– The Trackhouse-Aprilia team will have to find at least one new rider for the 2027 MotoGP season. Ai Ogura has accepted Yamaha’s offer and will join the Japanese factory team next year as Jorge Martin’s teammate.
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“To be honest: there is not much to hide,” says Trackhouse team principal Davide Brivio in an interview with MotoGP.com. “Ai informed us that he will not continue with us next year.”
“I don’t know where he is going. It’s not for me to say. So yes, we potentially have a spot open. And of course, we are getting some inquiries, managers are calling, and so on.”
“We are working on it, having talks and trying to evaluate the available options.” Trackhouse enabled Ogura’s MotoGP entry. In summer 2024, Brivio surprisingly chose the Japanese rider.
Ogura then made a strong breakthrough in Moto2 and secured the world championship title with strong performances in autumn 2024. It was clear that Brivio once again had the “right instinct” for new talent.
Brivio had already given several young riders a chance. As Suzuki team principal, he brought Maverick Vinales, Alex Rins, and Joan Mir into the premier class. Is it therefore likely that he will look again in Moto2?
“I always like working with rookies and seeing how they develop,” says Brivio. “That’s always quite exciting.” However, the Italian now wants to consciously take a different direction.
He says: “I feel that Trackhouse is currently, with this motorcycle that is competitive and with which we can aim for good results, at the point where we should try to get an experienced rider.”
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“A rider who is ready to fight for the podium and ideally also to win races. Because it looks like the motorcycle could make that possible. So it is time to use this potential.”
“Of course, all motorcycles will be different in 2027. We don’t know if everything will be reset to zero, but we have great confidence in the work Aprilia has done and will continue to do.”
“So we think we should use this potential by having an experienced rider who can ride fast and fight for the podium or the top 5.”
Rumors are circulating in the paddock that Mir could be this experienced rider. Mir is expected to lose his place in the Honda factory team, also because he often could not convert his potential into results due to frequent crashes.
Brivio knows Mir very well from their time together at Suzuki. The highlight was the world championship title in the 2020 season, which was strongly affected by the pandemic. A renewed collaboration could make sense for both sides.
Raul Fernandez is not yet confirmed for next year at Trackhouse. After difficult years, Brivio helped the Spaniard become competitive in MotoGP. The highlight was the team’s first win in autumn 2025 in Australia.
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“Raul is an experienced rider, he is fast, he can fight for the podium,” praises Brivio. “He is of course an option. We have not confirmed him yet, have not sat down and finalized everything, but he is definitely an option.”
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