Whether officially announced or not, virtually all the spots on the 2025 MotoGP grid have been finalised. Only one free slot is truly up for grabs at Pramac, where Miguel Oliveira is all-but certain to join from Trackhouse, as Yamaha regains its longed-for satellite squad.
The Japanese company until not so many years ago dominated the premier class with champions such as Valentino Rossi (2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009) and Jorge Lorenzo (2010, 2012 and 2015). Yamaha’s most recent title came just three years ago (2021) with Fabio Quartararo, but it has lost its competitive edge over the European constructors, especially when compared to Ducati.
The turning point in the widening of that gap came precisely when Yamaha lost its satellite team at the end of 2022 due to disagreements with Razlan Razali, the squad’s owner. Yamaha executives failed to appreciate the significance of that loss which was accentuated as Rossi, no longer part of its riding stable in 2022, had immediately teamed up with Ducati for his VR46 team and turned his back on the constructor for which he remains a brand ambassador.
This led to Ducati having eight bikes on the grid in 2023 and 2024, further accelerating the development of its bike to a point where it has become unattainable for the rest. Just look at the top 10 at the British Grand Prix, where eight Desmosedici finished in a top 10 which included no Japanese bikes.
Once the serious mistake was detected, Lin Jarvis, Yamaha’s director, set to work to recover those two extra bikes as soon as possible. In 2023 he tried to convince Rossi and his VR46 operation to leave Bologna and take the step that everyone thought was natural. The answer then was the same as the one given a year later: no.
“VR46 is our plan A, our first choice and what we want to do. Plan B is Pramac. After that, there are no other alternatives,” a Yamaha executive explained to Autosport at Le Mans before a deal with Pramac was finalised at the end of June.
Oliveira is widely expected to join Pramac from Trackhouse, but the identity of his soon-to-be team-mate is less clear cut
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Yamaha has done its homework. Jarvis managed to convince Quartararo to renew his contract and then met one of the first conditions set by the Frenchman to stay by expanding to four M1s for 2025. Last week, the renewal of Alex Rins was announced, closing the factory team’s portfolio. With that achieved, the…
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