A short chat with Daniel Muñoz, Moto2 World Championship rider

He had already taken part in several races in previous years, as a wildcard or as a replacement rider, but the 2026 season marks the first full campaign on the world stage for a young, fast rider who managed to reach the Grand Prix paddock despite several setbacks, including teams shutting down (such as the GAS UP/Preicanos team in 2024) and an episode he talked about in this interview. That rider is Daniel Muñoz, who competes in the Moto2 World Championship on one of the Kalex machines lined up by the Italtrans Racing Team.

With previous experience in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and in JuniorGP (now MotoJunior) across Moto3, Stock 600 and Moto2, Muñoz has already managed to show his potential in the Moto2 World Championship, where he scored a podium as a substitute rider in Barcelona in 2025 with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team, and one more top-3 finish at the 2026 Grand Prix of Brazil in Goiânia, where he finished second after fighting for the victory.

Palmen in Motorradsport had the opportunity to ask Daniel Muñoz four questions about the 2026 season, the early stages of his career and more.

First of all, are you satisfied with how the season is going? What is your goal for the upcoming races?

It’s my first full season in the Moto2 World Championship, and I’d like to thank the Italtrans Racing Team for this opportunity. In this first part of the season, we have worked very hard, and now we want to focus on some technical details to try to get as close as possible to the front group. Some races have brought to us very positive insights and good results, but we are still missing something to be consistently at the front. For the remaining races, the goal is to continue improving without any ups and downs, but with steady progress.

How did your journey in motorcycle racing begin?

I started when I was four or five years old. My parents bought me a Chinese bike, one of those with training wheels, and I started riding around at my family's country house. At first, when I rode it, my father attached a rope to the back and follow me, so I could not ride away (laughs, ed). Later, I started training on a 50cc KTM minimotard at the MKV Racing School, and at the age of 8 I moved on to pocket bikes and started competing.

During your career, you have gone through several difficult moments. One example was in 2022, when you lost your ride in the Moto3 Junior World Championship halfway through the season, and then restarted in the Stock 600 category. How did you feel about that moment, which ultimately changed your path towards the Grand Prix paddock?

Even though I have had other difficult moments in my career, 2022 was one of the most complicated years I have experienced. It was my third season on a Moto3, and I needed to achieve strong results in the first races to prove that I deserved that seat. For one reason or another, however, things were not going as I hoped, and I didn't feel completely comfortable with that situation. Halfway through the season, I therefore lost my seat, and from that point on I spent around two and a half months unable to race.

During those months on the sidelines, I trained even harder than before, hoping that another opportunity would come soon. And that was when I got the chance to race in Stock 600, still in JuniorGP, now MotoJunior, first with the Fifty Motorsport team and later with the SP57 Racing Team. In the end, I won several races and became the Stock European Champion in 2023. Meanwhile, I also competed and won some races in the Spanish ESBK championship, again on a 600cc bike.

The truth is that it was quite a difficult period, but in the end, those are the situations that make you grow and shape you both as a person and as a rider. At the time I wish I avoided it, but looking back now, it helped me a lot in my growth towards where I am.

Finally, what's your goal for the future?

Everyone dreams of becoming a world champion, but at the moment my main goal is to continue training, learning and growing. This year, I am learning so much, and I feel that I am building a good foundation for 2027, a year in which I want to fight with the front riders in the championship.

Palmen in Motorradsport thanks Daniel Muñoz for his availability and Dalila Agrati for making this interview possible. Best wishes to Muñoz and the Italtrans Racing Team for the upcoming races and seasons.