After the season opener in Thailand, the 2026 FIM MotoGP World Championship heads to South America for the second round of the calendar, held from March 20 to 22 for the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Brazil at the Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna.
This event marks the return of MotoGP to Brazil, a country historically passionate about motorcycle racing. Located in the city of Goiânia, in the heart of the country, this circuit already hosted motorcycle Grands Prix in the late 1980s and returns to the calendar in 2026 after major modernization work and a complete resurfacing designed to meet the current standards of the FIM and MotoGP.
Appearing on the calendar for the first time in recent years, this track represents entirely new territory for Michelin Motorsport. As no testing has been carried out there, the tyre allocation has been defined exclusively through numerical simulations designed to identify speeds, load zones and the circuit's main characteristics.
Measuring 3.835 kilometres in length, the Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna features nine right-hand corners and five left-hand ones, making it a particularly asymmetric circuit. Simulations have shown that the bikes spend a very large portion of the lap leaning on the right-hand side, with more than fifty seconds of cumulative load in this configuration over a full lap.
This characteristic, combined with fast corners predominantly turning to the right, generates significant temperature build-up on the right shoulder of the tyres. Simulations indicate that thermal stresses could be particularly high there, placing this circuit among the most demanding on the calendar for tyres.
To address these specific constraints and the uncertainty associated with discovering a new track, Michelin Motorsport has chosen to provide an extended tyre allocation.
Michelin's partners will have three types of asymmetric MICHELIN Power Slick front tyres – Soft, Medium and Hard – featuring a more resistant compound on the right shoulder in order to better cope with the imbalance of loads between the two sides of the tyre.
At the rear, three asymmetric options will also be available. Two of them will feature a reinforced casing identical to the one used at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria, combined with a more resistant compound on the right shoulder in order to withstand the heavy loads generated during long lean phases.
A third rear solution will also be available. It will retain a harder compound on the right shoulder but will use a different casing, already used at circuits such as Buriram or Mandalika, enabling lower temperature generation and helping keep the tyres within their optimal operating window.
This extended allocation – three options at the front and three at the rear – differs from Michelin's usual strategy, which generally offers two options per axle on circuits presenting more conventional constraints.
In order to allow riders and teams to better discover this new track and assess the different tyre options, Friday's practice sessions will also be longer, with increased track time. Michelin will make a larger quantity of tyres available than during a standard race weekend: six Soft, six Medium and six Hard for the front, as well as eight Soft, six Medium and five Hard for the rear. Each rider will be able to use 12 front tyres and 14 rear tyres during the weekend.
"Goiânia represents a completely new challenge for us," explains Piero Taramasso, Two-Wheel Motorsport Manager at Michelin Motorsport. "We have never raced there in MotoGP and we have not been able to organize any tests, so all our preparation relies on simulations. They show a very asymmetric circuit, with very high loads especially on the right-hand side."
"To address these constraints and the uncertainty associated with a new track, we are bringing an extended allocation to Brazil with three specifications at the front and three at the rear, all asymmetric."
"In addition to a reinforced right-hand tread area like the front tyres, the rear tyres feature a reinforced structure to better control temperature build-up. This will give teams more opportunities to find the best balance.
"On this new circuit, the riders who learn the racing lines and the tyre behaviour the fastest will certainly have an advantage. Finally, we are very happy to return to Brazil, a country with an extremely passionate and warm public."
From a meteorological point of view, March corresponds to a relatively humid period in the Goiânia region. Air temperatures should range between 20°C and 30°C, relatively moderate conditions for MotoGP, but the risk of rain remains high due to the geographical location of the circuit.
In case of wet track conditions, Michelin will make available its MICHELIN Power Rain range, in Soft and Medium compounds, symmetrical at the front and asymmetrical at the rear.
The Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Brazil will begin on Friday March 20 with the first practice sessions. The first Free Practice session will take place from 11:05 to 12:05, followed by the Practice session from 15:20 to 16:35.
Saturday March 21 will begin with Free Practice 2 from 10:10 to 10:40. Qualifying will then take place with Q1 from 10:50 to 11:05, followed by Q2 from 11:15 to 11:30. The Tissot Sprint, contested over 15 laps, will start at 15:00.
The Grand Prix, over a distance of 31 laps, will start on Sunday March 22, 2026 at 15:00 (local time).
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