The deals are done. Everyone knows it. Pedro Acosta to Ducati. Jorge Martin to Yamaha. Ai Ogura alongside him. David Alonso to Honda. Dani Holgado to Gresini. The paddock has been an open secret for months.
So why has nobody announced anything?
The answer is one that says as much about MotoGP’s commercial structure as it does about any individual rider or team. Official announcements are on hold until the Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers Association and MotoGP Sports Entertainment reach a new commercial agreement covering the next five years. Until that deal is signed, the manufacturers have collectively agreed to hold back from confirming their rider lineups. The whole grid is in a kind of suspended animation while lawyers and executives argue over money.
The Deals Everyone Knows About
The broad picture is clearer than the official silence suggests. Acosta is widely expected to join Ducati’s factory team from 2027, replacing Francesco Bagnaia alongside Marquez, with the deal reportedly agreed before the season even began. Yamaha have signed Martin to replace Quartararo, with Ogura confirmed as his partner replacing Alex Rins. Honda have moved to pair Quartararo with David Alonso at their factory team, while Holgado is set to join Gresini Racing alongside Enea Bastianini.
On paper that is a seismic reshaping of the entire grid. Four of the five factory teams changing at least one, and in some cases both, of their lead riders. The 850cc era does not just bring new technical regulations. It brings an entirely new competitive landscape.
The Riders Who Are Still Waiting
Behind the headline moves sit a long list of riders with no confirmed future. Nicolo Bulega’s manager confirmed at Portimao that there are no written offers on the table despite discussions with multiple teams. With all three Ducati satellite teams appearing close to finalising their own lineups without Bulega, the WorldSBK championship leader faces the real prospect of missing out on MotoGP entirely.
Alex Rins, already being replaced at Yamaha by Ogura, faces a bleak market with his chances of staying on the grid appearing increasingly remote. Francesco Bagnaia, one of the sport’s most decorated riders with two consecutive world titles in 2022 and 2023, is negotiating a move to Aprilia. Franco Morbidelli, Jack Miller, Brad Binder — all are out of contract, all are searching for answers in a market that has barely opened officially while moving at full speed behind the scenes.
Why The Commercial Deadlock Matters
The standoff between manufacturers and Liberty Media is about more than rider announcements. It is about the financial framework that will govern MotoGP through the 850cc era and beyond. Justin Marks of Trackhouse Racing has compared the situation to similar negotiations he experienced in NASCAR, stressing that teams need long term financial stability to invest properly in growing the sport.
Until that framework is agreed, everything downstream., contracts, announcements, team structures, remains frozen. Riders are signing deals in private that cannot be made public. Teams are planning for a future they cannot confirm. The entire paddock is operating on the basis of agreements that officially do not exist yet.
What Happens Next
Jerez on April 24 gives the paddock its first European gathering of the season and a natural deadline around which discussions tend to accelerate. Liberty Media and the manufacturers have every incentive to resolve their commercial dispute before the summer break, when the first 850cc prototype tests are expected to ramp up significantly.
Until then, the worst kept secrets in motorcycle racing will remain exactly that. Secrets. Officially, anyway.
