2026 is the year MotoGP’s sponsorship map was redrawn. Repsol is no longer on the Honda fairing but gives its name to a Grand Prix, Monster Energy is moving its title sponsorship from Yamaha to Aprilia, Michelin is racing its last season before Pirelli arrives, and since July 2025 the championship has been controlled by Liberty Media. To understand who really matters in the paddock, you have to look at the brands one by one.

Updated September 2026.

The ten most famous brands in MotoGP sponsorship in 2026 are Red Bull, Monster Energy, Repsol, Castrol, Michelin, Alpinestars, Lenovo, Qatar Airways, Motul and Pertamina. Some are official championship sponsors, others give their name to a team, others still kit out the riders or put their name on Grands Prix: together they show the different ways a company can be part of MotoGP, and what it gets in return.

Two levels: the championship and the teams

MotoGP sponsorship works on two levels. The first is the championship: agreements signed with the rights holder, Dorna Sports, which since 3 July 2025 has been controlled by Liberty Media, the same owner as Formula 1. Since June 2026 CAA Sports has been the championship’s exclusive global sponsorship agency, working alongside MotoGP’s commercial team. The second level is the teams and riders, with contracts negotiated with the individual manufacturers or the independent teams.

At the top level there are six Official Sponsors of the championship:

• BMW M, official car and safety car, a partner since 1999;
• Tissot, official timekeeper since 2001 and, since 2023, also title sponsor of the Sprint;
• DHL, official logistics partner since 2015;
• Estrella Galicia 0,0, official beer since 2023;
• Qatar Airways, official airline since 2024;
• Michelin, sole tyre supplier since 2016.

Alongside them there is a third showcase that is often underestimated: Grands Prix carrying a brand’s name. In 2026 the brands with a title race include Red Bull, Monster Energy, Qatar Airways, Michelin, Motul, Repsol, Pertamina, Petronas, Liqui Moly, Brembo and Estrella Galicia.

1. Red Bull

Red Bull is the most recognisable brand in the paddock. In 2026 it gives its name to both KTM teams, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing with Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder and Red Bull KTM Tech3 with Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales, and it is title sponsor of the United States and San Marino Grands Prix. On 20 September 2026 Acosta won his first premier-class Grand Prix in Austria, in Red Bull colours.

The brand’s continuity is even more remarkable given the context: KTM went through a deep financial crisis, with restructuring proceedings opened at the end of 2024, and since November 2025 it has been controlled by India’s Bajaj, while Tech3 has been owned since 2026 by a consortium led by Guenther Steiner. Red Bull stayed. Its commitment also goes beyond the fairings: since 2007 it has run the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, the talent pool that launched riders such as Johann Zarco, and it has tied its name to champions such as Marc Márquez, Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden.

2. Monster Energy

Since 2019 Monster Energy has been title sponsor of the factory Yamaha team, which in 2026 fields Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins on a completely new M1, powered for the first time by a V4 engine. But the biggest commercial story of the year is about the future: on 29 May 2026, at Mugello, Monster announced a multi-year agreement with Aprilia Racing, becoming its main sponsor from the Italian Grand Prix and its title sponsor from 2027. The relationship with Yamaha will continue in 2027, but according to the specialist press Monster will no longer be title sponsor: the Iwata manufacturer will have to find a new one.

It is a move that says a lot about how major sponsors think: Aprilia, with Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi, is the team in form in 2026, and on 20 September Martín was leading the championship. Monster, which in 2026 is also title sponsor of the Catalan and Czech Grands Prix, is shifting its investment to where visibility promises to grow.

3. Repsol

From 1995 to 2024 Repsol and Honda formed the most famous partnership in MotoGP history: thirty years, 15 premier-class riders’ world titles, 183 wins and 455 podiums, with champions such as Mick Doohan, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner and Marc Márquez. The agreement came to an end at the close of 2024.

Anyone who thought Repsol had left MotoGP was wrong. Since 2026 the Spanish group has been a championship partner as official lubricant supplier to Moto2 and Moto3, it is present trackside and it gives its name to the Portuguese Grand Prix. No longer on a single bike, but across the whole weekend: it is a change of strategy, not a farewell.

4. Castrol

Castrol has taken up Repsol’s legacy. Since 2025 the British lubricants brand has given its name to the factory Honda team, now Honda HRC Castrol with Joan Mir and Luca Marini, and it still appears on the LCR team’s satellite bike, Johann Zarco’s Castrol Honda LCR, a team it has worked with for more than a decade.

Its trajectory is an example of step-by-step growth: years of presence on a satellite bike, then the leap to title sponsor of the factory team of one of the most successful manufacturers. A sponsorship that starts small and grows over time can, if it is built well, go a very long way.

5. Michelin

Michelin has been MotoGP’s sole tyre supplier since 2016 and in October 2023, in Indonesia, it celebrated its 500th premier-class win. 2026 is its last season: from 2027 to 2031 the sole supplier will be Pirelli, while Michelin moves to the Superbike World Championship, again as sole supplier, from 2027 to 2031.

