Fabio Di Giannantonio in advanced talks with Yamaha over 2027 MotoGP move
· Yahoo Sports
Yamaha closing in on signing Fabio Di Giannantonio
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Yamaha are close to finalising a deal with VR46 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio, as they move closer to confirming Jorge Martin’s expected teammate for the 2027 MotoGP season.
The Iwata team are set to overhaul their factory line-up for 2027. Alex Rins hasn’t been offered a new contract, and with Fabio Quartararo also departing at the end of his deal, big changes are on the horizon. Quartararo is widely expected to make the switch from Yamaha to Honda next year.
Quartararo has been central to Yamaha’s project since he joined in 2021 and went on to win the championship that same year. But while he remained the only rider able to consistently get strong results from the M1, frustrations over Yamaha’s slow return to competitiveness eventually wore him down.
Following his departure, Martin stepped up as Aprilia’s new team leader for 2026, taking over after Aleix Espargaro moved into a non-racing role within Ducati. Despite those responsibilities, it didn’t take long for Yamaha’s interest in Martin before reaching an agreement.
Yamaha and Fabio Di Giannantonio getting closer to a deal for 2027
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty ImagesYamaha’s interest in signing VR46 rider Di Giannantonio first emerged in February, after they saw Ducati star Francesco Bagnaia favour a transfer to Aprilia for 2027 because of their early issues with the V4 M1. Bagnaia backed out of joining Yamaha after watching them in testing.
But while Di Giannantonio was surprised by the initial reports of Yamaha’s interest, they are now understood to be in ‘advanced’ talks. That is according to Simon Patterson of The Race, who reports that Di Giannantonio is competing with Honda ace Luca Marini to join Yamaha.
Di Giannantonio and Marini have emerged as Yamaha’s main targets to replace Rins on their second works bike next to Martin next season. They have no ‘ill will’ for Rins, but he has not been able to perform strongly enough with the M1 since he joined the Iwata squad in 2024.
Yamaha’s talks with Di Giannantonio are believed to be ‘fairly advanced’, as he weighs up an opportunity to join a factory team ahead of his works Ducati contract expiring. Ducati chose to keep Di Giannantonio at VR46 in the 2025 and 2026 seasons after signing his works deal.
Di Giannantonio’s recent form aboard the Ducati GP26 with VR46 has likely helped him gain prominence in Yamaha’s plans. The 27-year-old enjoyed a double-podium performance last week with P2 in the Goiania Sprint and P3 in the Brazilian Grand Prix, as the top Ducati star.
The rostrum marked Di Giannantonio’s seventh career podium in MotoGP, and also his fifth over the past six rounds after finishing P2 in Australia and P3 in Valencia last term. Marini is yet to add to his two podiums since he left VR46 to replace Marquez at Honda back in 2024.
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