The year 2026 will be the last year of MotoGP as we have known it in recent years, both in terms of engineering and in terms of protagonists. In fact, the arrival of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Diogo Moreira will mark a first phase of a change in the lineup which is destined to change even more in 2027 in conjunction with the arrival of the new regulations. Characterized by the rise of the dominance of Italian manufacturers such as Ducati and Aprilia and the difficulties of the Japanese, the premier class has thus become a sort of outlet for Italian talent, thanks in part to the feats of the riders on the grid who have often been accompanied by the national anthem on the podium.
Although this positive current situation acts as a dam to the rising tide of Spanish talent, from Marquez the revenant to Acosta and Aldeguer the newbies, the base of our "pyramid" in MotoGP is going through a leaner period than in the past. Suffice to say that the last riders to ascend to the premier category of bike racing were precisely Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio in 2022. Since then, Arbolino's second-place finish in the Moto2 championship in 2023, behind Acosta, was the last glimmer of a future that is slow to materialize, although positive signs from the "minor" classes are finally emerging. The two lone riders in Moto2, Arbolino and Vietti, will also be joined this year by Lunetta right alongside the latter in Boscoscuro's SpeedRS team, while on the Moto3 front Guido Pini following an excellent debut rookie season will wear the colors of the Leopard team, with Bertelle and Carraro the only other riders left to sport the tricolor among the youngsters in 2026. Future arrivals, however, include the names of Lorenzo Pritelli (CIV PreMoto3 2025 champion) and Cristian Borrelli (CIV PreMoto3 2024 champion).
Looking at the MotoGP caegory, it's difficult to see the word "crisis," especially taking into account the fact that many of the Italian faces in the premier class still have several years of career ahead of them. Instead, we can speak of a transition phase, or decline, among the youngsters, although the future looks more nebulous if we take a look at the numbers: whereas in Moto3 the three remaining Italians will face three times as many Spaniards, in Moto2 our guys will face a wall of as many as 14 Spaniards, 15 with Alonso if we ignore the technicalities.
Does VR46's change of strategy explain, in part, the decline of the number of Italian riders?
To paraphrase a phrase carved on a well-known a monument in Rome, Italians have always been not only poets and artists but also great motorcyclists. In the Olympus of speed, in fact, some Italian has always been spoken. From Agostini, Lucchinelli and Uncini, to Cadalora and up to the more recent Biaggi, Capirossi, Valentino and Dovizioso, to the still very recent world titles of Bagnaia on the Ducati, the Italian flag on the podium of racing competition has always been present.
In the minor categories, however, the trend has taken a negative direction in recent years, and there can be many explanations for that. The first and most obvious observation about what has led to the current situation is in the very nature of many of the current faces present in MotoGP. Valentino Rossi's VR46 Riders Academy has been a driving force over the past decade, advancing and helping many Italian riders to grow in the world championship, some of whom have won world titles. However, the Academy now seems to have changed its strategy, focusing more on MotoGP and Moto2 riders and including fewer youngsters in its ranks.
In the past few years, there have been several names of Italian riders who have popped up in the minor categories only to fade away or lose direction, yet there was a time when the tricolor dominated in all categories, from Morbidelli's Moto2 world championship win in 2017, to Bagnaia's the following year, to Bastianini's in 2020.
The last riders to abandon the world championship stage were, through alternating vicissitudes, Foggia and Rossi, but they were not the only ones over the years. Although it is natural that in any competition at the highest level there are few winners and many losers, the stories of Bulega and Manzi, for example, are emblematic. Both left the world stage only to find their way once again and revice their careers in the production based racing series.
Whereas 2023 in Supersport was the year of Nicolo Bulega, now championship runner-up in Superbike with Ducati for two consecutive years, 2025 was the same for Stefano Manzi, who will make his Superbike debut in 2026 with GYTR Yamaha. Another illustrious name in the annals is that of Lorenzo Dalla Porta, it was his in fact the last victory in the world championship by an Italian in Moto3 in 2019, since then the best result obtained by an Italian was 3rd place in the championship by Foggia himself.
In Moto2, on the other hand, Tony Arbolino came close in 2023, finishing 2nd behind a certain Pedro Acosta. The gist, however, is the same: despite the results, the number of Italians in the minor classes over the years has been decreasing without any real generational turnover, and after the departure of even non-members of the Academy such as Bastianini and Di Giannantonio, the gears of Italian motorcycling seem to have clogged up.
An obstacle course
The crux of the matter, however, remains the path and facilities used to nurture young talent: at the moment there are essentially three main entrances to the world championship for youngsters, JuniorGP (CEV), the Redbull Rookies Cup and the Moto4 Asia cup (Asian talent cup). Spain in particular over the years has been able to build an almost perfect system of growth, becoming to all intents and purposes a "junior world championship" and one of the main steps to access the world championship in parallel with the Redbull Rookies Cup, both managed by Dorna.
