Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin is set to replace Fabio Quartararo at Yamaha in the 2027 MotoGP season, and Aprilia may have themselves to blame for the Spaniard electing to leave the team.
The 2026 campaign is only just starting to get going with the shakedown test in Sepang this week. Yet the first day of track action in Malaysia was overshadowed by the shock news that Quartararo will leave Yamaha and join Honda in 2027 after he agreed to a two-year contract.
Quartararo has bet on Honda being a better fit for the start of the 2027 MotoGP regulations, having lost patience with Yamaha after going 72 rounds since his most recent Grand Prix win in Germany back in 2022. The 26-year-old plans to leave Yamaha when his contract expires.
Yamaha are now wasting no time to sign a big-name replacement for Quartararo, with 2024 champion Martin expected to succeed the 2021 champion in Iwata. Martin and Yamaha are finalising a two-year contract that will see the 28-year-old quit Aprilia when his deal expires.
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Aprilia’s delay in offering Jorge Martin a new contract convinced him to join Yamaha
Aprilia might have themselves to blame for Martin agreeing to replace Quartararo at Yamaha in 2027, as well. Motosprint reports that the ‘key’ factor behind Martin’s decision to switch teams after just one year in Noale was timing, with Yamaha prepared to move early for him.
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CEO Massimo Rivola confirmed that Aprilia planned on waiting before offering Martin a new contract for the 2027 season, as the Italian squad wanted to see how he would fare after his injury-ravaged term in 2025. Martin started seven of the eight Grands Prix that he entered.
But while Aprilia sought patience, Yamaha had already been in talks with Martin for several weeks as they put plans in place for in case Quartararo decided to leave, which he has now done. Martin’s manager, Albert Valera, will now strive to conclude their talks with Yamaha.
Valera wants Yamaha and Martin to sign his contract for the Japanese manufacturer for the 2027 and 2028 seasons as soon as possible, and sees the first race of the 2026 campaign in Thailand as a ‘worst-case’ option. Valera does not want Martin’s future to roll on too long.
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Buriram will host the 2026 MotoGP season-opener on March 1, and Valera wants Martin to be able to race with a clear head once he returns from injury. Martin will miss the Sepang test through injury, after he underwent surgery in December to fix two injuries from 2025.
Martin required additional operations to address the fracture to his left hand he sustained in training prior to the 2025 season and the fracture to his right collarbone that he sustained in the Sprint Race at the Japanese Grand Prix. He returned from both injuries too soon in 2025.
Aprilia even saw Martin’s time in Noale after joining from Pramac in 2025 begin with a crash at the Sepang test, which saw him fracture his right hand and left foot. He also broke 11 ribs and suffered a life-threatening hemopneumothorax on his debut for Aprilia in the Qatar GP.
So, Aprilia wanted to see how Martin would fare with the RS-GP once finally fully fit in 2026 before deciding on his future. But Yamaha were ready to move early, and Honda still held an interest in signing Martin for the 2027 season after they nearly signed the Spaniard last year.
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