Tony Arbolino has chosen to continue his Moto2 story. In 2027, the Italian will join the KLINT project on the Forward chassis, alongside Adrián Huertas. It is a decision made after two difficult seasons and with more than one possible route available for his future. Among the alternatives considered was a move to WorldSSP with Yamaha.
Instead, Arbolino has chosen to remain in the Grand Prix paddock. And to change almost everything else once again.
Boscoscuro with Pramac Yamaha in 2025. Kalex with REDS Fantic Racing in 2026. Forward in 2027.
Three different motorcycles in three seasons.
Hardly the most straightforward route towards consistency. But perhaps, after the last two years, Tony is not looking for the most straightforward road.
He is looking for the right one.
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From two runner-up finishes to two much harder seasons
It is easy to look at Arbolino’s current Championship position and forget just how much he has already achieved. He finished second in the 2020 Moto3 World Championship.
Three years later, he did it again in Moto2, taking three victories and eight podiums as he finished runner-up to Pedro Acosta.
Then the trajectory changed.
A difficult 2024 with Marc VDS ended with tenth overall. In 2025, he joined Pramac Yamaha’s new Moto2 project on a Boscoscuro, taking one podium but finishing only 19th in the Championship. For 2026 came another move: REDS Fantic Racing and a return to Kalex.
Today, Arbolino sits 14th in the standings on 55.5 points. A long way from the numbers of his 2023 title challenge. But not necessarily a long way from the speed itself.
Silverstone and Misano offered a reminder
Recent races have shown glimpses of something familiar.
At Silverstone, Arbolino became a genuine part of the fight for victory. With six laps remaining, he took the lead. A little over four laps from the finish, however, a front-end crash at Vale ended one of his strongest rides of the season.
Misano produced almost the opposite story. Tony qualified seventh but received a nine-place grid penalty for slow riding on line, dropping him to P16. He recovered to fifth place, his best result of the season.
Two races do not erase two difficult years. But they do offer a reminder. The rider who knew how to fight at the front has not simply disappeared.
The challenge is finding him consistently.
Forward now has something tangible behind the project
The project Arbolino has chosen also arrives at 2027 with evidence of progress.
Forward remains one of Moto2’s alternative chassis options, but 2026 has produced some concrete results. At Silverstone, Alex Escrig claimed his maiden Moto2 podium, finishing third on the Forward. Escrig currently sits 12th in the Championship on 63 points, just ahead of Arbolino.
That does not suddenly make Forward the dominant choice. Perhaps that is exactly why the move is interesting.
KLINT receives a rider who has already won Moto2 Grands Prix and fought for a World Championship.
Tony enters a growing project where his experience may become part of the development process rather than simply another line on his CV. Adrián Huertas is set to share the garage with him in 2027.
There was another road available for Tony Arbolino
Moto2 was not Arbolino’s only possible route for 2027.
Sky Sport reports that a move to WorldSSP with Yamaha was among the possibilities being considered. There is no indication that Tony had already decided to leave the Grand Prix paddock or that such a move was virtually complete. It was another genuine option. In the end, he chose Forward and another Moto2 season.
That distinction matters. This is not a story about somebody changing his mind at the last possible moment. It is about a rider presented with different paths who has decided there is still something he wants to find in Moto2.
We do not know whether it will work. 2027 will answer that.
But we know the question he has chosen to face.
Not: “Can I rebuild somewhere else?”
But: “Can I become truly competitive here again?”
Tony Arbolino and third change in three seasons
There is an obvious challenge.
Boscoscuro. Kalex. Forward.
Each change means a different motorcycle, different sensations and another adaptation process. Continuity has been difficult to find in Arbolino’s recent career. But simply remaining in the same place does not automatically solve anything either.
Sometimes another change is a risk and it is the only way to discover whether a better combination exists.
Arbolino will arrive at KLINT with one thing that does not need to be built from scratch: he already knows how to win in Moto2, has led a World Championship and knows what it feels like when podiums become normal rather than exceptional.
The job in 2027 will not be proving that rider ever existed.
It will be finding him again.
Not an escape. Another opportunity
Arbolino did not choose Forward because no other road existed.
There was another option. He chose Moto2 anyway.
We do not yet know whether the Forward will give him what he needs. We do not know whether a third consecutive change will finally create consistency or require yet another adaptation.
And calling it a rebirth now would be premature.
That part still has to happen.
For now, there is simply a decision: stay, change again and try from here.
Tony Arbolino does not need to prove that he has been fast. His victories, podiums and two World Championship runner-up finishes already do that.
In 2027, he has to find something much harder: a way to be fast every Sunday again.
LINK
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