In the meantime the French brand remains one of the six Official Sponsors and is title sponsor of the French and Aragon Grands Prix. For a technical company, few showcases are worth as much as the premier class: every lap is a product demonstration.

6. Alpinestars

Founded in Asolo in 1963 by Sante Mazzarolo, Alpinestars is the most widespread technical apparel supplier in the paddock and an official MotoGP supplier. It kits out many of the leading riders, from Marc and Álex Márquez to Jorge Martín, from Fabio Quartararo to Maverick Viñales, and its Tech-Air airbag system has become a benchmark for rider safety.

It does not dress the entire grid, because competition is fierce, starting with Vicenza-based Dainese, but it is the clearest example of sponsorship built on technical credibility: the audience does not just see a logo, it sees the product that protects the rider at three hundred kilometres an hour.

7. Lenovo

Lenovo joined Ducati as a technology partner in 2018 and since 2021 has been title sponsor of the factory team, the Ducati Lenovo Team. In 2025 Marc Márquez won the world title in those colours, and in 2026 Márquez is once again among the leading contenders for the championship.

It is the textbook case of business-to-business sponsorship: a technology company using the most successful team of recent years to demonstrate, through data, computing and simulation, what its products can do.

8. Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways became MotoGP’s official airline and official cargo airline on 9 May 2024, with a three-year agreement, having already given its name to the Qatar Grand Prix since 2023. In 2026 it is also title sponsor of the British and Austrian Grands Prix.

For an airline that wants to position itself as a global carrier, a championship that visits four continents is a consistent showcase: the brand literally travels with the circus from one race to the next.

9. Motul

Motul has been a MotoGP partner for more than fifteen years and in December 2025 it renewed its agreement until 2030. In 2026 it is title sponsor of the Japanese Grand Prix and of Valencia, the last race of the season, and it supports teams such as KTM Tech3 and Prima Pramac Yamaha.

Its model is useful for industrial companies: instead of chasing a single big sponsorship, Motul has built a stable presence made of Grands Prix and teams, and turns it into product credibility. In February 2025 it launched GP Ultimate 4T oil in Asia-Pacific in packaging celebrating Jorge Martín’s 2024 title.

10. Pertamina

Since 2024 Indonesia’s state-owned energy group Pertamina has been title sponsor of Valentino Rossi’s team, the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, which in 2026 fields Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli on Ducatis. VR46 arrived in the premier class in 2022, having made its debut in Moto3 in 2014.

Pertamina is also title sponsor of the Indonesian Grand Prix and so combines two levers: the global appeal of the VR46 brand and the audience of a market, Southeast Asia, where MotoGP is hugely popular.

And the motorcycle brands?

People looking for “MotoGP brands” often mean the manufacturers. In 2026 there are five on the grid: Ducati, Aprilia, KTM, Honda and Yamaha. Ducati also supplies the satellite teams Gresini and VR46, Aprilia supplies Trackhouse, KTM supplies Tech3, Honda supplies LCR and Yamaha supplies Prima Pramac, which switched from Ducati to Yamaha in 2025 after winning the 2024 riders’ title with Martín. Each manufacturer is in turn a sponsorship platform, with different rights, costs and audiences.

The relay effect

Seen from above, the 2026 ranking reveals a phenomenon we call the “relay effect”: major brands do not disappear, they pass the baton. Castrol takes Repsol’s place at Honda, Repsol moves from the team to the championship, Monster takes its title sponsorship from Yamaha to Aprilia, Pirelli takes over from Michelin. In MotoGP a top position rarely stays empty, and whoever wants to take it has to move when the relay is about to start, not when the baton has already changed hands.

The lessons are just as clear. The technical credibility of Michelin, Alpinestars and Motul is worth more than simple logo exposure. The continuity of BMW, Tissot and Red Bull is an asset that builds up over the years. And Castrol’s step-by-step growth shows that you do not need to start on the factory team’s fairing to get there. To work out where to begin, it helps to understand the different types of sponsorship, how MotoGP sponsorship works and the costs of a MotoGP sponsorship, without forgetting that value is built through activation and measured through the ROI calculation.

For more than thirty years RTR Sports has been guiding companies through the paddock. If your brand is thinking about entering the championship, start from our page dedicated to MotoGP sponsorship or get in touch to build the project together.

Sources: MotoGP, official sponsors and partners 2026; MotoGP, Liberty Media completes the acquisition; MotoGP, Aprilia Racing and Monster Energy agreement; Honda Racing Corporation, end of the collaboration with Repsol; MotoGP, Repsol a partner from 2026; MotoGP, Pirelli supplier from 2027; WorldSBK, Michelin supplier from 2027; MotoGP, Motul renewal until 2030; MotoGP, Qatar Airways official airline.