The 2025 MotoGP rider market means som🐭e riders will be worrying about th🍒eir future.

Fabio Quartararo’s confirmation that he will stay for two more ye🅺ars at Yamaha is a major domino to fal🎃l into place.

Other teams will begin c꧟ommitting to riders, which will inevitably leave somebody without a seat…

Franco Morbidelli

Franco Morbidelli spent the entirety of last year fending off questi൩ons about his Yamaha future, with strong suggestions that he was set to be replaced.

He was ultimately replaced by Alex Rinಞs and, unusually after such a poor period with Yamaha, ended up moving to Pramac Ducati which ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚgave him the best bike on the grid.

But Morbidelli’s 2024 started off in the worst possibleꦺ way, with a serious injury suffered on a training track day which robbed him of the chance to partake in MotoGP preseason testing.

Now, Morbidelli is ꦆplaying catch-up with the Ducati GP24, the most covete♏d machine on the grid.

He finished 18th in eac🐼h of th🐼e first two grands prix - but in both rounds, his priority was building his physical fitness and feeling with a bike which he wasn’t able to touch in preseason.

The problem for Morbidelli is that the ruthlessness of silly seaso🎶n might not wa🦂it for him to develop feeling with the Ducati.

His teammate Jorge Martin is expected to depart Pramac (for the factory team or elsewhere) while Fermin Al🐽deguer is guaranteed to arrive at a Ducati satellite team next year, probably with Pramac.

That’s one of Pramac’s b💝ikes accounted for, and the other will be Martin’s if he U-turns and opts to stay.

Morbidelli, unless he can offer a reminder of his talent, could become a forgotten ♊mꦫan.

Augusto Fernandez

Augusto Fernandez might have missed out on a MotoGP seat this season (whic൲h would ha💖ve been incredibly harsh given he was the 2022 Moto2 champion, and in his rookie premier class year in 2023).

But such is t🔥he competition within KTM, Fernandez came within a whisker of missing outไ to Pedro Acosta.

Ultimately, KTM offered a massive show of faith in Fernandez and inst𝔍ead got rid of Pol Espargaro.

But that faith means the Tech3 ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚGASGAS rider must deliver.

He does not need a ✱reminder about KTM’s willingness to axe young riders if they find somebody better.

🤪Already, he is lagging behind his ve🔯ry special and hyped-up teammate Acosta which isn’t a good look.

Fernandez finished 17th in🀅 Qatar and 11th in Portugal, whe🔯re Acosta was on the podium.

The K🦂TM is looking like the closest competitor to the Ducati in the early stages of this season which will only increase the competition for the bike that Fernandez rides.

And 💦the arrival of the brilliant Acosta has only inc෴reased the spotlight on him.

Joan Mir

Less than four years ago Joan Mir was the Mot♏oGP champion with Suzuki.

Still only 26, Mir has f♐ailed to establish himself among the top rid🍒ers on the grid.

Suzuki’s withdrawal left him scramb🐲ling and a good move, on paper, to Repsol Honda became a nightmare.

La꧙st year, Mir’s first with Honda alongside Marc Marquez, was so terrible that he was publicly questioning whether to retire.

Now with Luca Marini as his teammate, the Honda is still a wo🐻rk in progress and Mir doesn’t yet have major reason for optimism.

What is clear is that Honda are utterly determined to restoꦅre themselves to the t♕op of MotoGP, even if it currently feels like a long way away.

Marini is contracted into 2025 so, should Honda want to plough their considerable financial backing into a🔥 ဣnew rider, it would come at the expense of Mir.

Raul Fernandez

The re♒brand of Trackhouse from RNF means an exciting future - but perhaps an uncertain one for its riders🌜.

Raul Fernandez feels particularly vulnerable in comparison to his teammate, former race winner Miguel Olivei🌃ra. Trackhouse inherited both riders when they took over the team.

The suggestion is that Trackhouse, now back🐟ed by the US-based team, might fancy an American rider.

Joe Roberts, of Joh𝓡n Hopkins’&nbs🌞p;American Racing Moto2 team, has been talking up a move into MotoGP with Trackhouse.

Fernandez, meanwhile, has endured a drab start to ꦏ2024.

He stalled on the starting grid of the season-opene❀r at Qatar, then also failed to finish in Portimao.

One of four riders without a point af🎐ter two rounds, Fernandez knows that earning a MotoGP contract sometimes comes down to more than just performances. He will need to make a major statement in cඣoming weeks to prevent Trackhouse going in their own direction next year.

Takaaki Nakagami

Takaaki Nakagami is no stranger to the feeling 🌺of his MotoGP berth being threatened.

Last seaso൩n he was given a reprieve after Honda’s horrendous 2023.

But that might have had something to do with Ai Ogura also perfor🐓ming below expectation in Moto2, and failing to follow up on his runner-up finish of 2022.

Ogura, as a fellow Japane𒁏se 💟rider, would allow Honda to maintain a rider from the country of the manufacturer’s origin in its MotoGP line-up.

Ogura has finished fourth🦩 and fifth in the first two Moto2 races of the year.

LCR Honda rider Nakagami, meanwhile,🌠 has only managed 19th and 14th in💝 a desperate start to the MotoGP season.

He does, at least, have more points than Repsol Honda’s new signing Luca Marini after two rounds. But Marini’s future is assured af♈ter aღ long-term deal was handed to him.

Nakagami has no such assurances, and is already trailing behind new teammate Johann Zarco who stepped off a latest-spec 🦋Ducati last year.

Honda 🌜have majorly restructured their technical staff in a bid to improve their on-track fo⛦rtunes.

They will surely be ruthless in the rider market, too🎃, if they sense an opportunity to edge closer to the front.