Álex Rins is done with motorcycle racing. On the eve of the San Marino Grand Prix, the Monster Energy Yamaha rider confirmed he will leave MotoGP at the end of 2026, but ruled out a rumored move to the World Superbike Championship. Instead, Rins will step away from two-wheeled competition entirely and pursue a project on four wheels instead.
The rumors had been building at Magny-Cours, and Rins cleared them up himself during Thursday's media scrum at Misano. Discussions with Go Eleven reportedly fell through, and rather than chase a Plan B in WSBK racing, the 30-year-old Spaniard went a different direction entirely.
"I will not go to Superbike next year," Rins said. "I had two possibilities there. I really want to say thanks to them because they were quite interested in me. But I found another thing that really motivates me more." He added that he can't reveal the new project yet because negotiations are still on-going but hinted that it would be on four wheels instead of two.
"I'm really happy. For sure it was difficult to choose, because all my life in MotoGP, in this championship, many fights, many races, many wins," says Rins. "14 years, more or less. So yeah, I will stop with two wheels."
Rins didn't slam the door completely on bikes. He floated the idea of a limited return in the vein of Cal Crutchlow.

#wheels #motogp #entirely

Photo by Yamaha Racing.
Andrea Locatelli's 2026 has slid far enough that Yamaha is reshuffling his garage midseason. Starting from the French Round at Magny-Cours, the Pata Maxus Yamaha rider will work with a new crew chief, Emanuele Martinelli, replacing Giulio Nava for the final four rounds of the year, WorldSBK.com confirmed.
Niccolo Canepa, Yamaha Motor Europe's road racing sporting manager, spoke to the WorldSBK world feed during FP1 at Magny-Cours and did not dress up the situation. "On Locatelli's side, the results have been lower than the expectation, we can't hide from that," Canepa said. "We needed a bit of a reset to help him regain his confidence. To reshuffle the people in the garage could be a positive thing."
Andrea Locatelli walks the Magny-Cours track with his new Crew Chief Emanuele Martinelli.
The move comes after a campaign that has fallen well short of what the #55 delivered a year ago. Locatelli sits outside the top 10 in the 2026 standings, a stark drop from the fourth-place finish he managed in 2025, when he battled Alvaro Bautista and Danilo Petrucci for third and finally broke through for his first WorldSBK win in Race 2 at ****** en. This season he has yet to reach the podium at all. His best result is a fifth in Race 2 at Phillip Island, with his only other top-six coming in Race 1 at ****** en. Locatelli faces his first season without a podium in WSBK.

#yamaha #magny #andrea #canepa

Photo: David Funk
Josh Herrin leads the way for Team North America - on a Yamaha R7!
Begin press release:
FIM North America announced its roster for the 2026 FIM Intercontinental Games, taking place Dec. 10-13 at the famed Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna in Goiânia, Brazil, with all six FIM Continental Unions (CONU) battling for global bragging rights.
After a successful inaugural event in 2024, the 2026 FIM Intercontinental Games will provide an opportunity for FIM North America - which is made up of the American Motorcyclist ******* ociation, Canadian Motorcycle ******* ociation and Barbados Motoring Federation - to once again compete against the remaining CONUs from around the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Oceania.

#north #intercontinental

Photos by Yamaha Racing.
MotoGP is seen as the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, but as the 2027 grid fills up, several proven premier-class riders are finding themselves without a seat. For those awaiting new contracts, the production-based World Superbike Championship is emerging as the obvious alternative.
Jack Miller is the most recent example, as previously reported, after Yamaha confirmed it will part ways with the four-time MotoGP race winner at the end of 2026. The team is promoting Moto2 standout Izan Guevara to partner with Toprak Razgatlioğlu at Pramac for 2027. Miller, an 11-year veteran from Townsville with 210 Grand Prix starts, 23 podiums, and four wins, is considering several options for next year, including a move to WSBK.
"I'm looking at options over in WorldSBK, trying to swap over there and with my experience on the Michelin tire over the last 11 years, hopefully I'll be able to take some of that experience over there and see what we can do in a different form of racing," Miller said ahead of the Aragon Grand Prix. "There's some stuff over there, sure, but we're not in a massive rush to try to secure something tomorrow, it's about making the decision that I like the most going forward. It has to suit me, where I see my career going in the next few years and what sort of route I'd like to take."
Álex Rins, an eight-time MotoGP race winner and 2020 third-place finisher, is another odd man out for 2027. Yamaha's factory team has signed Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura, leaving him without a ride. Rins confirmed ongoing talks with WorldSBK teams and hinted at additional suitors outside the paddock.

