07/10/2026
🏁 JAPAN GP | MOTEGI
RECORD CROWD IN MOTEGI
More than 120,000 fans filled Honda Mobility Resort Motegi throughout the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, setting a new attendance record since the Japanese GP moved from Suzuka to Motegi in 2004.
For Kabuto, our home Grand Prix was a weekend of mixed emotions.
It is always a special honor to welcome our Kabuto riders home, but this year, two of our most prominent riders, Joan Mir and Collin Veijer, were forced to miss Motegi due to injury.
Joan, our Kabuto ambassador in MotoGP, continues to undergo medical evaluations following the sudden loss of energy he experienced during the German GP.
Meanwhile, Collin was forced to undergo surgery after suffering a broken collarbone in a crash at the Austrian GP.
As a result, only our two regular Moto3 riders, Valentín Perrone and Jesús Ríos, lined up on the grid at Motegi, joined by Polish rider Milan Pawelec in Moto2. The recently crowned European Champion stepped in for Collin and made his World Championship debut.
🔸 Moto2
🇵🇱 Milan Pawelec — P24
Making his World Championship debut, Milan faced a difficult weekend but took valuable experience from the opportunity.
> “I realized just how high the level is in the World Championship and how much work I still have to do. But one thing is very clear: my goal is to race here.”
🔸 Moto3
🇦🇷 Valentin Perrone — P14
Championship: P6 | 120 points
After a difficult qualifying session, Perrone made progress with the bike during the race and was able to fight his way through the field. Despite eventually finishing P14, the improvements made throughout the weekend provide positive momentum for the upcoming races.
> “I’m happy because we made progress with the bike. We’ll keep working, keep learning, and I’ll try to do my best in the next races.”
Jesús Ríos — P19
Championship: P19 | 49 points
It was a challenging weekend for Ríos, who struggled with grip and limited track time after a series of technical issues during practice. With Motegi also being a new circuit for him, he faced a difficult task in the race, but will now turn his attention to the next round.
👉 NEXT STOP: INDONESIA
The World Championship now heads directly to Lombok for next weekend’s Indonesian GP at the Mandalika Circuit.
Collin Veijer is set to rejoin the team in Indonesia, while Aleix Espargaró will also return to racing action after recovering from the serious crash he suffered last winter while developing Honda’s future MotoGP 850 project.
Joan Mir, however, will remain out as he continues his medical evaluations.
From everyone at Kabuto, we send our sincere wishes to Joan for a smooth and speedy recovery.
We hope to see him back on his bike as soon as possible. ❤️
🏁 Ready to get racing? Visit https://www.kabuto.com.au/ to explore Kabuto helmets today 💪
