Are radios coming to MotoGP in 2026? One rider thinks so

Alex Marquez suggests radio communication in MotoGP will come into effect from next season, having carried out testing of device on Monday at Aragon.

The MotoGP field has remained at the Aragon track on Monday for a day of testing following the grand prix.

Some riders have been testing the latest evolution of radio communications, which MotoGP has been developing over the last few years.

The current system is a bone conduction headset that transmits race control messages to the riders while they are on their bikes.

Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez tested it for the first time on Monday Aragon and suggests it will be “mandatory” for all riders to race with it in 2026.

“It’s the first time I tried it,” Alex Marquez explained.

“So, I already put it on the good place at Silverstone in the box. But here I tried it on the track.

“It’s not a real radio, because they put a voice and it’s always there. It’s not like somebody from the box is speaking to you.

“But it was important to try it, it’s not easy to understand in many points what they are saying, but it was the best thing to try because next year it looks like it will be mandatory for safety.

“I was hoping to try it, I did one run and it was good.”

The initial idea for the radio system is for it to be used by race direction to issue messages to riders, similar to the virtual race control system the World Endurance Championship currently operates for its drivers.

A spokesperson for MotoGP told Crash.net last year at the post-Barcelona test that the current proposal was for riders to race with the system when it was ready voluntarily.

If the system is to become mandatory from 2026, this test at Aragon suggests a version could well be raced by someone at some stage this season.

Alex Marquez says the version he tested was hard to listen to when he was full throttle on the straights, which is the point where a radio communication would be the least disruptive, while after a while his mind blocked it out.

“We need to understand, because in the beginning I was listening to the message, but later on I tried to push on that run and when I was doing 1m46s I couldn’t hear because you are really focused,” he explained.

“But it’s true it’s like a radio that is there. It’s true that maybe if they send you one message, you will listen, but when it’s always there you [stop listening].

“It was not a bad thing, but just on the straights, the places you go full [gas], it’s quite difficult to understand what they are saying.”

Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori also spoke about the system, having tried it on Monday at Aragon, as well as in various private tests this year, and revealed another teething problem with it.

“It [the earpiece] touches the bone, but compared to last year or the year before, it was much smaller the pad,” he said.

“Now it’s bigger and better. So, the problem is not comfort. The problem is, because it’s not simple when you are on a straight, at high speed, the helmet moves a bit.

“So, it’s simple, maybe you don’t hear because the pad is maybe a bit up and a bit down.”

However, Savadori felt that “the feeling improves every time” he has tried a new version of the system, while also noting that riders will ultimately adapt to having radios connected and disconnected when getting on and off their bikes.

While the initial rollout for the radio system will be for safety reasons, the endgame seems to be  ship-to-shore communication in MotoGP akin to Formula 1 to enhance the live broadcast.

Dorna has already flirted with this on its live coverage at points over the past year by broadcasting in-garage communication from engineers.