Marco Bezzecchi
Honda had a triumphant Sunday at the Valencia Grand Prix and rounded the MotoGP season off in style courtesy of Luca Marini.
The Italian rider finished exactly where he needed to in order to help his team move up to Tier C of MotoGP’s concessions for 2026.
It means that Honda get fewer sets of tyres and fewer engine upgrades, but it didn’t seem to bother them one bit at the Valencia Grand Prix.
Marini’s excellent ride to seventh was a tale of patience, and it never looked as though he even debated dropping back a position.
Pedro Acosta has been told to join Honda for 2027, which would be a massive coup for them. He might just be the most promising up-and-coming talent in the premier class.
Honda have built a ‘phenomenal’ bike for 2026, according to ‘whispers’ in the paddock which suggest they could be a real threat to Ducati and Aprilia next season. It could be a quality season of racing.
READ MORE: Luca Marini explains how Honda’s confidence in Marc Marquez caused them to suffer in MotoGP
Honda were ‘desperate’ to move to Tier C of MotoGP’s concessions at the Valencia Grand Prix
Honda are plotting a new factory line-up in the future, but their current duo have done well to help drag them out of a mess.
They ended a long win drought this year, courtesy of LCR’s Johann Zarco, and Joan Mir managed to drag the factory bike to the podium twice, too.
Those results made a difference in the end, as they met the minimum threshold exactly to move up a tier in the concessions. Some have questioned why they bothered, though.
Could it have been better for them to have more available to them in 2026? Maybe so, but they’ve been waiting to see progress for a long time, and this is part of that journey.
MotoGP journalist Mat Oxley has now explained why the team were ‘desperate’ to finish seventh in Valencia and move up to Tier C.
“But, it’s Honda pride,” he said. “They were desperate to do that because, now you know, they can all go home and so do the big bosses. We’re no longer in [Tier] D for dunces, we’re in C. No, exactly. Yamaha are still in D.”
READ MORE: Jorge Lorenzo shares where Honda’s MotoGP team would be without Marc Marquez’s 2020 injury
What does Tier C of MotoGP’s concessions mean for Honda in 2026?
Honda will now face a new set of limitations in 2026, which is the final year before the new regulations in 2027, anyway.
They had 260 sets of test tyres this year, but for next year, that decreases to 220, meaning they have to be more careful with their allocation.
The factory riders – Mir and Marini – can no longer test for them, either. They’re now restricted to sessions with their test riders only. They still get six Wildcards per season.
Instead of unlimited testing at any track, they now only have three to choose from, and will likely have eight engines for the year.
The specification of that engine is frozen, and they will be allowed just one aero update over when the new season begins.
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