Which MotoGP riders will test 2027 bikes at Brno?
The upcoming Brno test offers the first chance for MotoGP race riders to try 2027-spec machines and Pirelli tyres.
The upcoming Brno post-race test will offer the first chance for MotoGP race riders to try next year’s 850cc prototypes and Pirelli tyres.
According to AS.com, the behind-closed-doors test is ‘limited to a maximum of two riders per factory, and Pirelli requires that at least one be a regular rider’.
That sounds like a simple enough task, and with next year’s prototypes still in an early stage of development, it probably wouldn’t be possible to have more than two bikes per manufacturer anyway.
However, officially, only three riders present at Brno have confirmed contracts to remain at their current manufacturer for 2027: Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pramac Yamaha) and Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda).
Moreira’s team-mate Johann Zarco also has a contract but is injured.
In reality, all the future factory team seats have been decided, with the silence on announcements pending completion of the next MSMA-MotoGP SEG commercial deal.
Nonetheless, even adding 'unofficial' deals into the equation, rider choice for the Brno test is still limited.
The large number of 2027 seat-swaps means only two more names - reigning champion Marc Marquez and fellow Ducati rider Fermin Aldeguer - are added to the list of those staying with their present manufacturer.
Unless a factory is prepared to give the prized outing to a departing rider, that's only five out of a possible ten race riders on track - although Aprilia, Yamaha, Honda and Ducati could at least meet the ‘one race rider’ request.
KTM, expected to run an all-new factory line-up next season of Fabio di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez, faces a more complicated choice.
Of its present riders, Pedro Acosta is set to move to Ducati, with Tech3’s Enea Bastianini heavily linked with Trackhouse Aprilia.
Meanwhile, the futures of Brad Binder and Maverick Vinales remain unresolved. Which of the pair, if either, is selected for the Brno test could offer a clear hint about who remains in contention for 2027.
However, with test riders of the calibre of Pol Espargaro and Dani Pedrosa, Pirelli might well be content for the former MotoGP stars to represent the Austrian factory in Brno.
The next Pirelli test with race riders is then expected to be held in September.
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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.
