Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin faces a very uncertain future at Aprilia beyond the 2026 MotoGP season after an injury-plagued title defence in his first season with the Italian factory in 2025.
The 27-year-old agreed to join Aprilia ahead of the 2025 season after Ducati overlooked him in favour of signing Marc Marquez. Martin would even take the No1 plate with him to Noale after he beat Ducati racer Francesco Bagnaia to win the 2024 title in his final act for Pramac.
But Aprilia only saw Martin start seven of the eight Grands Prix that he entered during 2025, as he missed 14 rounds through injury. Altogether, the Spaniard fractured his right hand, left foot and left hand, broke 11 ribs and his collarbone and also suffered a hemopneumothorax.
Sustaining such an array of injuries over the course of the 2025 campaign also meant Martin only scored 34 points for 21st in the riders’ standings. Marco Bezzecchi also joined Aprilia in 2025 and proved the RS-GP’s potential as he ranked third in the standings with 353 points.
Jorge Martin had a few scary accidents this year. Can he bounce back?
Yamaha could rival Honda to sign Aprilia rider Jorge Martin for the 2027 MotoGP season
Now, Martin’s future with Aprilia is ‘completely open’, as the Madrid native securing a new contract for 2027 and beyond will depend on how he performs in 2026. That is according to Motorsport-Magazin, which reports that Aprilia are set to finalise Bezzecchi’s new contract.
READ MORE: The worst MotoGP title defences in history, as Jorge Martin sets a new record
Aprilia signed Martin and Bezzecchi to two-year contracts to secure their services from the 2025 season. But while Aprilia saw Bezzecchi win the Grands Prix in Great Britain, Portugal and Valencia, Martin’s injury troubles prevented him from leading the Noale factory’s year.
Aprilia are open to giving Martin a new contract if he can stay fit and adapt to the RS-GP in 2026, as they weigh up their options for MotoGP’s 850cc regulations era from 2027. Martin would ‘certainly’ have options elsewhere in the paddock should Aprilia release him, though.
Martin is on the ‘wish list’ of multiple rival manufacturers, and Honda and Yamaha are both ‘especially’ interested in his potential availability. Yamaha have joined their Japanese rival in monitoring events at Aprilia, after Honda tried to offer Martin an escape route during 2025.
Honda remain interested in Jorge Martin as he is a championship-calibre MotoGP rider
It was said that Martin agreed a three-year contract with Honda from 2026 while he tried to break out of his initial two-year deal with Aprilia in 2025. But Aprilia refused to sanction the release clause in Martin’s contract due to his lack of competition after a raft of early injuries.
Who should Honda sign for the 2027 MotoGP season?
Do you think it should be someone other than the riders in this list? Let us know in the comments below!
Honda believe Martin is a championship-worthy rider, though, so remain interested in a deal should the Spaniard hit the market ahead of the 2027 season. Luca Marini and Joan Mir are both currently due to be out of contract with the factory Honda team after the 2026 season.
Honda have LCR duo Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira locked in on multi-year factory deals, with the latter’s agreement also offering the Japanese brand the option to promote him into their factory team from 2027. So, Martin could potentially join Moreira at Honda from 2027.
Yamaha could rival Honda for Martin, though, as the Iwata outfit currently only have Pramac ace Toprak Razgatlioglu under contract through the 2027 season. Works Yamaha stars Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins, plus Pramac’s Jack Miller, are all due to be out of contract in 2026.
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