Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura will move to the factory Yamaha MotoGP team for 2027, the Iwata factory has confirmed.

Martin and Ogura will join the factory Yamaha team for next season from the Aprilia Racing and Trackhouse Racing teams, respectively. Both Martin and Ogura have been victorious this season on the Aprilia RS-GP, Martin taking his win at Le Mans while Ogura won for the first time in the premier class at the most recent round at Assen.

Yamaha, on the other hand, has not won in MotoGP since 2022 with Fabio Quartararo, who was previously confirmed to be leaving the team.

Ogura and Martin both join as world champions, Ogura having claimed the 2024 Moto2 World Championship, while Martin was champion in Moto3 in 2018 and again in MotoGP in 2024.

Ogura himself will be the first Japanese rider to race full-time for Yamaha’s factory team since Norifumi Abe raced for Yamaha Team Rainey in 1998.

“We are excited to welcome Jorge [Martin] and Ai [Ogura] to the Yamaha Factory MotoGP Team as we enter a new era in 2027,” said Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Paolo Pavesio.

“Securing riders of this calibre underlines our ambition and confidence in the project.

“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. We expect him to play a key role in driving our performance forward from day one.

“Ai's progression over the past one-and-a-half seasons has been outstanding. 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.”