Marco Bezzecchi
Yamaha have confirmed their all-new rider pairing for 2027 in Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura, but the current state of the project leaves many concerned.
Martin and Ogura are both leaving Aprilia – the factory team and Trackhouse, respectively – to replace Fabio Quartararo, who is joining Honda, and Alex Rins, who is set to leave MotoGP altogether.
The pair leave Aprilia just as the RS-GP stands as perhaps the best bike on the grid right now. Ogura won his first race at Assen last weekend while Martin took the championship lead, but in 2027, they will be riding what is clearly the slowest bike.
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MotoGP experts do not expect Yamaha’s struggles to continue ‘much longer’
Yamaha have been desperately struggling for the past few years, having not enjoyed much success since Quartararo won the title in 2021. The project was miles behind in development in 2025, and that has carried into their future projects.
The V4 engine is significantly off the pace in 2026, with their riders feeling lost and lacking motivation on the bike. Jack Miller labelled his bike a ‘joke’ after the Dutch GP, with Assen being one of the toughest tracks for direction change and corner speed.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Yamaha from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy
It feels as though the Iwata outfit have given up on 2026, and rumours have suggested that things could get worse in the future. Yamaha are said to be behind with their 2027 bike, which spells huge concerns for Martin and Ogura.
Martin has been accused of joining Yamaha for money, but MotoGP experts have given him and his new teammate reason to be excited.
Journalist Simon Patterson says ‘no one’ expects the Iwata outfit’s struggles to continue ‘much longer’. Yamaha are clearly working tirelessly to improve their fortunes.
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He wrote on X (formerly Twitter), talking about what Martin and Ogura gained from joining Yamaha: “For Martin, a lot of money and the chance to start fresh after all the Aprilia drama. For Ogura, to be a factory rider with a Japanese team and to help steer their future.
“Yamaha are still one of the sport’s dominant forces. They’re having a bad patch, but no one who knows expects it to last for much longer.”
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