Joan Mir rode his trusted Honda RC213V to a top 7 finish in the MotoGP 2026 sprint race opener, while Mario Aji and Veda Pratama delivered impressive qualifying results in Moto2 and Moto3 respectively.
On 28 Feb 2026, the first round of MotoGP 2026, known as the PT Grand Prix of Thailand, featured qualifying battles to set the starting grid and the Sprint Race itself, with the Honda riders kicking off the new season impressively.
Joan Mir, the Spanish rider of the Honda RC213V number 36 from Honda HRC Castrol, started from 10th on the grid, then thrillingly overtook rivals to finish 7th with a time of 19 minutes 44.079 seconds, just 4.924 seconds behind the winner, earning points in his first race.
Meanwhile, Italian teammate Luca Marini, number 10, faced a tough challenge starting from 14th but launched a strong start, gradually climbing to the mid-pack and finishing 10th, 7.796 seconds behind the winner.
Veteran French rider Johann Zarco, number 5 from Castrol Honda LCR, finished 12th, 8.577 seconds behind the winner, followed by rookie teammate Diogo Moreira, the young Brazilian number 11 from Pro Honda LCR, who finished 13th, trailing the leaders by 11.970 seconds.
In Moto2, Indonesian rider Mario Aji, number 64 from Idemitsu Honda Team Asia, once again performed well, securing 9th on the grid with a lap time of 1 minute 34.835 seconds, only 0.259 seconds behind the pole sitter. His teammate, Japanese rider Taiyo Furusato, number 72, started from 22nd on the grid.
In Moto3 qualifying, Indonesian rising star Veda Pratama, number 9 from Honda Team Asia, showed strong form by claiming 5th on the grid with a lap time of 1 minute 40.877 seconds, 0.789 seconds behind the leader. His Japanese teammate Sen Mitani, number 32, started from 26th.
The PT Grand Prix of Thailand 2026 final races will take place on Sunday, 1 March, broadcast live on TrueVisions SPOTV, beginning with Moto3 at 12:00, followed by Moto2 at 13:15, and concluding with MotoGP at 15:00.