Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin is switching from Aprilia to Yamaha in 2027, pending confirmation after the Concorde Agreement is finalised. He believes that the Japanese manufacturers will be back on top.
The 2024 champion was one of the first riders to make a move on the MotoGP rider market for 2027. Martin has signed with Yamaha, with the news breaking just months after he tried to leave Aprilia in 2025.
Following his numerous injury setbacks, the Spaniard was unconvinced about the project and wanted out for 2026. Dorna blocked Martin from leaving Aprilia as they wanted riders to honour contracts, but with his move to Yamaha in 2027, it has become clear why he is leaving.
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Jorge Martin says 2027 is ‘the year of the Japanese’ in MotoGP
In 2025, Martin was looking to join Honda, with reports suggesting that they offered him a three-year-deal. Speaking on the Gypsy Tales Podcast, he perfectly explained why he was looking at the Japanese manufacturers.
He believes that 2027 will be the ‘year of the Japanese’, suggesting that Honda and Yamaha will take a step forward under the new regulations.
Talking about his contract dispute with Aprilia last year, Martin said: “People don’t know what happened inside the situation, and I think they will never know exactly, because we won’t say it!
“I was in Qatar still, and then my manager called me, ‘OK, are you sure you want to continue? We have this chance now.’ So, I started to doubt a lot of myself.
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“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to ride again, a motorbike. I didn’t know if I was going to ride at my level. So at that point I say, ‘OK, maybe I can, but let’s take a long term thing. I want to have my time. No pressure.’
“I don’t want to come back and have to demonstrate… like I am still the same Martin. So I say, ‘OK, let’s have a long term. We will be fine.’ But for sure, when we tell [Aprilia], they say, ‘No f—— way you are leaving.’
“I was saying, ‘If I sign this deal, I won’t even come back this year. I want to take my time, recover at my 100%, and when I feel ready, I will come back.’
“So, this was a bit the reason why I wanted to change. I always thought that ‘27 is the year of the Japanese. Since I heard about the regulations, I always think about it. So that’s why I thought, yeah, that’s going to be a good option.”
Jorge Martin thinks Honda and Yamaha will return to form in 2027 👀 How do you think they will fare with the new regulations?
Jorge Martin explains why he thinks Japanese manufacturers will return to form in 2027
Asked why he thinks that the Japanese teams will bounce back in 2027, Martin says that he has ‘always’ thought this way, believing that less power and less aero will work in their favour.
He added: “I think it’s more like it’s more like, for sure, they know how to make bikes. Absolutely. But I think more like what I said before about going back, I feel these bikes are like going back, like more corner speed, less power, less aero.
“So yeah, I think that was my intuition. Since I saw the regulations like two years ago, I always thought about it. But yeah, we will see in the future.”
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