Marco Bezzecchi
Yamaha have confirmed that they will field a brand-new rider line-up of Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura for the 2027 MotoGP season.
That means that the under-contract Toprak Razgatlioglu stays at satellite team Pramac for his second year in the class.
Pramac and Yamaha have yet to confirm the identity of his teammate, but the expectation is that Moto2 talent and academy rider Izan Guevara will replace Jack Miller.
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Yamaha have a Toprak Razgatlioglu problem after signing Ai Ogura and Jorge Martin
Back in February, reigning world champion Marc Marquez predicted the entire 2027 grid. At that point, it had already emerged that Fabio Quartararo would leave Yamaha for Honda.
Marquez thought the Japanese manufacturer would retain Alex Rins and promote Razgatlioglu to the second seat.
This was an understandable prediction – Razgatlioglu is a three-time World Superbikes champion on a factory contract.
The Turkish rider has more or less met expectations so far. While he has only scored 11 points, that largely reflects the weaknesses of his Yamaha bike.
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A realistic goal for his first season was being the brand’s second-best rider behind 2021 world champion Quartararo, and that’s where he appears to be on pure pace.
As his manager said in March, Razgatlioglu is happy at Pramac, though it’s unlikely he would have turned down an offer to race in factory colours.
Going forward, Yamaha may have a dilemma. Ogura is only 25, while Martin is younger than Razgatlioglu at 28.
If both riders perform, the path to the works team could be blocked. And even though Razgatlioglu enjoys factory support (and earns factory wages) at Pramac, it would be hard to find any rider who doesn’t want factory status.
Paolo Pavesio would probably say this is a nice problem to have for the brand, reflecting their strength in depth. But he can expect it to be central to negotiations with Razgatlioglu next year, when the 29-year-old’s contract is due to expire.
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