Marco Bezzecchi
Many fans have not welcomed Jorge Martin’s decision to join Yamaha in 2027, especially as Aprilia are mounting their strongest championship push in years.
Martin is set to join Yamaha next season, after two strong years at Aprilia. For a rider who has been in the title mix for the last few years, the move felt like a step down.
Despite Martin’s proclamation that 2027 is ‘the year of the Japanese,’ many fear that the Spaniard has opted for the more financially lucrative move rather than a more competitive one.
Jorge Martin thinks Honda and Yamaha will return to form in 2027 👀 How do you think they will fare with the new regulations?
Given how poor Yamaha have been the last few years, with this season in particular being quite a low point in the team’s illustrious history, many believe Jorge Martin won’t be competitive with the team.
However, this is exactly the kind of thinking Martin has warned against, pointing to previous times in his career when people doubted him.
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Jorge Martin suggests people are making the same ‘mistake’ as 2025 ahead of his Yamaha move
In an interview with Mela Chercoles of Diario AS, Jorge Martin responded to the doubt and speculation surrounding his motivation to sign with Yamaha, and whether he will still be in the title mix with them.
Martin pointed to his previous decisions to join Ducati and Aprilia and how people felt he was making a mistake then, and he expects everyone to be proven wrong yet again when he joins Yamaha.
“Well, all the decisions I make, as I told you before, I make because I believe it’s the best for me and my family.
“When I moved up to MotoGP with Ducati, everyone told me it was a mistake, that I should have gone with Yamaha, and I won a World Championship.
“When I signed with Aprilia, everyone told me it was a mistake, and I’m fighting for a World Championship. And now everyone will say it’s a mistake, well, we’ll see in the future.”
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How would Jorge Martin’s MotoGP career have gone if he had joined Ducati?
Jorge Martin has been vindicated with every move in MotoGP
Back in 2021, Jorge Martin made the move to MotoGP, leaving KTM’s Ajo Moto2 team to join Pramac, who were then a satellite team for Ducati.
At the time, some were sceptical that the Spaniard wouldn’t be able to succeed with Ducati, especially with Pramac. However, he proved everyone wrong in 2024 when he won the MotoGP world championship.
Martin became the first rider since Valentino Rossi in 2001 to win a world championship with a satellite team. But even this accolade wasn’t enough to earn him a seat on the factory team.
As a result, Martin left to join Aprilia, a move many felt would cost him the ability to compete for more championships.
But given that as of the time of writing, Martin currently leads the world championship, he has proven that notion wrong.
Even with Martin not being fully satisfied at Aprilia, he finds himself in the championship mix. So it is very possible he could do the same when he joins Yamaha.
And while Aprilia haven’t acknowledged Martin’s exit yet, one would have to believe he is going to get the support he needs from them to compete for the world title this season.
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