Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins Confirmed to Leave Yamaha MotoGP at the End of 2026

Yamaha Motor Co. officially confirmed Tuesday that Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins will leave the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team at the end of the 2026 season. The Yamaha MotoGP announcement closes an eight-year chapter for Quartararo and clears the way for Yamaha’s expected 2027 lineup. Yamaha and both riders remain committed to the season’s remaining rounds.

Eight Years, One Title: Quartararo’s Yamaha MotoGP Record

Quartararo joined Yamaha’s factory project in 2019, moved into the works seat in 2021, and won the MotoGP World Championship that year — Yamaha’s first premier-class title since 2015. Across eight seasons he recorded 11 race wins, 32 podiums, and 21 pole positions, frequently extracting results from the YZR-M1 that the bike’s competitiveness didn’t obviously support. Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Paolo Pavesio acknowledged as much in the official statement: “Fabio will always remain one of the true legends of Yamaha MotoGP.”

Quartararo posted his own statement following the announcement. “After eight seasons, the time has come for me to close an important chapter of my career,” he wrote. “Yamaha is not just a team to me.” Quartararo is widely expected to move to Honda HRC for 2027, reportedly alongside David Alonso, though that move has not yet been officially confirmed.

What’s Next for Yamaha MotoGP — and for Rins

Rins joined Yamaha in 2024 still recovering from a serious leg injury suffered in a 2024 Dutch GP crash while at Honda — meaning he arrived already behind before riding a lap for the team. His Yamaha tenure has been difficult relative to his proven record: 18 career Grand Prix wins, six of them in the premier class, largely on machinery that was often the least competitive on the grid. Pavesio thanked him for “valuable experience, meaningful insight, and unwavering commitment” in developing the YZR-M1 project. Rins’s destination for 2027 is unconfirmed; reports suggest he may exit MotoGP entirely.

The Yamaha MotoGP announcement lands in the same week as confirmation that Francesco Bagnaia will leave Ducati at the end of 2026 — part of a broader 2027 grid reshuffle now moving in a single news cycle following the resolution of the Liberty Media/MotoGP teams contract impasse. Yamaha is widely expected to confirm Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura — fresh off his maiden MotoGP victory at Assen — as the factory team’s 2027 lineup, though that announcement has not yet landed officially.

What Yamaha builds next matters more than what it’s closing now. A 2021 champion and a proven race winner are both leaving a project that has struggled to be consistently competitive, and the incoming pair — a current championship contender and a rider who just won his first race — arrive with the kind of momentum Quartararo never quite had enough machinery to match. The Yamaha MotoGP rebuild starts now, with two seats and a clean slate.

About The Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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