed by the asphalt, which came loose in some parts and even opened a hole during the qualifying sessions of the Brazilian GP.
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During the MotoGP race, who won once again – two out of two at the beginning of the season – was the Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), followed by Jorge Martin (Aprilia) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46). However, the highlight of the Brazilian GP, unfortunately, was the asphalt.
Also on Saturday (21), the MotoGP qualifiers were postponed because of a hole that appeared on the main straight of the track. The heavy rains of the previous days were pointed out as the cause and, at the time of the race, the organization carried out an emergency repair, cutting a piece of new asphalt and applying it to the site with quick drying. As a result, the Moto2 and Moto3 qualifiers were moved to Sunday morning, and the MotoGP Sprint race started more than an hour late at the Brazilian GP.
After that, the insecurity of the MotoGP riders reached its peak and, with the end of the races, complaints came in force during the press conferences.
Pedro Acosta (KTM) was one of those who criticized the MotoGP asphalt at the Brazilian GP. “The asphalt was jumping. When you passed, he went up,” he said.
Joan Mir (Honda) claimed that, during the MotoGP warm-up, he was behind Marc Marquez when a large rock hit his knee. Alex Marquez (Gresini) said that the asphalt was coming loose between turns 10 and 11.
Maverick Viñales (KTM Tech3) was one of the most damaged in MotoGP Brazil. “I was hit by a pile of rocks. They broke my visor and I was trying to dodge them. One hit my neck,” he reported.
Brazilian Diogo Moreira also gave his testimony about MotoGP and criticized the track conditions at the Brazilian GP.
I was hit [by stones] during the whole race. As I had been recovering positions, there was always someone in front of me and I ended up with my body full of pebbles,” he said.
However, even with all the problems in MotoGP Brazil, some riders, such as champion Marc Marquez, who finished off the podium, declared that the track was “acceptable”.
Moreira does not rule out the Brazilian GP on the MotoGP calendar, but reinforces the need for improvements.
“I think it’s normal, we saw in the warm-up that there was a piece of the curve missing, but it’s good to show that, for next year, we have to improve in this matter,” he said.
The presence of the Brazilian GP on the MotoGP calendar for 2027 is already treated as part of the category’s planning after the return to the country. However, the structural problems seen in this edition raise an important warning: for MotoGP to consolidate itself again in Brazil, it will be essential to ensure international standards of safety and quality on the asphalt. Otherwise, the success of the Brazilian GP may not be enough to ensure the permanence of the stage on the calendar in the coming years.
