Every rumour about the 2026 MotoGP rider market

Despite little in the way of free seats in the 2026 MotoGP rider line-up, the current market rumour mill has been especially active in recent weeks.

As it stands, there are officially four seats that are up for grabs at the end of the season with riders occupying those bikes on expiring deals.

They are Luca Marini at Honda, Johann Zarco at LCR Honda, Jack Miller at Pramac Yamaha and Franco Morbidelli at VR46 Ducati.

However, numerous big names could end up on the market, with the most notable being reigning world champion Jorge Martin following a bombshell report that he is looking to quit Aprilia despite spending very little time on the RS-GP so far this year.

Here are all the current rider market rumours doing the rounds for MotoGP 2026.

Aprilia - Jorge Martin bombshell to cause major headache

Jorge Martin signed a two-year deal with Aprilia to join its factory team in 2025 almost exactly 12 months ago, having been denied a step to Ducati’s works squad.

The move was seen as a major coup for Aprilia, who put the deal together quickly and dug deep into its pockets to get Martin’s signature inked. But it appears this relationship is already about to meet a messy end.

Numerous injury woes have largely kept Martin off the bike this year, with the Spaniard only competing in the Qatar Grand Prix weekend before a crash in the main race at Lusail sent him back onto the sidelines.

A report from motorsport.com on 12 May claims Martin is looking to exercise a performance clause in his contract to leave Aprilia for 2026. The hot rumour is that he wants to sign for Honda.

Aprilia will likely engage in a legal battle to block this, believing the terms of the performance clause are somewhat nullified by the fact Martin hasn’t really ridden the bike this year.

Read more: The bitter ramifications of Jorge Martin's bombshell Aprilia decision 

Whatever happens, it’s hard to see Martin remaining an Aprilia rider in 2026 over broken trust this incident has brought about.

Aprilia will need to sound out some replacements in case. Should Martin go to Honda, Luca Marini seems to be the best placed to take his place as he is out of contract at the end of 2025. Marini’s analytical approach to bike development has endeared him to Honda and this is something Aprilia could benefit from, not least given the form the RC213V is now in.

Aprilia may also look to promote from within, taking Ai Ogura out of Trackhouse Racing. Ogura is the leading Aprilia rider in the standings currently in 10th spot and has impressed so far in his rookie campaign.

Trachouse boss Davide Brivio has also feared that a rival factory could poach Ogura in 2027.

Moving Ogura to the Aprilia factory would cause a problem for Trackhouse, though that team’s lack of big sponsorship right now would make extricating Ogura a bit easier. But his inexperience may also count against him in the factory seat conversation.

The problem Aprilia has is that it’s got Martin under contract for next year. It can’t do any deals while that is still the case. Much like what happened in 2020 with the Andrea Iannone doping case, Aprilia had an opportunity to sign some decent names - including Cal Crutchlow - but lost out as it elected to back Iannone through his trial. It ended up having to field Lorenzo Savadori for much of 2021 before Maverick Vinales became available after his acrimonious Yamaha split.

Honda - The biggest player in the rider market as it stands

Honda was always going to be the main focus of the 2026 rider market speculation given the fact Luca Marini is on an expiring contract. But quite how important a player it now is could never have been imagined in the winter.

In-house, it has two good riders it seems keen to hold onto in Marini and Johann Zarco. The latter has said repeatedly that he is keen to get into the HRC factory squad, and has put in a good job interview by consistently leading the Honda charge and winning its first grand prix in two years at the French GP.

Whatever happens, Zarco is set to remain a Honda rider with a fresh deal at LCR and full support from Honda at the very least likely for him. Marini has also suggested contract talks are under way and he is an option for 2026.

In recent weeks there have been rumours that Honda could sign double World Superbike champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, as a bid to better develop its 850cc machine around Pirelli rubber for 2027. The Razgatlioglu trail seems to have gone cold recently, however.

A stronger rumour has been that of Pedro Acosta making a move to Honda’s factory squad. He’s not been happy with KTM’s lack of form in 2025, though that has improved in recent rounds. There is also the question of KTM’s future, amid its financial crisis.

Honda is seen to have the financial might and the better long-term bike bet now to snare a rider like Acosta.

That has now been complicated by the Jorge Martin/Aprilia saga, even more so for Acosta given both riders are managed by Albert Valera.