#worldsbk #several

Photos by Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)
Enea Bastianini is trading Tech3 KTM's struggling package for one of the 2026 grid's genuine front-runners, joining the SuperFile Trackhouse squad on Aprilia machinery for the next two seasons.
Trackhouse confirmed the signing on August 24, with the Italian set to partner Raul Fernandez, who recently renewed with the American outfit. Bastianini fills the seat vacated by Ai Ogura, who is moving to Yamaha. The switch pairs "The Beast" with a team that has been a regular presence at the sharp end of the championship this year - a marked upgrade over the Tech3 KTM effort he's been enduring.
Tech3 announced the split in the week leading up to Aragon, posting a farewell to Il Romagnolo on social media. "After two seasons with the team, it's time to say goodbye to Enea Bastianini at the end of the year," the team wrote. "Thank you for everything you've brought to the team over the past two seasons: the commitment, the racing, the laughs and the moments along the way. We've still got a season to finish together, but we'll be wishing you all the good luck, Enea!" Bastianini still has the balance of 2026 to run out on the RC16 before closing that chapter.
The timing lines up with a broader reset across MotoGP. Bastianini steps into a new-era Aprilia RS-GP built around the incoming regulations, with the reduced-capacity 850cc machinery, revised tires, and a fresh rulebook all landing at once. Pre-season testing kicks off at Valencia after the 2026 finale, giving him an early run at development work on the new bike.

#tech3 #team #seasons #year

Fabio Quartararo says his decision to join Honda in MotoGP next year was motivated by both a desire for an improved package and the need for a fresh start.
After eight years racing the M1 in the premier class, including six with Yamaha's factory team, Quartararo will join Honda in 2027 to spearhead its MotoGP revival.
The Frenchman has grown increasingly frustrated with Yamaha's competitive struggles in recent years, with a switch to an all-new V4 engine in 2026 only leaving the marque further adrift of the competition.
While he previously agreed a new two-year deal with the Iwata-based manufacturer covering the 2025 and 2026 seasons, this time he moved quickly, signing an agreement with Honda before his Yamaha contract was even up for renewal and before he had started its final year.
But his impending switch from one ****** anese brand to another was only announced towards the end of July, preventing him from talking about his big career switch in public.

#switch

Pramac MotoGP rider Jack Miller says talks with Yamaha about his future are progressing well and an announcement could be made in the coming weeks.
The Australian strongly hinted that he could switch to the World Superbike Championship next year, with his time in MotoGP set to come to an end after 12 seasons.
Yamaha is expected to promote Izan Guevara from Moto2 to partner incumbent Toprak Razgatlioglu at Pramac next year, leaving no ****** e for Miller at its satellite squad.
But his relationship with the ****** anese manufacturer may continue into next year, with the 31-year-old touted to replace Xavi Vierge in the production-based category.
Asked whether he was talking to Yamaha about 2027, Miller said: "In other championships, yeah.

#miller #jack #australian #World

Max Anstie will join ClubMX for the remainder of the 2026 SuperMotocross World Championship and remain with the team through 2028. The announcement came 10 days after he announced the parting of ways with Monster Energy / Yamaha Star Racing.
"We're incredibly excited to welcome Max to ClubMX," said Brandon Haas, Owner of ClubMX in a news release. "I've always respected the way Max carries himself. He's a true professional and represents himself exactly the way you'd want someone to represent your organization. He's the kind of person who naturally raises the level of everyone around him, and I honestly don't believe we've seen the best version of Max yet."
The deal includes the 2026 SMX Playoffs. Anstie is currently 44 points above the cutoff line of 21st in combined Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross points. He has not raced in the outdoor series since a crash in the first moto at Fox Raceway in the season opener.
If he falls out of the top 20 in combined points, Anstie will be guaranteed a spot in the Last Chance Qualifiers for the three playoff rounds after winning the first race of the Supercross 250 West division at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
Anstie's role at ClubMX will be more than simply as a rider. Considering the youth of the majority of the team's riders, Anstie will provide mentorship.

Maverick Vinales has drawn parallels between his current KTM contract dispute and the breakdown in his previous relationship with Yamaha, arguing that MotoGP teams have repeatedly pushed him to the edge.
The 10-time grand prix winner has made no secret about his frustration with the way KTM has handled his contract situation, publicly pinning the responsibility on the Austrian manufacturer for jeopardising his future in MotoGP.
Ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix, Vinales claimed that he had signed a contract extension for 2027, only to be told the deal was no longer valid. Speaking after Friday practice at Sachsenring, the Spaniard said the latest episode had brought back memories of his turbulent split with Yamaha in 2021.
Vinales was fired by Yamaha midway through that season after he allegedly tried to damage his bike's engine at the Styrian Grand Prix. He had already agreed to leave the team a year before the expiry of his contract prior to the infamous Red Bull Ring incident.
"What I said on Thursday is basically the truth of the situation and what happened," he said. "So this is the truth and I don't want to hide the truth because it is the same as it happened in Yamaha. A lot of people start to say that I have mental problems. No, I don't have anything.

The rumors are now confirmed. After announcing that Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins would be leaving the factory Yamaha MotoGP team at the end of the year, Yamaha have now signed Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura to take their places. Both moves could be seen as surprises, considering Yamaha's struggles recently, but we suspect lots of zeros were added to the contract to lure Jorge Martin (not to mention Martin secured his Aprilia exit after his antics last year trying to leave the team) and Ogura, though the latter might also be excited to ride for a **** anese manufacturer and provide input as part of the factory team.
The full press release is below.
Begin press release:
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce that Jorge Martín and Ai Ogura have signed with the Yamaha Factory MotoGP Team for the 2027 and 2028 MotoGP seasons.
As MotoGP prepares to enter a new technical era in 2027, Yamaha continues to shape the foundations of its long-term project by combining proven championship-winning experience with one of the sport's brightest emerging talents.