Yamaha has announced that Jorge Martin will partner Ai Ogura in its factory team ahead of the MotoGP rule changes for the 2027 season.
Both riders will join the Japanese marque off the back of an impressive season with Aprilia, which has seen Martin return to the top of the riders’ standings after an injury-hampered 2025 season and Ogura become a title contender of his own.
Martin won the 2024 world championship with now-Yamaha satellite team Pramac when it was run as a Ducati entry.
However, after leaving the team for Aprilia for the 2025 season after losing out on a factory Ducati seat to Marc Marquez, Martin subsequently struggled with injuries in his first year riding the RS-GP.
There has been friction in Martin’s relationship with Aprilia after the Spaniard attempted to exit his two-year contract early in May 2025, which saw him threaten and later drop legal action against the team.
Following the off-track chaos, Martin elected to leave Aprilia at the start of 2026 and joins a Yamaha team that is attempting to return to its former glory after four seasons of struggles.
Martin has signed an two year deal and is expected will partner Ai Ogura after the Japanese rider also chose to leave the Aprilia project for Yamaha after spending two seasons with Trackhouse.
Ogura himself entered the premier class after an impressive career on the grand prix ladder, culminating in his triumphant 2024 Moto2 season, where he was crowned World Champion.
Ogura stepped up to MotoGP in 2025 with the Trackhouse Aprilia team and impressed with a fifth place on debut, and finished his rookie campaign 16th in the standings.
The 25-year-old built on his momentum and became the first from the Asia Talent Cup system to win a MotoGP race with his victory in Assen and has also signed a two-year deal with Yamaha.
Yamaha Managing Director Paolo Pavesio said of the announcement: “We are excited to welcome Jorge and Ai to the Yamaha Factory MotoGP Team as we enter a new era in 2027. Securing riders of this calibre underlines our ambition and confidence in the project.
“Jorge has already proven himself as one of the benchmark riders in MotoGP, with the speed, determination, and mindset to fight for wins and World Championships. We expect him to play a key role in driving our performance forward from day one.
“Ai’s progression over the past one-and-a-half seasons has been outstanding. His talent, work ethic, and potential make us confident he can grow into one of the top riders in the championship. At the same time, we are especially proud to welcome a Japanese rider into the Yamaha Factory Team.”
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