Should Martin get out of his contract, he will be easier to sign for Honda as Acosta does have a long-term deal in place with KTM - though, questions will now arise as to what clauses may be in that particular document.

Ducati - All eyes on Valentino Rossi

Ducati has largely found itself in a fairly uncomplicated rider situation looking to 2026. Marc Marquez is performing as expected, Alex Marquez has really stepped up his game at Gresini, Fermin Aldeguer has impressed in his rookie campaign and Pecco Bagnaia will surely get to where he needs to be despite his tough start to 2025.

Fabio Di Giannantonio could do with a step forward on his factory bike, but his results have been decent - as have Franco Morbidelli’s.

Morbidelli is the odd-rider out in that he is only contracted to the end of this season. At a friendly surrounding in VR46 Racing, some job security has been afforded by that even if his results have been justifiably more deserving of an extended stay.

But there have been rumours linking Pedro Acosta to a VR46 move. Rossi “likes Acosta very much”, but hasn’t gotten to bogged down in these rumours, while the team itself has continued to back Morbidelli.

VR46 doesn’t have the financial clout to get Acosta, compared to someone like Honda, but it can at least offer him the best bike on the grid. But given the steps KTM has made recently and the value Acosta will hold on the open market for 2027, his links to VR46 right now feel more like a welcome bit of additional PR for the outfit than something serious.

Elsewhere within the Ducati fold, intriguing reports from Italy suggest the marque is trying to tempt last year’s WorldSBK runner-up Nicolo Bulega with a new deal that would see him form part of its MotoGP testing outfit next year with a view to a race seat somewhere in 2027.

For much the same reasons why the Toprak Razgatlioglu links to Honda have been made, Bulega’s experience of Pirelli rubber could be very valuable to Ducati’s 2027 testing programme.

Yamaha - One seat being well defended

Yamaha has been doing a good job in moving up the grid in 2025 so far, helped nicely along by the addition of Pramac as a factory supported satellite team.

The only free seat it has available is Jack Miller’s at Pramac. The four-time grand prix winner signed that contract pretty late in the day last season, but he’s done more than enough to warrant another year on the M1.

Not only has his development experience been a major boost for Yamaha, his results have been solid.

Yamaha has been one of the manufacturers linked with bringing Toprak Razgatlioglu to MotoGP next year. A deadline imposed by his manager for Yamaha to make a call has passed without an answer.

Razgatlioglu is open to a Pramac Yamaha seat, but whether Yamaha sees him as a good option - and it hasn’t before - over Miller remains to be seen.

Of course, Miller could find himself with a factory option elsewhere at Aprilia depending on what happens with Jorge Martin. But he has been a good fit at Yamaha and both parties seem keen to carry that forward.

Enea Bastianini’s name has also been mentioned in the same breath as Pramac Yamaha, though his lacklustre KTM results won’t be doing him any favours and he could be more of a factor in Aprilia conversations given his previous links to the manufacturer for 2025.

There is a possibility both riders at Pramac could be replaced. Though signing a two-year deal, Miguel Oliveira has been swept up in conversations about potentially being replaced - though Yamaha wants to give him time given his injury woes this year.

KTM - An uncertain future

As it stands, KTM has all of its four riders locked into contracts until at least next year. But all four names - Pedro Acosta, Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales - will be sought after pieces.

As mentioned already, Acosta is a central figure in the rider market rumours and has been linked to Honda and VR46 Ducati. Should things improve with KTM’s bike, it’s highly possible he stays put for 2026 and explores the open market for 2027.

Whether there is a 2026 for KTM is something of a question mark, as it still tries to navigate its way through the financial crisis that has enveloped the company since last year.

KTM is clearly keen to retain Acosta for as long as it can, understandably, but knows the ball is in its court on this. Acosta has been frustrated with the underperformance of KTM so far, but he is also a loyalist to the brand and that will count for something - at least in the short-term.

Maverick Vinales has found a good home at KTM as he largely leads the marque right now in terms of results. If the KTM uncertainty continues, though, Aprilia could tempt him back if it has a Jorge Martin-shaped hole to fill. While there were clear frustrations at points last year, Vinales didn’t appear to leave the brand on bad terms.

Enea Bastianini’s name has been linked to Pramac Yamaha, but could also be a good option for Aprilia. Brad Binder is seemingly bonded to KTM and hasn’t factored much into discussions given his current deal running to the end of next year. Assuming KTM does carry on into 2026, it’s very unlikely to let him go anywhere else without a fight.