Following the bombshell rep🌼ort that Jorge Martin is looking to exit Aprilia at the end of the 2025 MotoGP season, speculation has turned to what could happen next year.

While it is known that reigning world champion Jorge Martin’s desired destination for next season is the fact🌃ory Honda sq🔥uad, ꦓhe could well be held to h🌼is Aprilia contract should it win a legal battle with him.

In both scenarios, it’s hard to see how Martin does line up on the 2026 grid on an Aprilia, leaving the door open🐟 to speculation as to who could replace him if he does leave.

Aprilia is in𓄧 an unfortunate position in that it would be out of sync with the majority of the field’s contracts, leaving very few options for 2026 and certainly noꦚne as A-list as the reigning world champion.

But there are several💦 riders out of contract who could be good fits.

The team has its say on what those options could be and th♉e best route for Aprilia to explore.

The under-the-radar option currently helping another struggling marque

Lewis Duncan

Assume Martin is not on the bike, if he does end up at Honda then you look at Luca Marini as kind of a fair trade there because Honda really likes his analytical approa𒐪ch to bike development and that’s something that Aprilia could really benefit from.

Say nothing changes at H𒐪onda, looking at somew꧂here else on the grid, there are KTM riders who are not happy with the situation right now.

The future still remains really uncertain at this point. Does that pave the w⭕ay for, as a short-term, we need a quick cheap replacem💝ent, Enea Bastianini?

That was the preferred option before he weꦬnt to KTM last year. It hasn’t worked out at KTM.

Could it work out better at Aprilia? An all-Italian line-up would suit them. I don’t think KTM💧 would put up a big fight to kee𒁃p Bastianini given his results so far.

“There’s one rider out of contract ne🍬xt year who we haven’t spoken about in that role, who has prov꧅en he’s a good factory rider and a good development rider - Jack Miller.

Why would you not want a guy who has ridden Hondas, ridden Ducatis, ridden KTMs, ridden Yamahas? Miller’s not too old either, so maybe he’s the curveball option🦂 in this whol🐼e thing.

The rider most likely to lose out if Jorge Martin does go to Honda

Peter McLaren

There’s nobody ready to step i🉐nto the role, that’s the other thing we have to point out.

We’ve seen in the past you’ve had in the Andrea Do♎vizioso case somebody who stepped back, he found himself without any options [for 2021].

But tha❀t also put him in a prime position to step in if a ride suddenly became available. There’s nobody really in that situation.

Augus𒁃to Fernandez is the nearest at Yamaha, but he’s seeing his future at 𝐆Yamaha.

W🌄e know they like Italian riders. They made a big deal of signing Marco Bezzecchi for this year.

You’ve got Luca Ma𓄧rini [currently at the factory Honda team] who has experience and is free, potentially, or at least is out of contract at the end of this year.

Also Franco Morbidelli, those guys. It depends what angle they want on this. Let’s face it, t🎃hey’re not going to find another reigning world champion to come in.

The young gun who deserves a promotion

Jordan Moreland

In terms of who replaces Martin at Aprilia, because I d✤o think - no matter🦹 what comes out of this - he will not be on an Aprilia eventually.

In terms of next year, Ai Ogura potentia𒅌lly for one year you could look at that, s💯ee what he can do.

Let’s see if a factory environment brings the best out of him because I think he’s shown that he’s been the be💃st Aprilia rider this year and that’s probably the safe oꦰption.

Moto2, do you look at someone like Manu Gonzalez, for example? He’s got close ♔ties with Yamaha in the past and potentially there’s a Pramac angle to that if he wins the title really convincingly.

Do they [Aprilia] look at him on a cheap o🅠ption? Luca Marini,♐ I suppose is a really good option.

He’s a good rider in terms of bike development. We’ve seen it at Honda and I suppose the Ducati days as we💜ll. He’s been in big factories, he knows the kind of pressure that comes with it.