Yamaha has announced that Fabio Quatararo and Alex Rins will leave the team at the end of the 2026 MotoGP season.

Quartararo has long been rumored to be leaving Yamaha, as reports emerged in early January that the Frenchman had agreed to join from next season. Rins himself revealed that even in April, Yamaha informed the Spaniard that his time with them was over.

Change our minds, Alex Rins still deserves factory MotoGP ride after Yamaha confirms exit

Yamaha will release Fabio Quatararo and Alex Rins when their contracts expire

Word spread throughout the MotoGP paddock ahead of the start of the 2026 season in January. Quartararo will join Honda on a two-year contract starting in 2027After initial tests with the V4 engine, Yamaha lost confidence in its ability to return to the front of the field.

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It appeared that way quickly Yamaha is set to sign Aprilia rider George Martin. From 2027 to replace Catarraro, but the transfer of the 2024 champion has not yet been announced. Martin has already lost his ride, but Aprilia have signed Francesco Bagna to a four-year contract.

Rins, meanwhile, looks set to remain a full-time rider in MotoGP for 2027, an open secret. Yamaha are signing Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura. To replace the Spanish. It wouldn’t be long before Yamaha announced the departure of Martin and Ogura to the Iwata team.

After swapping places with Valentino Rossi, Quattararo will take the title in his first year with the factory team in 2021, leaving Yamaha as the latest riders’ champion. Yamaha has promoted the Cataracer from Petronas SRT after two years in the satellite team.

Also, Quattroro is the last rider to win a MotoGP Grand Prix for Yamaha, as neither has finished on the podium since the Nice native won the 2022 German GP. It has been four years since Quattararo won at the Sachsenring, following an ’82 Grand Prix drought.

Rins, on the other hand, could not find the form on the Yamaha M1 that he showed during the races on Suzuki and Honda bikes. In the year The 30-year-old, who broke his right leg in the 2023 Sprint Race at Mugello, has never been the same rider.

From Yamaha, the managing director talking about their rise Paolo Pavesio He praised Quartararo and Rin for their “important” role in the Iwata outfit’s efforts. “It’s not easy at all,” he admitted, saying goodbye to his Cavaliers line-up for the past three years.

“Fabio and Alex have both played an important role in Yamaha’s MotoGP project, and we are very grateful for their efforts, dedication and cooperation over the years,” said Pavesio.

“Fabio’s journey with Yamaha has spanned eight years, during which we have experienced both great successes and difficult times. Together we have grown, celebrated the successes that have shaped our history and faced the challenges that have motivated us.

“Beyond the results, it is this journey that defines our relationship, and ultimately Fabio will always remain one of the true legends of Yamaha MotoGP.

Since joining Yamaha in 2024, Alex has brought valuable experience, meaningful insight and unwavering commitment, playing a major role in the development of the YZR-M1 project.

“After years of being together, it is not easy to say goodbye, but we will continue to focus on working as a team to achieve the best results until the end of the season.”