Never before, since 1949, has so much winning talent been concentrated on the starting grid of MotoGP. Among the 22 drivers registered, 15 have at least one world title, accumulating a total of 32 crowns. In front of them all appears Marc Marquezwith 9 championships in his record, 7 of them achieved in MotoGP.
The figure exceeds the previous record, established in the 2022 season, when 14 world champions coincided on the grid. In the last 3 seasons, that number had dropped to 13, but the arrival of new drivers with previous titles has raised the bar for 2026.
If all the injured riders arrive in time for the start of the championship, a new page in the history of motorcycling will be written on March 1 in Thailand.
This scenario contrasts with the first decades of the World Cup. For many years, drivers did not automatically advance in category and specialized in a specific displacement. The premier class, then dominated by official bikes versus a large number of uncompetitive privateers, had very few world champions in each race.
Even in the mythical era of the 500, with legendary names like Lawson, Rainy, Schwantz, Chuck either Kocinskinext to Doohan, Gardner, Cadalora, Capirossi, Biaggi either Rossiit was unusual to surpass ten world champions on the same grid.
The arrival of MotoGP in 2002 did not radically change that panorama. That year, with the coexistence between the new four-stroke 990 and the last 500, there were only 7 world champions on the track.
As the years went by, the situation evolved. The emergence of pilots like Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo either Casey Stonerfollowed by the arrival of Andrea Dovizioso, Nick Hayden, Marco Simoncelli, Alvaro Bautista either Ben Spiesprogressively increased the number of world champions until reaching 12. Since then, the grid of MotoGP He has not dropped below 10 champions again, with peaks of 13 in 2021 and 14 in 2022.
Now, in 2026, the new record is supported by a combination of established champions and recent names. Next to Marc Marquez stand out Pecco Bagnaiawith 3 world titles, and the great novelty of the season, Toprak Razgatliogluwhich reaches MotoGP with 3 championships Superbikes in your history.
They are joined by other champions of the premier category such as Joan Mir, Fabio Quartararo and Jorge Martinall of them also with titles.
The group is completed with drivers who have been world champions in Moto2 either Moto3as Johann Zarco, Alex Marquez, Pedro Acosta, Franco Morbidelli, Enea Bastianini, Ai Ogura, Maverick Viñales, Brad Binder and the debutante Diogo MoreiraMoto2 champion in 2025. In addition, the number could grow even more throughout the season.
MotoGP lives in an era in which many test and substitute drivers are also world champions, such as Pol Espargaro, Augusto Fernandez either Stefan Bradlwithout forgetting key figures in development such as Dani Pedrosa either Andrea Dovizioso. If any of them end up entering the race during 2026, the number of track champions could be even higher.
