Location revealed for first MotoGP 2026 event as season launch set for new city

Next February will see the second-ever MotoGP season launch event which will return to South East Asia but to a new host city.

Kuala Lumpur has been chosen as the location for the 2026 MotoGP season launch, with next season’s grid set to head there on 6–7 February to kick off the 2026 campaign.

The event should feature all the riders and teams of the 2026 season, including rookie and multiple World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu and new MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez, as they introduce themselves, their new liveries, and in some cases new teams for the upcoming season.

A launch event in Kuala Lumpur should be expected to coincide with one of the preseason tests at the beginning of next year.

This was the case when MotoGP launched its 2025 season earlier this year in Bangkok after the final preseason test took place at the Buriram circuit which also hosted the first grand prix of the year.

The Sepang International Circuit has been a popular preseason testing circuit for over 20 years by now, and is the established location for the first official preseason test and the shakedown test that precedes it, these usually taking place at the end of January or the beginning of February.

The testing schedule for 2026 has not yet been published, but a test in Sepang to begin the year’s on-track action would not be out of the ordinary for MotoGP, and it would seem logical for it to now take a date in the proximity of the season launch event.

The season itself next year is due to begin at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, as this year, on 27 February – 1 March. The Thai Grand Prix will be the first of 22 scheduled for the 2026 season, matching 2025’s total of races.