With the MotoGP rider market going into overdrive during the 2026 pre-season, future hopefuls have been sidelined somewhat - but many of them will soon be back in the spotlight again as the satellite side of the market kicks into gear.
It was a difficult list to narrow down, but here are our 12 riders to watch across Moto2 and Moto3 this season, ranked (vaguely) by their estimated likelihood of ending up in the premier class sooner or later.
David Alonso
Colombia, age 19
2025: 9th in Moto2 with Aspar
2026: Moto2 with Aspar
Finishing behind his team-mate in Moto2 last year has done little to impact Alonso's market value, with the expectation that he will be on the 2027 MotoGP grid come hell or high water.
In fact, it has been reported that he's already been courted by Ducati and priced the Italian manufacturer out, with other suitors lining up.
The uncanny ability to orchestrate races from within the pack that turned Alonso into probably the greatest Moto3 rider ever has also been evident in Moto2, but he hasn't yet been able to qualify this bike quite as well.
But he is a no-brainer title contender heading into 2026.
Dani Holgado
Spain, age 20
2025: 6th in Moto2 with Aspar
2026: Moto2 with Aspar
When MotoGP gathered some of its grid to make 2027 roster predictions, it was telling that many defaulted to placing Holgado at Tech3 KTM. It seems a natural fit: Holgado was a KTM works rider in Moto3, and he is mentored by KTM tester Pol Espargaro.
In Moto3 he was usually the bridesmaid, not the bride. But last year, upon switching to Moto2, he didn't just beat team-mate and fellow rookie Alonso but turned in one of the most convincing rookie campaigns in the category's decade-and-a-half-long history.
He probably needs just a handful more good races to become an irresistible option for some MotoGP team in 2027.
Maximo Quiles
Spain, age 17
2025: 3rd in Moto3 with Aspar
2026: Moto3 with Aspar
Yes, another Aspar rider, and already something of a superstar.
Quiles's profile is helped by his association with Marc and Alex Marquez, but it really needs no helping on the heels of a sumptuous first season in Moto3.
Missing four of the first five races due to first age cut-off and then injury, he was immediately a permanent frontrunner upon his arrival, turning in the best rookie season since Pedro Acosta's title.
He was turbo-fast over one lap and seemed to tone down the aggression that got him into much trouble pre-Moto3 - though certainly took more liberties with going off-track than any of his rivals.
Impressive grand prix careers can get sidetracked or derailed quickly after a lively start in Moto3 - ask Fabio Quartararo, Nicolo Bulega or Izan Guevara. But Quiles's 2026 was a statistical marvel and he does seem destined to be on the MotoGP grid one day.
Manu Gonzalez
Spain, age 23
2025: 2nd in Moto2 with Intact GP
2026: Moto2 with Intact GP
It's now or never for Gonzalez-to-MotoGP.
He lacks the novelty or the x-factor (read: passport) of other options, so must be relentlessly convincing on the track. That was the case in early 2025, when his MotoGP momentum peaked with a strong test debut on the Aprilia RS-GP with Trackhouse, but it was emphatically not the case in the second half of the year.
A meek surrender to Diogo Moreira in the title race, though not all his fault by any means, won't have helped. And there are question marks about Gonzalez in the wet - which meant the Intact team actually welcomed much of the pre-season being rain-hit.
Collin Veijer
Netherlands, age 21
2025: 15th in Moto2 with KTM Ajo
2026: Moto2 with KTM Ajo
Veijer looked to be buckling under the demands of Moto2 (and the weight of family tragedy) early on last year, before getting injured and returning - by his own suggestion - a changed rider.
He had spent all of two laps in the top 10 before the summer break. After the summer break? 142, and a superb average finish of 5.3.
That's MotoGP trajectory.
Alvaro Carpe
Spain, age 18
2025: 4th in Moto3 with KTM Ajo
2026: Moto3 with KTM Ajo
The Red Bull Rookies Cup and Junior GP champion's first year in Moto3 would have gone down as an enormous success if not for Quiles.
The instant impact of the Aspar rider meant Carpe's steady points production went under the radar, but fourth overall and a smattering of poles and podiums as a rookie is still a pretty great return, and Carpe had proven before he can mix it with - and beat - Quiles.
Barry Baltus
Belgium, age 21
2025: 3rd in Moto2 with Fantic
2026: Moto2 with Fantic
Baltus, who beat veteran team-mate Aron Canet by five points in 2025, also improved on his previous best finish in the Moto2 classification by a mind-bending 14 places.
Though the number of seasons he's already spent in the intermediate class goes against him, he is still very young, and has his admirers in the paddock - while there are also some credible seasons in his pre-Moto2 career.
Izan Guevara
Spain, age 21
2025: 11th in Moto2 with Pramac
2026: Moto2 with Pramac
Guevara was a major rival of the likes of Acosta and Fermin Aldeguer on the ladder to grand prix racing, then was exceptional in world-championship Moto3 - but Moto2 just hasn't really clicked for him, despite continuity with the Aspar team.
Last year finally delivered some glimpses, including a win in the season finale, and he did enough on the slightly outmatched Boscoscuro bikes to stay with Pramac and thus remain on Yamaha's radar.
Boscoscuro riders by average race position in 2026
Jake Dixon - 7.91
Celestino Vietti - 9.88
Izan Guevara - 10.77
Filip Salac - 11.61
Ivan Ortola - 12.00
Alonso Lopez - 12.34
Tony Arbolino - 13.59
A well-timed run of form could get him a real look in at Pramac, as Yamaha should know better than anyone that Moto2 form isn't the be-all and end-all when assessing a young talent.
Celestino Vietti
Italy, age 24
2025: 7th in Moto2 with Speed Up
2026: Moto2 with Speed Up
Vietti is a good-but-never-great Moto2 rider whose spot on this list owes itself predominantly to his long-time connection to the VR46 structure.
Key VR46 figures have been pretty coy about a MotoGP future with their team for Vietti, but you feel he only needs to give them a reason with a sustained run of Moto2 frontrunner - which he does seem capable of.
Jose Antonio Rueda
Spain, age 20
2025: Moto3 champion with KTM Ajo
2026: Moto2 with KTM Ajo
The big question about Rueda at the start of his Moto2 journey is how well he's recovered from the horror crash that nearly took both his life and that of Noah Dettwiler at the end of last year.
Assuming he's himself again, Rueda was very measured and reliable last year en route to the Moto3 title - but hadn't done enough in his two previous years in the category to establish himself as a can't-miss prospect, which he now has a shot at doing in the intermediate class.
Angel Piqueras
Spain, age 19
2025: 2nd in Moto3 with MT Helmets - MSi
2026: Moto2 with MT Helmets - MSi
Piqueras was a stellar Moto3 rookie in 2024, but a big move to the MSi team didn't bring what it was supposed to, Piqueras was not just comfortably outperformed by Rueda but outshone by rookie Quiles, too.
Still, there's certainly more good than bad in his grand prix racing CV, and clearly a lot of faith from MSi given the Moto2 promotion.
He will share the garage with Ivan Ortola, who would've made this list if I'd expanded it to 15 riders or so.
Brian Uriarte
Spain, age 17
2025: Red Bull Rookies Cup and Junior GP champion
2026: Moto3 with KTM Ajo
Uriarte has a superb CV already, and is only so low on this list because world championship racing does have a habit of humbling presumed future stars.
For now, he already started off well with a four-race Moto3 replacement rider stint last year.
