Moto2 title pressure wasn’t eased on new Honda star after signing MotoGP deal
Diogo Moreira says signing for Honda in MotoGP didn’t change the pressure on him in Moto2
New Moto2 world champion Diogo Moreira says his Honda MotoGP deal did not make his 2025 title fight any less pressured.
The Brazilian rider signed a three-year deal with Honda to step up to MotoGP next season as part of the LCR squad earlier this summer.
He did so when he was third in the standings and 35 points off the lead, after winning the Austrian Moto2 Grand Prix.
Moreira took control in the standings after the penultimate round in Portugal, and only needed to outscore Manu Gonzalez by a point in Valencia to clinch his first world title.
Asked if signing a MotoGP deal earlier this year made his Moto2 season more relaxed, he said: “No, at the end the pressure [from MotoGP] was not there.
“I signed for MotoGP, before that I won in Austria.
“And after that I signed for MotoGP. And the results were the same.
“And I was thinking on the Moto2 chapionship. At the moment, I am the winner of the world championship, and tomorrow I will enter a new world.”
Moreira will make his MotoGP riding debut on Tuesday at the post-season Valencia test.
Commenting on his title success in Moto2, Moreira admits he spent the Valencia weekend “thinking too much” about it, which meant he struggled to sleep.
“No, it was difficult to sleep,” he noted.
“But all the weekend was like this, thinking too much. But it’s normal.
“At the end we are fighting for the championship and it’s difficult to stay calm. This morning I woke up feeling super good and confident, and we did it. We need to enjoy this moment.
“This season, it was difficult, because we started very well.
“And after that, we made a drop. Before the summer break, we had the crash in Germany, I had the injury in my arm.
“It was difficult to come back because my nerve was damaged.
“So, it was difficult to come back.
“After that, we reset, we did some different work for the weekend, and I think after Malaysia - between Malaysia and Portimao - was the point, I was talking with the team about the championship and said ‘maybe it’s possible’.”
In this article
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
