Yamaha has pulled off the biggest signing of MotoGP's 2027 silly season, confirming on Tuesday that 2024 world champion Jorge Martin and Japan's Ai Ogura will lead its factory team for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The pair replace Fabio Quartararo, who is bound for Honda, and Alex Rins.
"We are excited to welcome Jorge and Ai to the Yamaha Factory MotoGP Team as we enter a new era in 2027," said Paolo Pavesio, Yamaha Motor Racing's managing director. "Securing riders of this calibre underlines our ambition and confidence in the project."
The timing is everything. Martin currently leads the 2026 world championship after Marco Bezzecchi crashed away his advantage at Assen, yet he is walking away from Aprilia — whose 2026 bike is widely rated among the best machines the class has produced — to join a Yamaha M1 that has been the grid's clear back-marker this year. On paper it looks like a downgrade.
The logic sits in the calendar. From 2027 MotoGP tears up its rulebook: engines shrink from 1000cc to 850cc, Pirelli replaces Michelin as the control tyre supplier, aerodynamics are cut back and ride-height devices are banned outright. That reset turns 2026 into a preparation year and hands every manufacturer a clean sheet — which is precisely the moment Yamaha wants a champion on its books.
Pavesio left no doubt about the role Martin is expected to play. "Jorge has already proven himself as one of the benchmark riders in MotoGP, with the speed, determination, and mindset to fight for wins and World Championships," he said. "We expect him to play a key role in driving our performance forward from day one."
Martin's move ends a turbulent chapter. He joined Aprilia for 2025 only to endure an injury-wrecked campaign, and at one point in May last year he moved to exit his contract early, threatening legal action before the dispute was dropped. Even now, leading the standings, he has been guarded about his form. "I'm not feeling 100% physically or on the bike," he admitted recently.
The second seat is the bolder bet. Ogura is only a season and a half into his premier-class career but became Japan's first MotoGP race winner in more than two decades at the Dutch TT, and sits inside the championship's top four. For Yamaha, the symbolism is deliberate.
"Ai's progression over the past one-and-a-half seasons has been outstanding," Pavesio said. "His talent, work ethic, and potential make us confident he can grow into one of the top riders in the championship. At the same time, we are especially proud to welcome a Japanese rider into the Yamaha Factory Team."
Analysts at The Race framed the double signing as a calculated gamble: a short-term step down in machinery in exchange for locking in elite talent before the regulations flatten the field. Whether Yamaha's rebuild is ready to reward that faith is the question 2027 will answer.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/yamaha-lands-jorge-martin-and-ai-ogura-for-2027-factory-line-up). Visit for full coverage.*