Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia is expected to reject Yamaha and instead sign for Aprilia ahead of the 2027 season. Toprak Razgatlioglu could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this decision.
Rumours picked up pace on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning that Bagnaia has chosen Aprilia as he prepares to leave Ducati, with Pedro Acosta arriving in his stead.
Speaking to the media at the Buriram test, Bagnaia confirmed that he had made his decision and that an announcement would follow in the coming days.
Rate the Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi line-up at Aprilia out of 10
Yamaha are set to sign Jorge Martin as a replacement for Fabio Quartararo, who is joining Honda. They wanted Bagnaia to be his teammate, but must now rethink their plans.
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha chances improve significantly with Pecco Bagnaia decision
Bagnaia was arguably the best rider still in play in the rider market. As stated above, Acosta is headed for Ducati, Alex Marquez is on his way to KTM and Marco Bezzecchi has extended at Aprilia.
Aprilia were looking at Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio as alternatives to Bagnaia, so both of those are now theoretically options for Yamaha.
Yamaha have also been linked with Joan Mir, the 2020 world champion, but he could yet stay at Honda.
Jack Miller and Alex Rins are internal candidates, but the gap to Quartararo in last year’s standings (over 120 points) is too large to justify a factory spot for either in 2027. They would effectively be getting the seat purely on the basis of incumbency.
What does Toprak need to achieve in 2026 to join Yamaha’s 2027 factory line-up?
Miller is more likely to stay at Pramac, while Yamaha are unlikely to offer Rins a new deal amid fears he could drop off the MotoGP grid altogether. In these circumstances, Razgatlioglu may be seen as the best option.
Razgatlioglu is facing a difficult rookie year as he adapts to MotoGP bikes and Michelin tyres. But his ceiling is arguably higher than any rider mentioned above.
The Turkish superstar is already on a factory deal and is clearly earmarked for a spot in the official team eventually. That plan may have to be accelerated, as long as he shows sufficient promise in 2026.
All five 2026 MotoGP factory line-ups predicted
The Race’s Simon Patterson, one of the first journalists to break the news of Bagnaia joining Aprilia, has already predicted the five factory line-ups for next year.
In addition to the now-obvious moves, he said that Razgatlioglu would be promoted.
Three weeks on, Patterson wrote on X that nothing has ‘substantially changed’. His full predictions are as follows.
- Ducati: M Marquez, Acosta
- Aprilia: Bezzecchi, Bagnaia
- Honda: Quartararo, Mir
- Yamaha: Martin, Razgatlioglu
- KTM: Vinales, A Marquez
Yamaha will give themselves time to assess Razgatlioglu, aware that the seat next to Martin will be one of the most coveted spots available after the first wave of announcements. After missing out on Bagnaia, there’s no longer a need to rush.
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