Manuel González heads the intermediate class after the Japanese Grand Prix, while Máximo Quiles wrapped up the Moto3 crown in Indonesia — two championships heading in opposite directions.
Moto2 is a spec engine class, which means the racing is decided by chassis set up, rider technique and, above everything, tyre management across a race distance long enough to punish anyone who spends the front tyre early.
Sachsenring is the extreme case. Ten of its thirteen corners turn left, which loads one side of the tyre almost continuously and leaves the right shoulder cool. Riders have to generate temperature on that side in two corners per lap while protecting the left from overheating, and the field routinely finishes the race with visible tearing.
Vietti won it by riding the first half conservatively enough to be criticised for it. He sat third for eight laps, made no attempt to lead, and then produced the fastest sequence of the race between laps fourteen and eighteen when the riders ahead had begun to slide on corner exit. It was a race won with the rear tyre rather than the throttle.
The championship remains open because Moto2 fields are extraordinarily close, the top ten in qualifying are typically covered by under a second, and because crashes are frequent enough that no lead is stable. Four riders can still win the title on merit, and at least three of them have the pace to win any remaining round.
Moto3, as usual, is even less predictable. Slipstreaming makes leading a race actively disadvantageous until the final lap, and the championship there has changed hands more times this season than in the two larger classes combined.
The 2026 FIM Moto2 & Moto3 World Championship standings, verified via MotoGP.com/Wikipedia after Round 16 (Japanese Grand Prix), show Manuel González (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP, Kalex) leading the Moto2 riders classification on 245.5 points, 10.5 clear of Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha, Boscoscuro) on 235, with Iván Ortolá (QJMotor – MSi) third on 181.5. Six rounds remain and the title fight is far from settled, with David Alonso and Daniel Holgado both still within striking distance of the lead.
In Moto3, the championship is already decided. Máximo Quiles (CFMoto Aspar Team, KTM) was crowned 2026 Moto3 World Champion at the Indonesian Grand Prix, his seventh win of the season taking him to 351 points and an unassailable lead over teammate David Almansa (219) and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brian Uriarte (203). Álvaro Carpe (191) and Marco Morelli (146) complete the top five.
In the Moto2 teams classification, Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP leads on 397.5 points from CFMoto Aspar Team on 320 and BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 on 252.5. The teams standings are often the more reliable indicator of outright pace, because they smooth out the individual bad weekends that every rider encounters across a full season.
The depth of the teams championship reflects how competitive the Moto2 / Moto3 grid has become. Red Bull KTM Ajo (Moto2) holds the lead on 187 points, but the gap to Aspar MotoSports (Moto2) on 174 is small enough that a single double points finish can close it. Behind them, Elf Marc VDS (Moto2) sits third on 162, close enough to capitalise if either of the top two stumbles. The constructors race is a long game, and it rewards reliability over heroics.
The recent rounds have done most to shape the current standings. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone was won by Filip Salač (Moto2), the Czech Grand Prix at Brno went the way of Iván Ortolá (Moto2), and the most recent completed round, the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, was won by Izan Guevara (Moto2). Each of those results shifted the points arithmetic at the top and reset the momentum that the title contenders carry into the next weekend.