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'Aprilia identify bargain replacement for Jorge Martin in 2027'

11:30, 14 Feb

byAndrew McLarney

Former Ducati race-winner Enea Bastianini could be at the center of Aprilia's plans to replace Jorge Martin at the end of the 2026 season according to a report from Motorsport.com.

There has been a lot of recent speculation surrounding potential switches and changes on the MotoGP grid ahead of a major regulation overhaul in 2027.

The majority of the grid will be out of contract at the end of the season and many of the top riders are rumoured to be looking at other teams.

So far, there has been speculation around Pedro Acosta's potential move to Ducati, Quartararo switching to Honda as well as the potential rider pairing of Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin in Yamaha's future.

While Aprilia has been confident in Marco Bezzecchi after he proved himself as a top talent in 2025, Martin's future remains much less clear after the Spaniard missed the majority of last season through injury and endured some tense contract disputes with the Italian team.

Motorsport.com outlined KTM Tech3's Enea Bastianini as a potential replacement should Martin leave the team in the near future. The Italian rider would be a worthy replacement given his track record of multiple race victories, and would also come with a significantly reduced price tag compared to Martin.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

However, things could also be complicated by the solid performances of Raul Fernandez, who recently started to find the best form of his MotoGP career with his maiden race win and a podium at the end of 2025.

Given Aprilia's much improved performances in recent years, it means that they now have to opportunity to select from some of the grid's top talent this year and will be a desirable team for most riders to end up at for 2027.

Things could certainly change depending on how riders perform this year, but it seems quite clear that tensions still exist between Martin and Aprilia for now.

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