The rider market, which was contracted in 2026, kicked into another gear.
The confirmation that Toprak Razgatlioglu signed Pramac Yamaha next year has sparked some serious questions about what comes next.
BMW riders will trade World Superbike Championship for MotoGP. That is, the major manufacturers of both paddocks have several decisions to make a lineup of riders.
There are important questions raised by Toprak Razgatlioglu joining MotoGP…
Pramac x Jack Miller or Miguel Oliveira?
The move to Razgatrioguru to Pramac means that only one person, Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira, can stay.
Oliveira has signed a deal in 2026, but Miller’s results are outstanding in 2025.
However, the Australian contract expires at the end of the year. This will likely be a difficult decision for Japanese factories to make.
Perhaps, in the end, Pramac drops both riders and takes the younger talent from Moto2 (Aron Canet or Manuel Gonzalez). After all, the Italian team has experience with young talent Bringin.
Through Pramac, Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller passed to arrive at the factory Ducati team in 2021. In 2019, Danilo Petrucci went the same way.
There are reasons why Yamaha chose Pramac as the official satellite team for MotoGP, and the collaboration also included a brand under the Pramac name of Yamaha’s Moto2 team. It is also true that neither Oliveira, 30, nor Miller, 30, fits the classification of “young riders.”
What does Honda do? Toprak is no longer an option
Soil Razgatrioguru
Honda reportedly was considering the possibility of bringing Razgatrioguru to MotoGP in 2027 a year later with the World BK team, and that possibility is no longer open to them.
If everything was planning and we had imagined things idyllically, it might be a double victory for the HRC, a WorldSBK title, a Suzuka 8 Hours victory, and a MotoGP success from Razgatrioguru.
But now they have to find an alternative to both their MotoGP and the struggles of the world’s superbikes.
In MotoGP, this could be Jorge Martin, assuming the Spaniard can get out of his second year of his Aprilia contract.
Also, if HRC becomes more attractive than the VR46 Ducati, it could be Pedro Acosta, and Acosta decides to get out of the KTM deal early.
WorldSBK requires a different solution. Honda has failed to sign Nicolo Brega, Andrea Rocatelli is locked up in Yamaha, and both Factory Vimota riders have recently been updated with an Italian brand featuring Kawasaki.
Honda has also already experienced Alvaro Bautista’s experience with disappointing results, and in reality it is unlikely that Razgatlioglu will deliver the immediate results he could have achieved with the CBR1000RR-R.
Perhaps Honda will move Luca Marini to the World BK team. Perhaps it will continue again in Zabi Villeges Cover’s Lecuona partnership.
What does BMW do?
The situation at BMW is probably the most curious.
In Razgatlioglu, they have not only lost the world superbike champions, but also their only world superbike champions. Additionally, Razgatlioglu is the only rider to score the podium this season on the M1000 RR, and is the only rider to win the World SBK race at Dry at BMW since rejoining as a factory team in 2019.
The obvious answer is to sign Nicolo Brega, the other dominant force in Worldsub, but the Italians confirmed his own update with Ducati just hours before the announcement of Razgatriogu’s move to Yamaha.
Meanwhile, current rumors suggest that Alvaro Bautista could be on the market next year, and Ducati has decided not to serve in his second year on the Spaniard’s current contract.
But Bautista turns 41 next year, and when he finally got on the inline four, he didn’t win for two years at Honda.
BMW also reportedly courted Andrea Rocatelli earlier this year, but the Italians were recently updated in Yamaha.
However, Rocatelli’s teammate is still open in 2026 with Jonathan Lea. Perhaps Northern Ireland riders, who have struggled in general since moving to Yamaha last year, could be a good replacement for Razgatrioguru.
There may be other options in MotoGP. Luca Marini has expired at HRC this year, and his analytical approach could be the perfect approach for BMW to make the M1000 RR a more consistent performer.
However, even if HRC lets him go, Malini could be in demand at other MotoGP plants next year. In any case, Marini’s positioning with the Suzuka 8-hour team (which means he won’t be able to race even if Marini’s injury was maintained in a recent test at Suzuka) is a sign of Honda’s belief in Italian qualities.
What’s clear is that anyone who BMW signed up to replace Razgatlioglu is unlikely to be able to provide the same kind of immediate impact that the real WorldSBK champions did last year.
Which Moto2 riders are blocked from MotoGP by Razgatlioglu’s movements?
When WorldSBK riders are added to the MotoGP rider market, complications for front and rear Moto2 riders will occur. Moto2 riders usually have a choice of MotoGP rides available in the “Silly Season”.
This year, there weren’t many Moto2 riders who seemed ready to step up, even if Razgatlioglu was not injected into the mix.
But for someone like Manuel Gonzalez, who made his MotoGP Test debut at Aragon on Monday in place of the injured Ai Ogura, the arrival of Razgatlioglu means the closure of one door to MotoGP.
Not only is Gonzalez the current Moto2 Points leader, but his riding style smoothness has also made him a strong candidate for MotoGP promotion.
With its small, accurate movement and smooth input, Gonzalez sounds like the opposite rider to Razgatlioglu, but these are qualities that make it sound like the perfect recipe for caring for your tires in a 40-minute race.
It’s only time to know if Gonzalez will step up to MotoGP in 2026, but for now he’s still winning the Moto2 title, but without a doubt, Razgatlioglu’s Pramac move will make it difficult for the younger Spaniard to find a MotoGP seat for the upcoming season.
