The big intrigue in the 2026 MotoGP rider market was a hugely controversial move that in the end didn’t happen - Jorge Martin’s attempt to leave Aprilia mid-contract, reportedly for Honda.
Once the reigning world champion had a change of heart on that front, the line-up remained as settled as expected, with most riders in the middle of the usual two-year contract cycles. But there’s still a fascinating and long-awaited addition, and plenty of upheaval in prospect for 2027.
Ducati
Marc Marquez
Pecco Bagnaia
Marc Marquez moving into a factory seat with the era’s dominant manufacturer has had exactly the consequence rivals would’ve feared - and it’s hard to imagine 2026 being anything other than more Marquez domination. But will racking up more titles at last mean he quickly gets a ‘job done’ feeling at Ducati and wants to move on (perhaps a romantic return to Honda or even heading into retirement), or is this the start of many years of blitzing the field in red?
Marquez’s arrival emphatically toppled previous Ducati top dog Pecco Bagnaia, leading to speculation that he might look for an early exit. Though that’s not going to happen, 2026 will show whether Bagnaia can take the fight back to Marquez, settle for being in his shadow, wait for him to leave Ducati or try to restore his own reputation elsewhere.
Gresini Ducati
Alex Marquez
Fermin Aldeguer
Everything continues as planned at Gresini with Alex Marquez heading into a fourth year after joining his brother in dominating the early rounds, and Fermin Aldeguer continuing to build on the promise of his excellent rookie year.
The big question at Gresini heading into 2026 is whether it’s Aldeguer’s last year there before a factory promotion.
VR46 Ducati
Franco Morbidelli
Fabio di Giannantonio
An unchanged line-up at Valentino Rossi’s team, despite it often being mooted as Pedro Acosta’s destination if he wanted a KTM exit route amid its troubles. Getting him out of that contract would've been beyond VR46’s price range, though.
Franco Morbidelli has finally found better form at his mentor’s team, while early injuries played a part in Fabio di Giannantonio not consistently making the most of having the only latest-spec Ducati outside the factory team.
Aprilia
Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin
Aprilia finding its feet with its latest bike and Jorge Martin finally being fit and deciding to commit to the team mean its 2026 could be as promising as its 2025 should’ve been.
As the bike improved and he eliminated early errors, Marco Bezzecchi blossomed into a winner again and often Marc Marquez’s biggest threat in races. Bezzecchi feels like he could be Aprilia’s long-term leader if Martin does move on after 2026.
Trackhouse Aprilia
Raul Fernandez
Ai Ogura
Though Raul Fernandez still hasn’t consistently lived up to his huge Moto2 reputation in MotoGP, he’s shown enough flashes to mean Trackhouse doesn’t feel any need to break his contract. Next year is surely his final chance to prove himself, though.
Ai Ogura stumbled after his stunning start to life in MotoGP so has a bit riding on 2026, but is a future factory rider if he recaptures his initial form.
KTM
Pedro Acosta
Brad Binder
Pedro Acosta has been pretty vocal about KTM’s limitations during its fraught first half of 2025, but this always seemed more about long-term future posturing than a bid to instantly jump ship.
He stays on with Brad Binder, who is under significantly more pressure to secure his seat long-term now amid his least impressive MotoGP season so far.
Tech3 KTM
Maverick Vinales
Enea Bastianini
A satellite KTM seat turned out to be exactly what Maverick Vinales needed to find his best form after all these years, and for much of 2025 he’s been the firm’s lead runner ahead of Acosta. This could become a long-term deal, though Vinales’ career path is rarely that predictable.
Enea Bastianini struggled badly on the KTM at first and was tipped for a mid-contract exit. That was never too likely even before he made a major mid-season improvement, so he’ll see out his deal into 2026.
Honda
Luca Marini
Joan Mir
The prospect of Martin arriving put Luca Marini’s place - if not at Honda overall but certainly in the works team - in jeopardy for a while, but once signing the champion was off the table it was just a matter of time before Marini’s development nous was rewarded with another one-year deal for 2026.
Joan Mir is going into the final year of his current deal with both he and Honda needing to prove its worth keeping their disappointing partnership going into the new rules era.
LCR Honda
Johann Zarco
Diogo Moreira
Honda appears to have won a battle with Yamaha over Brazilian Moto2 frontrunner Diogo Moreira, and it can place him at LCR instead of underwhelming rookie Somkiat Chantra because expanded Castrol backing for the whole Honda programme means it no longer needs an Idemitsu-funded rider for its fourth bike.
Johann Zarco has a two-year renewal at LCR that ensures he gets equipment parity with the works bikes - having generally been Honda’s best hope since he arrived there.
Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Alex Rins
Yamaha’s talisman rider Fabio Quartararo needs a big 2026 (and good signs from the new V4 engine) to guarantee he keeps faith with it again into the new era, but the promising start to 2025 should've bought his employer time.
Is Alex Rins struggling on the second bike because he’s never really recovered from his 2023 leg injury or because the bike’s moved in too much of a Quartararo-specific direction and he can’t adapt? Either way, while Yamaha hasn’t seen any need to break his contract, something epic needs to happen to keep him on the bike beyond 2026.
Pramac Yamaha
Toprak Razgatlioglu
Jack Miller
World Superbike superstar Toprak Razgatlioglu finally arrives in MotoGP - with Yamaha, despite that relationship seeming broken not so long ago, and on a satellite bike, despite his management once vowing it was works or nothing. A lot has changed since then, and whether Razgatlioglu’s skill and showmanship translate to MotoGP will be the most fascinating story of early 2026.
Incumbents Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira were left fighting for the one remaining seat, and faced the prospect of both being out as Yamaha mulled Moreira and Moto2 rival Manu Gonzalez for a while.
In the end, Miller is set to be confirmed for the remainder of his deal, while Oliveira’s time as a full-time MotoGP racer comes to an end at least for now.
