Has Jorge Martin found his way out of Aprilia for MotoGP 2027?

2024 MotoGP World Champion Jorge Martin has reportedly decided his future beyond the end of this year, and that it will not be with Aprilia.

Motorsport.com has reported the Martin is finalising a deal that will take him from Aprilia to Yamaha for the 2027 MotoGP season after the end of his current contract with the Noale factory, beginning MotoGP’s new 850cc era in blue.

It’s a move that would close down the door opened by Fabio Quartararo’s reported departure from Yamaha at the end of this year, but one that will open up a desirable seat at Aprilia for 2027.

Martin joined Aprilia Racing in MotoGP for the 2025 season after being overlooked by Ducati for its second factory seat alongside Francesco Bagnaia. Ducati chose Marc Marquez, so Martin decided to leave the Pramac team he would go on to win the title with in 2024 and join Aprilia instead.

It was a difficult first campaign aboard the RS-GP for Martin, who was injured in preseason testing; injured again while training before the first race; then crashed in the Qatar race and was run over by Fabio Di Giannantonio. 

Martin made his next return in Brno before the summer break and finished inside the top-10, before taking a fourth in Hungary, but that would end up as his best result of the year with Martin next getting hurt in the Japanese Sprint when he crashed in the first corner with teammate Marco Bezzecchi.

In the middle of his recovery from the injuries he sustained in Qatar, rumours began to emerge that Martin was looking to get out of his Aprilia contract a year early and to move brands for 2026. That never happened, but the apparent move of Fabio Quartararo to Honda has opened the door for Martin to replace the Frenchman, one he is seemingly close to taking.