Current Aprilia riders Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura have been named as Yamaha's factory line-up for the next two seasons in MotoGP.
Both deals are thought to have been concluded a long time ago, but Yamaha - like all its fellow manufacturers - waited for the 2027-31 agreement talks between MotoGP and its factories to be concluded before making rider announcements.
Now, a day on from confirming Fabio Quartararo (set to join Honda) and Alex Rins (set to leave the MotoGP grid) would be departing, Yamaha has unveiled both Martin and Ogura.
It described its line-up as combining "proven championship-winning experience with one of the sport's brightest emerging talents".
"Securing riders of this calibre underlines our ambition and confidence in the project," said Yamaha racing boss Paolo Pavesio.
"Jorge has already proven himself as one of the benchmark riders in MotoGP, with the speed, determination, and mindset to fight for wins and world championships. We expect him to play a key role in driving our performance forward from day one.
"Ai's progression over the past one-and-a-half seasons has been outstanding. His talent, work ethic, and potential make us confident he can grow into one of the top riders in the championship. At the same time, we are especially proud to welcome a Japanese rider into the Yamaha factory team."
Aprilia's strides in bike development have enabled both Martin and Ogura to play leading roles in this year's MotoGP campaign.
Despite having had a particularly thorny time at the factory Aprilia team since joining last year, Martin leads the standings - while Ogura, riding for satellite team Trackhouse, has established himself as perhaps the grid's pre-eminent used-tyre specialist and is just 25 points off the championship lead in fourth.
Yamaha contracts are likely to be widely regarded as a step down for both. While the 2026 version of the Aprilia RS-GP is perhaps the finest MotoGP bike in history, the 2026 version of the Yamaha M1 - featuring a V4 engine instead of the inline-four engines Yamaha used to specialist in - is the worst bike on the grid.
However, with a technical reset coming in 2027, featuring a switch to 850cc engines and Pirelli tyres instead of Michelins, Yamaha's 2026 has been understood as a 'prep year' for the next regulations, much to the ongoing frustration and chagrin of its current riders but perhaps giving encouragement to the likes of Martin and Ogura.
The Yamaha-contracted Toprak Razgatlioglu - in the midst of an uneven but promising rookie season - will stay at the satellite team Pramac for 2027, and this announcement means he would have to wait until 2029 at the earliest to step into Yamaha's factory team.
But Razgatlioglu and Yamaha are known to have gone well in the recent Brno test for 850cc prototypes and Pirelli tyres - a test the likes of Ogura and Martin, as well as other factories' new signings, couldn't run in due to contractual situations.
Moto2 rider Izan Guevara, second in the intermediate class standings, is the heavy favourite to replace Razgatlioglu's current Pramac team-mate Jack Miller for 2027.
from The Race https://ift.tt/ZLlgzfs
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