David Alonso is set to put Colombia back on the MotoGP grid. Confirmed by Honda for next season, the No. 80 rider will end a ten-year drought without a Colombian representative on the grid.
Throughout history, the premier class of motorcycle racing has seen very few Colombians. The first was Edgar Barona, who competed twice at the Isle of Man TT in 1954 and 1956, back when the event was part of the World Championship calendar.
Years later, in 2012, Yonny Hernández joined the category. The Medellín-born rider raced for outfits such as Avintia, Paul Bird, Pramac, and Aspar, taking part in 87 Grand Prix starts in total. The No. 68 rider’s best finishes were a pair of fifth places achieved at the Qatar and German GPs in 2015 while riding the Ducati Desmosedici GP14.
Hernández’s final appearance in MotoGP came at the 2016 Valencian Community GP, where he retired from the race after starting from 22nd on the grid. Over his time in the premier class, Yonny scored 178 points.
Unlike his predecessors, Alonso is the only one not born in Colombia. The current Aspar driver is a Madrid native, but chose to race under the Colombian flag through his mother’s heritage, holding dual citizenship.
MotoGP now enters its summer break before returning to action August 7–9 for the British Grand Prix, Round 12 of the 2026 season.
