Has he thought this through properly? Yamaha’s World Championship leader Jorge Martin confirms

It took a long time for Jorge Martin and Aprilia to come to terms with each other. Following several serious crashes and numerous broken bones, the 2024 World Champion (with Pramac Ducati) was frustrated after a difficult start to the 2025 season and was on the verge of leaving, wanting to terminate his two-year contract with the Noale-based manufacturer early. When his management realised that this would not be possible without incurring hefty penalty fees, the parties came to an agreement and Martin addressed the situation in an emotional press conference in Brno in July 2025.

Martin subsequently put all his reservations aside, pulled himself together and, together with the team, used the remainder of the 2025 season to prepare for this year. The Madrid-born rider slowly regained his former fitness following his serious injuries and grew more comfortable with the RS-GP with every kilometre. With ten of the 22 rounds of the current season completed, the 28-year-old leads the overall standings with 193 points, seven points ahead of the runner-up, his team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, who managed to score a meagre six points from the four races at Brno and Assen. Martin has stood on the podium in half of the ten Grands Prix so far in 2026, taking victory at Le Mans. He has also been awarded the gold medal in two sprints.

And yet he decided months ago to ride for the Yamaha works team in 2027 and 2028. His future salary is likely to have made this move easier for him; following Fabio Quartararo’s switch to Honda, Yamaha has some financial leeway. Technically speaking, the M1 currently sits in last place among the five manufacturers.

It is impossible to predict how well the new 850cc bike – fitted with Pirelli tyres, reduced aerodynamics and without height-adjustable suspension – will perform in the 2027 season. Yamaha is going to tremendous lengths to move further up the field; there is no lack of commitment or determination. However, it is also a fact that, unlike its competitors, the Japanese brand with the three crossed tuning forks in its logo has very little experience with V4 racing engines.

Jorge Martin will form the Yamaha works team alongside the Japanese rider Ai Ogura in 2027 and 2028, as has just been confirmed. In the Pramac satellite team, three-time Superbike World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu has a contract for 2027; the Turkish rider will be joined next year by home-grown talent Izan Guevara, currently second in the Moto2 World Championship.