MotoGP™’s 2025 rider market news and gossip – otherwise known as silly season – has been in full swing for several months. Ducati’s decision, which saw the Bologna brand choose Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) to partner Francesco Bagnaia in the Ducati Lenovo Team for 2025 and 2026, was the chief domino that set everything else in motion.
Since then, we now know that Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) will be switching to Aprilia Racing machinery, with Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) leaving their respective factories to join the re-branded Red Bull KTM Tech3 team in 2025.
So, where does that leave us in terms of seats still available? Let’s have a little gander.
Viñales’ departure means Aprilia Racing are searching for Martin’s teammate, with both Trackhouse Racing MotoGP™ spots also unconfirmed at the time of publication. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) is one name linked to Aprilia’s factory seat, with Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola not shying away from liking the idea of an Italian linking up with them.
Meanwhile, Trackhouse’s Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez’s futures remain uncertain. Moto2™ World Championship title contender, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing), is understandably being talked about as a potential 2025 Trackhouse Racing rider. That’s one to keep an eye on.
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A big jigsaw piece waiting to be put into place is what are Prima Pramac Racing going to do – stick with Ducati or join Yamaha? That has big implications for the rider market, and it’s a bit of news we’ll hopefully learn more about soon.
Currently, both Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team seats are unconfirmed, and the same can be said for Gresini Racing too. That means we don’t know where the aforementioned Bezzecchi, the Italian’s teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio and Gresini’s Alex Marquez are racing next season. We’re also yet to learn where Fermin Aldeguer (Speed Up Racing) will be riding in 2025 after he signed a Ducati contract at the beginning of the year.
A hot topic has been the spare Repsol Honda Team seat. Joan Mir’s future has been uncertain for a while now but as a trip to Assen approaches, Motorsport.com are reporting that the 2020 MotoGP™ World Champion has put pen to paper on a new two-year deal with HRC. That means only the Idemitsu Honda LCR seat within the Honda ranks needs to be decided.
Then there’s who will partner Fabio Quartararo at Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™. Current Yamaha star Alex Rins admitted there’s no offer on the table as things stand, but he is in talks with Yamaha and remains as hungry as ever.
What have we got then? Three Aprilia seats, Prima Pramac’s whereabouts, both VR46 rides, the two Gresini seats, Yamaha’s remaining factory place and judging by the latest reports, two Honda spots. Plenty has happened, and there’s plenty more left to be confirmed.
How many dominoes will fall before the summer break? Time will tell. But what we do know is that MotoGP™’s latest silly season instalment is still operating at a fever pitch.