An optimal stage for gaining visibility, the Spanish championship has become almost an obligatory step also and precisely because of the competitive level of its participants. The great variety of tracks in the country also, equally distributed over the territory, creates fertile ground to increase the capabilities of a large number of young Spanish talents.
Pictured among those selected for the 2026 class is Cristian Borrelli.
There are several differences between the two championships, starting with the costs: in JuniorGP they can rise quite a lot, even in the order of hundreds of thousands of euros, between licenses, equipment and various costs also related to the team in which one races, unlike the Rookies Cup, in which this year the aforementioned Borrelli will also compete. Here Redbull and KTM cover the main costs that would normally burden the rider and their families, but you have to pass through a selection. Unlike the Spanish championship, where they race Moto3-derived prototypes, it is a KTM one-make, also Moto3-derived. The young rider is then provided with the bike, maintenance, and everything necessary to race, while logistics and personal management remain the responsibility of the participant. It is therefore a cheaper championship than JuniorGP, with an order of expenses several tens of thousands of euros below those of the Spanish championship.
Rookies in particular has for years been the main window for the young champions of tomorrow. Through here, among the many names, have passed Zarco, Jorge Martin, Alonso, Acosta. In recent years, however, Spanish dominance has all but monopolized the category; before Carpe, Piqueras and Rueda, the only one to break the string of Spaniards was the non-Spaniard David Alonso, who succeeded Acosta, all of whom later became world champions or title contenders. To trace back the first non-Spanish rider to excel here we go back to 2018 with Can Oncu, while to find the last Italian even to 2011 with Baldassarri .
Finally, there is the Moto4 Asia Cup (formerly the Asia Talent Cup), sponsored by Idemitsu, from which riders like Ogura and Chantra have come in MotoGP, and in the minor categories Deniz Oncu, Furusato, and the more recent Mitani and Pratama. As for Italy, on the other hand, CIV, however, now seems to have moved steps in the right direction, aligning Premoto3, for example, with the other European championships by adopting the Honda NSF250R one-make, one of the bikes of choice for the growth of youngsters.
What to expect from the future then?
It goes without saying, then, that logistics (and costs) do not greatly favor riders of other nationalities (including Italians). For families it is often a risky and expensive gamble, although in some cases it can pay off as it did for example in the recent cases of David Alonso and Diogo Moreira. At the same time, Dorna has also made a move: on the hunt for new talent with a more international flavor, from 2026 it has "standardized" the access paths to the world championship, dividing them into three categories: MotoMini for those under the age of 14, Moto4 consisting of several regional cups (European, Asian, British, Latin, Nordic) and with Honda single-branding, and MotoJunior, which includes the aforementioned Rookies Cup and Junior GP for riders 16 and older.
In addition, the Spanish organizer appears to have planned incentives for teams that will hire riders from countries not traditionally associated with motorcycling (including Spain and Italy). Dulcis in fundo, in the cadet category from 2028 there should be a switch to a one-make Yamaha 700cc engine, derived from the R7. Moto3 would then move from the 60hp of the current 250cc engines to around 90hp, with the aim of moving closer to Moto2 by making the step between the two categories less demanding, thus reducing the power and weight gap from the 140hp of the 765cc Triumphs currently used in Moto2, thus also reducing costs and promoting a technical balance that in theory should enhance the rider.
Seizing the opportunity
So many changes on the horizon, then, and rather than crisis, it would be more appropriate to speak of transition. On the issue of cost-cutting for young Italian riders, the federation with the Talenti Azzurri project seems to have taken a positive direction (in fact, Lunetta and Pini, along with Borrelli and Pritelli, appear among the names).
In parallel, however, it would perhaps also be desirable to internationalize the championship in Italy as well, as has already been done in Spain, in order to foster the growth of future talents. In the final analysis, however, the "contribution of the big names" also remains fundamental. What better stimulus in fact for a youngster than to compare himself with the best Italian riders in the world? This was perhaps the trump card of the VR46 project in the past, although in the post-Academy era there are already positive signs in the world championship, such as Pini's excellent debut season in Moto3. It was a pity instead not to have seen Bertelle's (due to injury), and Lunetta's move to Moto2, which will reinforce the Italian presence alongside Vietti and Arbolino.
The hope, then, is that a positive model will emerge from this transitional phase, a chance to seize the opportunity of a world that wants to look to the future of young riders, and to enhance their talent by removing obstacles along the way. The risk of failure of the rest would be high, one that American motorcycling is perhaps paying for in part, with only one active rider in the world championship despite a past studded with champions.
Photo Courtesy @Redbull