Who could replace Jorge Martin at Aprilia for MotoGP 2026 if he leaves?
Jorge Martin’s future remains hot topic
Following the bombshell report that Jorge Martin is looking to exit Aprilia at the end of the 2025 MotoGP season, speculation has turned to what could happen next year.
While it is known that reigning world champion Jorge Martin’s desired destination for next season is the factory Honda squad, he could well be held to his Aprilia contract should it win a legal battle with him.
In both scenarios, it’s hard to see how Martin does line up on the 2026 grid on an Aprilia, leaving the door open to speculation as to who could replace him if he does leave.
Aprilia is in an unfortunate position in that it would be out of sync with the majority of the field’s contracts, leaving very few options for 2026 and certainly none as A-list as the reigning world champion.
But there are several riders out of contract who could be good fits.
The crash.net team has its say on what those options could be and the best route for Aprilia to explore.
The rider most likely to lose out if Jorge Martin does go to Honda
Peter McLaren
There’s nobody ready to step into the role, that’s the other thing we have to point out.
We’ve seen in the past you’ve had in the Andrea Dovizioso case somebody who stepped back, he found himself without any options [for 2021].
But that also put him in a prime position to step in if a ride suddenly became available. There’s nobody really in that situation.
Augusto Fernandez is the nearest at Yamaha, but he’s seeing his future at Yamaha.
We know they like Italian riders. They made a big deal of signing Marco Bezzecchi for this year.
You’ve got Luca Marini [currently at the factory Honda team] who has experience and is free, potentially, or at least is out of contract at the end of this year.
Also Franco Morbidelli, those guys. It depends what angle they want on this. Let’s face it, they’re not going to find another reigning world champion to come in.
The young gun who deserves a promotion
Jordan Moreland
In terms of who replaces Martin at Aprilia, because I do think - no matter what comes out of this - he will not be on an Aprilia eventually.
In terms of next year, Ai Ogura potentially for one year you could look at that, see what he can do.
Let’s see if a factory environment brings the best out of him because I think he’s shown that he’s been the best Aprilia rider this year and that’s probably the safe option.
Moto2, do you look at someone like Manu Gonzalez, for example? He’s got close ties with Yamaha in the past and potentially there’s a Pramac angle to that if he wins the title really convincingly.
Do they [Aprilia] look at him on a cheap option? Luca Marini, I suppose is a really good option.
He’s a good rider in terms of bike development. We’ve seen it at Honda and I suppose the Ducati days as well. He’s been in big factories, he knows the kind of pressure that comes with it.
The under-the-radar option currently helping another struggling marque
Lewis Duncan
Assume Martin is not on the bike, if he does end up at Honda then you look at Luca Marini as kind of a fair trade there because Honda really likes his analytical approach to bike development and that’s something that Aprilia could really benefit from.
Say nothing changes at Honda, looking at somewhere else on the grid, there are KTM riders who are not happy with the situation right now.
The future still remains really uncertain at this point. Does that pave the way for, as a short-term, we need a quick cheap replacement, Enea Bastianini?
That was the preferred option before he went to KTM last year. It hasn’t worked out at KTM.
Could it work out better at Aprilia? An all-Italian line-up would suit them. I don’t think KTM would put up a big fight to keep Bastianini given his results so far.
“There’s one rider out of contract next year who we haven’t spoken about in that role, who has proven he’s a good factory rider and a good development rider - Jack Miller.
Why would you not want a guy who has ridden Hondas, ridden Ducatis, ridden KTMs, ridden Yamahas? Miller’s not too old either, so maybe he’s the curveball option in this whole thing.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
