Rider market: VR46 bides its time; six riders left waiting

Sunday, 23 August 2026 at 12:00

The MotoGP rider market is waiting to make its final moves. After the reconfirmation of Raul Fernandez with Trackhouse Aprilia, announced on the eve of Silverstone, there are still six names on the bubble. It seems only a matter of time, perhaps waiting for the home races, before issuing the official press releases. Will VR46 make the announcement at Misano?

An Aprilia for Bastianini

The deals are done for the factory MotoGP teams. Ducati has chosen Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta, Aprilia will bet on Marco Bezzecchi and Pecco Bagnaia, KTM on Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio. The Japanese giants Honda and Yamaha will opt respectively for Quartararo-Moreira and for Martin-Ogura. The American satellite squad Trackhouse will have to fill the gap left by Ai Ogura, the real surprise of this championship. Everything points to Enea Bastianini, even if it’s not official yet. It could arrive at the Misano GP, the home race for the rider from Romagna. “The Beast” has celebrated all his successes on a Ducati, while with the KTM RC16 he has struggled to find his way to the podium.

Room for the youngsters

Another seat still awaiting final confirmation concerns Pramac Yamaha. Toprak Razgatlioglu has another year on his contract, and alongside him could be Izan Guevara, Moto3 champion in 2022 and currently in the hunt for the Moto2 title. Here too, the announcement from the Iwata manufacturer is a mere formality.

That leaves the VR46 and Tech3 teams, which so far have not announced either of their riders. VR46-Ducati will welcome Fermin Aldeguer and Nicolò Bulega, the only Italian rider set to race a Desmosedici next MotoGP season. For both, Misano could be the ideal stage for the official announcement.

Marini-Tech3, only the announcement is missing

That leaves Tech3. Before the last MotoGP weekend, three riders seemed to be in the running for a spot in Gunther Steiner’s team. It’s been clear for weeks that Luca Marini has already reached an agreement, and alongside him will be Senna Agius. But the wait leaves room for doubts and second thoughts. Even though next season’s grid now seems all but set, we can’t rule out last-minute twists...