Pirelli opens the Moto2™ and Moto3™ season with new all-time lap records

· In the first two days of the 2026 Grand Prix of Thailand, new all-time lap records were set for both the Moto2™ and Moto3™ classes. Pole for Moto2™ was taken by Senna Agius (Kalex) in 1’34.576 which improves the record set by Manuel Gonzalez last year (1’34.591) but not the time set by Gonzalez himself (Kalex) who lapped in 1’34.501 in Friday’s Practice, thus improving his own record. Like all the riders, the poleman used soft SC1 and soft SC0 rear tyres, the latter being the new standard soft solution resulting from the development carried out by Pirelli last year.

· First spot on the grid for the Moto3™ race for David Almansa (KTM) who on his sixth lap out of 7 he lapped in 1’40.088, also setting the new all-time lap record of the Thai track for his class. In fact, the Spaniard improved by more than two and a half tenths the previous record set by José Antonio Rueda in 2025 (1’40.350). To achieve this result, Almansa used SC1 soft compound tyres for both axles. Completing the front row are Álvaro Carpe (KTM) and Adrián Fernández (Honda) who, unlike the poleman, used the medium SC2 compound at the front.

· On these first two days, track temperatures exceeded 50 degrees Celsius during qualifying, by far the hottest session for both classes. The coolest session was FP1 of Moto3™ on Friday morning with just over 25 degrees of asphalt. In terms of ambient temperatures, the temperature reached 35 degrees Celsius during qualifying.

Positive start with new all-time lap records in Moto2™ and Moto3™
 
“The season that kicked off in Buriram has started positively for Pirelli. In fact,new all-time lap records have been set both in Moto2™ and Moto3™. In Moto2™, from the initial sessions the riders have focused on the new SC0 rear tyre, known until last year as the E0125 development specification and now promoted to standard soft, in combination with the soft SC1 front. In Moto3™, on the other hand, the riders use the same tyres already adopted in the two previous editions; therefore, the chronometric improvements are mainly attributable to the technological advancement of the bikes and the ability of teams and riders to make better use of the potential of Pirelli tyres thanks to the experience gained in previous seasons. In Moto2™, the soft solutions are proving to be superior in performance over the mediums, while in Moto3™ all the available options are competitive and at the rear soft SC1 and medium SC2 do not seem to have significant differences in terms of performance. Based on these observations, for tomorrow’s races, in Moto2™ we expect a unanimous choice of soft solutions on both axles, i.e. SC1 front and SC0 rear. In Moto3™, on the other hand, greater diversification is conceivable: at the front, most Honda riders should opt for the soft SC1, while the KTM riders will mainly prefer the medium SC2; at the rear, a predominance of soft SC1 is expected, although the use of the medium SC2 by some riders remains plausible”.