Yamaha and Jorge Martin are finalising the details that will see the Spaniard become a factory rider for the Japanese manufacturer for the next two seasons, Motorsport.com has learned.
This move follows the one reported by this publication earlier on Thursday, which will see Fabio Quartararo leave the Iwata-based squad to join Honda’s factory team.
As a result, Martin will bring his time with Aprilia to an end next year, having signed for the Italian manufacturer from 2025 after Ducati opted to promote Marc Marquez in the same year that he went on to claim the world title in 2024.
While Quartararo’s move to Honda made perfect sense given the strained relationship between the Frenchman and Yamaha’s management, Martin’s arrival is likely to come as a surprise to many. Especially considering that last year he already tried to secure a deal with HRC for 2026, a move that ultimately failed due to Aprilia’s refusal to release him.
Once the agreement is signed – something that is expected to happen shortly – Martin, who celebrates his 28th birthday today (Thursday), will join Yamaha’s factory team at the age of 29. He will be riding his third different bike in four seasons, having left Pramac Ducati in 2024 and completed two seasons with Aprilia in 2025 and 2026. The first of those is likely to go down as the most difficult of his professional career due to the succession of injuries that have prevented him from properly adapting to the RS-GP.
In fact, Martin will not even be able to take part in next week’s Sepang test, as he has yet to recover from the two surgeries he underwent this winter to address ongoing issues with his left scaphoid and right collarbone, stemming from the crash he suffered at last season’s Japanese Grand Prix. That incident was the latest setback in a campaign to forget, which also included the most serious crash of his career in Qatar and saw him sidelined for the majority of the races – he ended up competing in just seven.
Martin will travel to Malaysia this Sunday to follow the test closely and attend the MotoGP season launch event, scheduled for 6-7 February. His place on track, however, will be taken by Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori, who will line up alongside Marco Bezzecchi for this first on-track outing of 2026.
While Yamaha’s official announcement regarding Martin’s arrival is still pending, attention now turns to who will partner him in the garage. Alex Rins, Quartararo’s current team-mate, does not appear to be in a strong position to retain the seat unless he shows a significantly improved level compared to what he delivered in 2025.
