Yamaha has decided: Ai Ogura gets the second seat next to Jorge Martin in the factory team in 2027 – Trackhouse now has to look for a replacement at short notice
The next piece of the puzzle in the transfer carousel for the 2027 MotoGP season has fallen into place. Yamaha has reached an agreement with Ai Ogura. The Japanese rider will become Jorge Martin’s teammate in the factory team next year.
Motorsport.com Spain has learned this information. Ogura will take over from Alex Rins, whose future is open as he currently has no offers.
At 25, Ogura made a strong impression in his MotoGP debut season in 2025 with the Trackhouse-Aprilia team. Of particular note was a fifth place in Buriram in the opening race, which would ultimately remain his best result of the season.
In 2026, Ogura again achieved fifth places, both in Thailand and Brazil, before a technical problem on his Aprilia forced him to retire in the USA. At that point, he was within reach of the podium with five laps to go.
It is worth noting that the Japanese rider was trained in the Honda system before a disagreement with the management led to his separation in his final Moto2 season. In that season, he finally won the Moto2 World Championship title on a Boscoscuro from the MT Helmets team.
This means that Yamaha will have two world champions from 2024 at the start of the coming season. Martin became MotoGP World Champion back then with Pramac-Ducati and Ogura won the World Championship title in the middle class with a commanding second half of the season.
Ogura’s surprise move to Yamaha closes the door to other candidates for the second M1 in the factory team, including Luca Marini. Motorsport.com Spain has learned that Yamaha has already informed Marini’s camp of the decision to sign Ogura.
Just a few days earlier, Daniel Holgado had thanked Yamaha for the interest shown, but confirmed that he had decided to move to the Gresini team, where the Spaniard will ride a Ducati next year.
Ogura’s move leaves a vacancy at Trackhouse, which the US team led by Justin Marks must now fill. Given the current market situation, the most obvious option would be to keep Raul Fernandez in the team.
Fernandez, for his part, will be denied promotion to the Aprilia factory team, as an agreement has been reached with Francesco Bagnaia alongside Marco Bezzecchi. Ogura’s departure will force Trackhouse to look around the rider market, which could close within the next month.
In any case, announcements on both completed and pending contract signings will be withheld until the Manufacturers Association (MSMA) and the MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (MSEG) reach an agreement. The contract is intended to define the commercial framework for the next five years. No agreement was reached at the most recent summit meeting.