Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) on 2027: “It should be sorted by Silverstone”

The Honda riders didn’t have much to offer at the Sachsenring – it was a difficult race weekend for HRC. In Saturday’s MotoGP Sprint, rookie Diogo Moreira was the highest-placed RC213V rider in tenth place. In Sunday’s Grand Prix, Luca Marini finished eighth, whilst Moreira came eleventh. Joan Mir and Cal Crutchlow retired.

In the main race, Moreira was also demoted three places on the grid because he had been dawdling on the ideal line during Friday’s qualifying session, thereby hindering other riders. This meant the LCR Honda rider was at a disadvantage right from the start. How did his race go? “Very long,” sighed the Brazilian. “30 laps felt like a long time, and when I glanced at the pit board during the race and saw that there were still 22 laps to go, I thought to myself that it was going to be a very long race. Anyway, I stayed focused and tried not to make any mistakes. I think we managed the race well. I started from the back and overtaking is very difficult here. I also overheated my tyres. We survived; it was a good race for us.”

Willkommen zum Rennen am Sachsenring

Foto: Gerhard Schiel

Grid Girls

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Jorge Martin

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Fans

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Marc Márquez

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Paddock

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Paddock

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Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Start des Rennens

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Start des Rennens

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Blick auf die Strecke

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Fabio Quartararo

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Alex Márquez

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Martin und Bagnaia

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Fans

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Fernández und Ogura

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Pedro Acosta

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Paddock

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Luca Marini

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Marc Márquez

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Binder und Moreira

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Marc Márquez gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Ai Ogura, Marc Márquez, Raúl Fernández

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Willkommen zum Rennen am Sachsenring

© Gerhard Schiel

Moreira: “In the past, I’ve been able to get off to good starts and do some outstanding things”

The new starting grid, with more space between the motorbikes, was used for the first time at the Sachsenring. As a reminder, the distance was increased from three to four metres for safety reasons. The distance between the individual starting rows was extended from nine to twelve metres. “In the past, I was able to get off to good starts with some outstanding manoeuvres. We’ve now seen that this is very difficult with the new grid,” said the Moto2 World Champion, who is not happy with the change. “I then simply tried to stay calm in the first few laps and not make any mistakes. Towards the end, I wanted to battle with Brad Binder, but I was already at my limit. Overall, it was a difficult weekend for us.”

MotoGP rookie Moreira has made very good progress in the first half of the season. In terms of results, he is now on a par with the Honda factory riders Luca Marini and Joan Mir. “This was the eleventh race weekend and we’re actually a bit surprised that we’re already doing so well. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but we’re on the right track,” emphasised the 22-year-old.

Diogo Moreira has signed a three-year contract with Honda. Given the strong performances he’s put in this season, he could be promoted to the factory team in 2027, where he would ride alongside new signing Fabio Quartararo. Will there be an announcement soon – perhaps even during the summer break? “I don’t know,” Moreira shrugged. “But we’ll discuss it during the summer break. I think it’ll be finalised by Silverstone.”