The longest partnership at the front of the current MotoGP grid is ending. Yamaha confirmed on 30 June that both Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins will leave the factory team when the 2026 season closes, drawing a line under an era that delivered the marque its most recent world title and, more recently, a long stretch of frustration.
Quartararo, the 2021 champion, framed the split as a natural turning point rather than a fallout. "After eight seasons, the time has come for me to close an important chapter," he said. The Frenchman arrived in 2019 with the satellite Petronas SRT squad before stepping up to the works team in 2021, the year he delivered Yamaha's title. He leaves with 11 race wins and 32 podiums to his name.
"Yamaha is not just a team to me — it is a part of my story," Quartararo added. "Thank you for everything. Forever grateful."
The warmth was returned by Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Paolo Pavesio, who acknowledged the difficult recent seasons without dwelling on them. "Beyond the results, it is this journey that defines our relationship, and in the end, Fabio will always remain one of the true legends of Yamaha MotoGP," Pavesio said.
What the carefully worded farewell did not paper over is why Quartararo is leaving. The 27-year-old has grown increasingly vocal about Yamaha's competitiveness, and in particular the slow rollout of its new V4 engine project after years of being left behind on the existing inline-four. His departure has been widely reported as a move to Honda for 2027, though neither manufacturer had confirmed that switch when Yamaha made its announcement.
Rins' exit cuts differently. The Spaniard joined Yamaha in 2024 after a serious leg injury sustained at LCR Honda the year before, and he has openly admitted the move did not deliver what he hoped. "It's made me feel pretty bad, to be honest," Rins said of learning his time was up. "I was comfortable at LCR. I had the option to come to Yamaha, and I thought I'd have more opportunities, but it hasn't quite turned out that way." A race winner with both Suzuki and Honda earlier in his career, Rins leaves the factory squad with his MotoGP future unresolved.
The bigger story is who replaces them. Yamaha is widely expected to install reigning championship leader Jorge Martin for 2027, an audacious raid on Aprilia for one of the sport's hottest properties. The second seat has been the subject of heavy speculation, with Dutch GP winner Ai Ogura among the names linked. None of that incoming business was confirmed when the factory said goodbye to its outgoing pair.
For now, both Quartararo and Rins still have a job to finish. There is the rest of the 2026 season to run, and Rins insisted the lame-duck label would not change how he rides, pointing out he is the same rider who won with Suzuki and Honda. The same applies to Quartararo, who remains Yamaha's clear benchmark even as the project he is leaving behind tries to claw its way back to the front.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/yamaha-confirms-quartararo-and-rins-motogp-exits-for-2027). Visit for full coverage.*