– Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura will switch to the Yamaha factory team next year. Both have signed a contract for 2027 and 2028. Both Aprilia riders are currently fighting for the world championship.
Read more Surprise Antonelli? Toto Wolff raves about his protégé
Yamaha is only at the beginning with the new V4 project. Fabio Quartararo, who will switch to Honda, is only in 14th place in the world championship standings after the first half of the season. Yamaha is at the bottom of the constructors’ standings.
Why did they choose Yamaha? “I don’t really want to go into detail,” says Martin, “but I always make the decisions I think are better – for me, for my family, and for my future.”
“It’s the same as my decision for Ducati at first. Then I decided on Aprilia. Now I’m deciding on Yamaha. So, yes, let’s see what the future brings.”
Ogura’s decision is also interesting. The Japanese rider was originally supported by Honda, but when he signed the contract with Trackhouse-Aprilia in summer 2024, his connection to Honda ended.
Now he will compete for Yamaha in the future. “There are so many things, I won’t explain it here,” says Ogura, “but I just thought this was a good thing for me, which is why I decided this way.”
“How strong we can be, we will only know in the future, but as a Japanese rider, it’s really important to get a factory spot, especially for a Japanese brand. So yes, that’s good.”
“And also having a strong teammate like Jorge is really important, so yes, it will be interesting.” Both will be able to test the new 850cc Yamaha for the first time on December 1st at the post-season test in Valencia.
Read more DTM eSports Championship: Wanner causes a change of leadership with victory
Only one of the four current Yamaha riders will remain in 2027. That is Toprak Razgatlioglu in the Pramac team. He was already allowed to test the new 850cc M1 with Pirelli tires in Brno. His teammate will be Izan Guevara.
Yamaha will not bring any more engine updates for the rest of the season. The focus is already completely on the new bike. Although the project is still new, it was easy to sign Martin and Ogura, according to Massimo Meregalli.
“We didn’t have to convince them,” said the team manager to MotoGP.com. “We are extremely satisfied with the work. We are looking forward to the new season with many new things, not just in terms of the rider lineup.”
“We have a lot of optimism for next season. But as I said before, we are really focusing on the current season now. As you can see, we are constantly developing the bike.”
“We have just introduced the latest aerodynamics homologation, with which we had a really good test in Barcelona. This simply shows that we will continue to work until the end of the season.”
In addition, there is theoretically the possibility that Martin or Ogura will become world champion this year and the number 1 will be seen on a Yamaha next year.
- Formula 1Aston race director says thank you: “Good that you journalists helped us”
- Formula 1Formula 1 technology: Russell’s retirement reveals details about Mercedes’ underbody
- DTMBoP trouble and curious tire tactics at BMW: “There is artificial intervention”
- Formula 1Now it’s happening: McLaren brings Macarena rear wing to Hungary
“Yes,” Meregalli smiles about this possibility, “we are certainly considering this possibility. But I think for a manufacturer or for a team, it’s better to get the number one themselves, not from outside. That’s definitely clear.”
Read more Ferrari surprises: Silverstone and Spa performed better than expected with the SF-26
