Yamaha-backed rider told there’s ‘not a chance’ he’ll keep his seat for 2027 MotoGP season

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Yamaha’s priority in the 2026 MotoGP rider market is obvious. They will be determined to keep Fabio Quartararo, their biggest asset.

Ducati could make a play for Quartararo, with suggestions that the 2021 world champion is their primary target. El Diablo has expressed frustrations with Yamaha’s low ceiling.

The other three riders in the roster must all prove themselves. Pramac rider Toprak Razgatlioglu will have his eye on the factory team, but the results need to match the hype for that to happen.

Alex Rins has largely been protected from scrutiny because his contract wasn’t expiring, but the landscape will be different next year. Though it hasn’t yet been confirmed, Jack Miller is expected to sign another one-year deal to complete the roster.

Alex Rins’ departure from Yamaha currently looks like a formality

Yamaha denied rumours that they would terminate Rins’ contract early amid his disappointing performances. But there’s a major difference between firing a driver and releasing him.

Rins is currently 19th in the championship with 45 points, around half of what Quartararo (P10) has managed. The latter leads the intra-team head-to-head 35-1, factoring in all competitive sessions.

Yamaha wouldn’t expect Rins to beat a rider of Quartararo’s calibre, but they would expect him to be ahead of Miller. As it stands, the Australian is seven points ahead.

This strengthens the argument that Rins isn’t getting close to the potential of his M1. According to The Race, Yamaha hoped his form would improve as he recovered from a severe leg break at the 2023 Italian GP, but that hasn’t materialised.

While he’s been working with test rider Andrea Dovizioso to make the necessary adjustments to his riding style, Simon Patterson can’t see him surviving at Yamaha much longer.

Asked on The Race’s podcast whether he’d retain his factory seat for 2027, Patterson said: “No. Not a chance.”

Do Yamaha have secret doubts about Toprak Razgatlioglu?

Razgatlioglu will be eyeing Rins’ seat at the outset, and the move will come to be seen as an inevitability if he quickly defies the vast gulf in experience.

MotoGP riders believe Razgatlioglu can win races, but Patterson wonders if Yamaha share that confidence. By pursuing Moto2 stars like Diogo Moreira and Manuel Gonzalez, they may have been trying to future-proof their line-up in case the World Superbikes champion doesn’t deliver.

This, in turn, has damaged their relationship with Miller, even if he’s set to stay. Moreira is poised to join LCR Honda instead.

• READ MORE: Agitated Jack Miller shares his suspicion about Yamaha as they consider ‘more and more’ replacements for 2026

“It’s silly that we’ve spent so long thinking about it, because all it has done is harm Yamaha’s relationship with Jack at a time when they really want him on board with them,” said Patterson.

He later added: “We’ve kind of forgotten that half the [Pramac] team is already decided. They’ve already signed one half of the garage in the form of Toprak. I kind of think that the attempt to sign a fast Moto2 rookie to sit alongside him is maybe indicative of the fact that they don’t have all that much faith in Toprak.

“They’re aware that they’re signing a 29-year-old rookie who’s got a really difficult adaptation process ahead of him and who might not actually deliver what a lot of people think he’s going to deliver. But he makes really good sense from a marketing point of view.”