Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1543002
WIND IN THE P46 Indeed, it appears Yamaha is swiftly lining up a replace- ment. Martin has emerged as its chief target, aiming to end his Aprilia nightmare. Despite injury plaguing his title de- fense, the 2024 World Cham- pion has still to feel at home aboard the RS-GP. In his repeated absence last year, he also found himself de- moted to a number two in the team, behind Marco Bezzec- chi, who confirmed a two-year extension with Aprilia for 2027 and 2028 on Monday. Aprilia is also unable to match the kind of offer Yamaha—potentially freed of Quartararo's hefty sal- ary—could muster. A member of Martin's man- agement team didn't rule out the link. "We are understanding the best options for our riders [cur- rently]," they told Cycle News. Despite the prevailing optimism surrounding KTM in 2026, Pedro Acosta also refused to rule out his signing for Ducati. Those rumors have picked up pace in recent days, with Acosta now fully expect- ed to partner Marc Marquez in factory red in 2027. A source close to Acosta's camp con- ceded, "Changing teams in an option, yes," to Cycle News. It's also believed Maverick Vinales could be in line to replace him in KTM's factory team. KTM Motorsport Direc- tor Pit Beirer has stressed the importance of the Catalan last spring when he demonstrated to engineers a different way of extracting the most from the bike. Neil Morrison MotoGP Test Riders Hit Sepang T here was reason to cheer in the Espargaro household as Aleix Espargaro (Honda) topped the three-day Shakedown test at Sepang with brother Pol (KTM) second fastest as each of the five factories prepared for the official test, which starts this week. The elder Espargaro brother wasn't just a full six-tenths quicker than the best time from last year's Shakedown with a 1: 57.173; he later claimed that the early version of Honda's 2026 RC213V is "the best bike I've ever ridden," sug- gesting HRC engineers didn't slow down over the winter months. While Pol made no such com- ments afterward, a source close to KTM's test rider claimed the engi- neers of the Austrian factory were optimistic after his 1:57.299 time. The three-day outing in Malay- sia was attended by the test riders from the five factories, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Diogo Moreira (MotoGP's two rookies in 2026), plus Yamaha's full-time riders, who were present thanks to the concessions the Iwata factory currently enjoys. All eyes were fixed on Yamaha's garages as its riders pressed ahead with testing for its new V4 YZR-M1. Quartararo was third fastest despite technical issues slowing him on the final day. "We need a lot of time to be able to understand the bike, especially for the engineers," said the Frenchman. Jack Miller, fifth on the final day, appeared more upbeat. "The big changes we needed from Valencia have been done. So now the steps just get smaller and smaller—more refined." On whether the V4 had found speed compared to 2025, he added, "It's not a rocket ship by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not as bad as it was." After suffering from engine is- sues on the first two days, Moreira was the fastest rookie, with his personal best of 1:58.338 just 1.1 seconds off Espargaro's flyer. Neil Morrison Aleix Espargaro was flying on the 2026 Honda RC213V at the Sepang Shakedown.