Yamaha is still an unknown quantity for Jorge Martin ahead of the moveJorge Martin admits there’s no way to know how competitive Yamaha will be next season, even though he’s expected to sign with the team.
The news of Martin’s move came out not long after Fabio Quartararo was linked with a switch to Honda. The reigning champion’s departure from Aprilia wasn’t exactly a shock, especially after he’d already tried to leave during a difficult 2025 season.
But joining Yamaha does carry some risk. The team finished bottom of the championship last year and hasn’t shown much progress this season, despite rolling out a new V4 engine.
Speaking to Motosan, Martin was asked whether Honda and Yamaha would have a better shot against Aprilia and Ducati once the new regulations come into effect in 2027.
Aprilia are coming off a strong start to 2026, having won all three Grands Prix plus the US GP Sprint. Martin is leaving the top team in MotoGP for one currently sitting tenth.
The move isn’t official yet, but you’d expect some kind of vote of confidence from Martin. Instead, his response was anything but firm – more an expression of hope than certainty.
“I don’t know, only time will tell,” said Martin. “Right now it’s impossible to know, nobody can know, and the important thing is to be present in the moment and enjoy the bike I have.”
With Yamaha’s size and resources, they could turn things around by 2027. But if Martin finds himself fighting for this year’s title with Aprilia – he’s just four points behind teammate Marco Bezzecchi right now – he might start second-guessing his decision.
The deal is done, though – there’s no going back now that Francesco Bagnaia has been confirmed as his replacement at Aprilia.
The early rounds of this season have delivered plenty of action, but last year saw its share of processional races. The hope is that simplified aerodynamics and removing ride-height devices will put more emphasis back on rider ability.
Martin believes these changes will make racing more dynamic: “I think it’s going to change a lot, especially because it will be a much more instinctive bike,” he said. “Without so much aerodynamic assistance, without so many devices, there will be many more overtakes.”
“The ability to overtake and play with other riders is something that isn’t possible now,” he added. “And it will be better.”
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