Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin has one last option to remain with Aprilia in 2027 and it is with a move down to Trackhouse.
Ahead of the 2026 MotoGP season, it was reported that Jorge Martin was set to leave Aprilia and join Yamaha for the 2027 season when the new regulations are introduced.
The report came on the same day that Fabio Quartararo had apparently decided to leave Yamaha and jump ship to Honda for 2027, so it came across as a knee-jerk reaction.
However, after Yamaha’s poor form in the early rounds of the 2026 season, Martin may be regretting his decision to make his move so quickly as Aprilia have won the opening two Grands Prix of the year.
It has been suggested that there is an opportunity for Martin to remain within the Aprilia fold, but it is not realistic that Martin would drop back down to a satellite team.
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Jorge Martin would not return to a satellite MotoGP team
During The Race’s MotoGP Podcast, Simon Patterson discussed the possibility of Martin remaining as an Aprilia rider within the Trackhouse Racing garage.
However, he quickly dismissed the idea as he stated it is ‘not going to happen’ as Martin would not want to return to a satellite team after winning the title with Pramac in 2024.
Patterson said, “There is no such thing as a hopeless Japanese MotoGP project when coming into a new regulation cycle, they will find a way out of it. Because of budgets, even Ducati and Aprilia when you speak to them they are really jealous of the budgets that the Japanese manufacturers can throw at their MotoGP projects, that just is the way it is.
“That is also reflected in Martin’s new salary, I imagine, which is probably going to be three or four times what he is getting at Aprilia. The only way Martin stays at Aprilia is with Trackhouse, and can any of us see him riding a satellite bike again. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, quite literally. So, yeah, that is not going to happen.”
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Trackhouse Racing will not replace Ai Ogura in favour of Joan Mir
During the same podcast, Patterson also discussed the chances of Joan Mir moving from Honda to Trackhouse Racing, and how if the move occurred he would replace Raul Fernandez.
It appears that Ai Ogura would be a lock at Trackhouse for the 2027 MotoGP season, after debuting with the team in MotoGP in 2025 and making progress throughout 2026.
Patterson said, “There is this weird Joan Mir rumour that keeps coming up, the reason I say it is weird is because if they sign Joan Mir it would come at the expense of Raul Fernandez… I think this is a case of wires getting crossed from where people have speculated to the point that it has become fact.
“I’m not saying that means it is not going to happen, but right now it does not look like something that is close to being set in stone. And, I think they are going to do everything they can to keep Ogura on the other side of the box.”
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