Today, the FIM finally published the 2026 MotoGP rules. Comparing it with the 2025 rules, two things immediately become clear: that this is mostly just a few tweaks for the last season of the 1000cc MotoGP Michelin era; and the switch from Michelin to Pirelli at the same time as changing technical rules creates an extra layer of complication.
Implicit in these rules is that these are very much the technical rules for 2026, and don’t cover the 850cc era starting in 2027. Those rules have yet to be published, though they are largely complete, certainly enough for the factories to be already testing their 2027 machines.
After going through and identifying the changes from last year (helpfully highlighted in the PDF of the 2026 rules), here is an overview of the most interesting and important changes.
