Honda MotoGP 2026: 109 Points Instead of 141, Eyes Already on 2027

• After eleven races, Honda has collected 109 points — compared to 141 at the same point last year
• Puig sees technical progress on the RC213V, but not enough for the next big step
• Development work is already shifting toward the 2027 bike

Ahead of the season, Honda sounded considerably more confident. Following last year’s upward trend, the factory team expected that trajectory to continue. At the summer break, team manager Alberto Puig gave the official MotoGP website an assessment that doesn’t confirm that expectation. The points tally sits below last year’s total, even though he believes the bike itself has improved.

How does Honda’s mid-season MotoGP 2026 balance sheet look?

Honda has collected 109 points after eleven races. At the same point last season, the tally stood at 141.

That leaves the manufacturer short of its own ambitions. Last year, Honda took a win at the French Grand Prix along with three further podiums in dry conditions. That haul now serves as the benchmark — and the 2026 season hasn’t matched it so far.

In the riders’ championship, Luca Marini is the top Honda rider in tenth place with 79 points. Jorge Martin leads the standings with 208 points, meaning the gap to the front group is substantial.

What had Honda expected before the season?

Honda entered the year with clearly stated ambitions. After the winter test in Sepang, Puig spoke of a major step forward and named winning as soon as possible as the goal.

At the time, Honda had set the fastest lap on one of the test days in Malaysia, and Joan Mir finished fifth in the combined standings. Puig described the RC213V back then not as a complete redesign, but as a targeted overhaul of the areas where Honda itself had identified weaknesses. He pointed to improved engine performance, reduced weight, and the fact that the riders were happy with the bike.

One detail explains part of the current situation: 2026 is the final season for the 1000cc bikes. A new technical regulation takes effect from 2027, shifting priorities within the manufacturers.

Why isn’t the progress on the RC213V translating into better results?

In Puig’s assessment, the bike has been further developed, but not enough for the second big step. The level reached at the end of last season has been maintained, he said, though that has barely shown up in the results.

Puig summed up the situation in one sentence: “We got the podium in Barcelona, but maybe we were expecting something more.”

One point stands out positively in his review. On average, Honda has been somewhat more consistent this year than in 2025. The major low points occur less often, but the leap forward is still missing.

Puig frames the updates introduced to the RC213V over the course of the season differently than they first appeared. Their main purpose, he says, is to help the team better understand the bike for next season. Seen that way, they deliver useful insight even if they don’t produce better results in 2026.

What else has set Honda back in the first half of the season?

Two events have weighed on the balance sheet. A podium that had already been secured was later lost, and one rider has been out for months.

Joan Mir finished inside the top three at the Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona. The result was later stripped from him due to a tyre pressure infringement. MotoGP enforces a minimum pressure that must be maintained over a set race distance — falling below it triggers a penalty.

Johann Zarco has been sidelined by injury since May. Cal Crutchlow has been standing in for him. Takaaki Nakagami, HRC’s test rider since the end of the 2024 season, has not yet been called upon in 2026.

What does the focus on 2027 mean for the second half of the season?

Puig no longer expects a major technical leap. A substantial step would be difficult, he says, because development has already shifted toward the new bike.

Within the project, many staff members are already working on next season’s bike. For the remaining races, Honda’s task is therefore to put together good weekends and find the right set-up. Smaller adjustments are possible, Puig says, but otherwise the aim is to extract the maximum from the current package. He notes that plenty of races remain and that Honda expects better results.

One date stands out. Nakagami will take a wildcard entry at the Japanese Grand Prix from October 2 to 4. He explains the appearance through his role as development rider and the goal of checking his test work under race conditions. Such one-off wildcard entries will no longer be permitted from 2027, making this likely one of the last appearances of its kind.

Who will ride for Honda in 2027?

Fabio Quartararo and David Alonso are moving to Honda for next season. It remains open which team Alonso will race for.

HRC has signed the Colombian to a multi-year factory contract. Alonso is 20 years old, won the Moto3 title in 2024, and finished third overall as a rookie in 2023. He took his first Moto2 win at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix and currently sits fourth in that championship. Combined across Moto3 and Moto2, he has 20 wins, 30 podiums, and nine pole positions. His first test on the 2027 Honda bike is scheduled for the test slot after the season finale in Valencia.

The open question concerns Diogo Moreira. The Brazilian is riding his first MotoGP season with LCR and has finished every race but two inside the points, with a sixth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix as his best result. At the summer break, he sits 16th in the overall standings. It’s therefore conceivable that Moreira could move up to the factory team while Alonso starts out at LCR.

For Joan Mir and Luca Marini, this is their final season at Honda. Both have been racing for the manufacturer since 2024.

A change at the head of the team by year’s end

The mid-season review comes at a time when the factory team’s leadership is also changing. Puig will step aside at the end of the 2026 season and take on a management role at Honda, where he is expected to contribute his experience as an advisor. No successor has been announced yet.

Puig has led the Honda factory team since 2018. In his first two years, Honda won the riders’, manufacturers’, and teams’ championships with Marc Marquez. Marquez’s upper arm fracture in Jerez in 2020 became the turning point, followed by several difficult years. As a rider, Puig became the first Spaniard to win a 500cc race, in Jerez in 1995.

The paddock has offered favourable comments. Marini describes him as a direct conversation partner who says clearly what’s what. Mir highlights his transparency and points to difficult periods in which Puig read him well and reassured him.

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