Moto2 team set for double change in 2026 amid Deniz Oncu rumours
Deniz Oncu has been linked with a move to the Marc VDS team in Moto2.
Marc VDS could be set for a double change in its rider line-up for the 2026 Moto2 season, with Deniz Oncu now linked with a switch to the Belgian squad.
Oncu moved up to Moto2 for the 2024 season with the Red Bull KTM Ajo squad, but is set to be squeezed out in favour of current Moto3 points leader Jose Antonio Rueda in 2026.
The Turkish rider has won twice in 2025 and is therefore a desirable rider in the intermediate grand prix category for next season – even among the category’s most established teams.
According to Sky Sport Italy, Oncu is due to be revealed as a Marc VDS rider in the 2026 Moto2 World Championship, but the Belgian team is holding off on its announcement until the Turkish rider recovers from the injuries he sustained pre-Austria in training.
Oncu’s time with Red Bull KTM Ajo means his entire Moto2 career has been spent on Kalex chassis and with WP suspension. A Marc VDS move would therefore create the same technical changes that Celestino Vietti and Jake Dixon have dealt with this year – moving to Ohlins suspension and the Boscoscuro chassis.
For Marc VDS, capturing Oncu would mean an all-new rider line-up for the 2026 Moto2 season, having already announced Aron Canet as one of its riders for next season during the Austrian MotoGP weekend.
It will mean, therefore, that both Filip Salac and Jake Dixon will leave the team. Neither rider has their future publicly secure yet, but Dixon is expected to join Honda in World Superbike for 2026.
In this article
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
