Pecco Bagnaia's decision to go with Aprilia for MotoGP's next ruleset means Yamaha must pivot to other targets for 2027.

The reported masterplan of reuniting former title rivals (and sometime Moto3 team-mates) Bagnaia and Jorge Martin under the same roof would have been a smooth transition to Yamaha's expected post-Fabio Quartararo era.

It has not publicly confirmed Quartararo's departure, nor is Martin's arrival official, but one way or another that side of the garage looks to be sorted.

So what about the other spot in the factory team next year? Here are the riders likely to feature in Yamaha's thinking.

Fabio Di Giannantonio

Di Giannantonio is understood by The Race to have already had initial contact with Yamaha.

Currently a VR46 rider on a factory Ducati contract, he is likely to be deemed surplus to requirements within the Ducati structure for 2027 - given Fermin Aldeguer will surely be prioritised for contract renewal, and Nicolo Bulega is a strong contender to be brought over from World Superbikes.

Di Giannantonio would certainly not make sense as a Quartararo replacement for Yamaha, but could be a dependable number two.

Enea Bastianini

Bastianini was the favourite for the Aprilia seat now being taken up by Bagnaia, so should pivot to the seat Bagnaia has spurned. 

Qualifying performance and fit for the current sprint-infused weekend format are major question marks for current Tech3 KTM rider Bastianini, but he can still be a devastatingly effective racer.

Toprak Razgatlioglu

The uber-talented Razgatlioglu seems to have had a reasonable start to life in MotoGP, and is more of a 2027 project than 2026 anyway due to his knowledge and ludicrous track record of success with Pirelli rubber.

But the silly season is probably developing way too early for Razgatlioglu to get himself at a high enough level with the Michelin tyres (in their last season) in order to justify an immediate promotion from Pramac.

Whoever Honda can't keep

Yamaha doesn't need to move too quickly to finalise its 2027 line-up now that the major chess pieces are all either in place or about to be.

But it could probably use the Honda situation to its advantage and get its hands on one of its Japanese rival’s assets.

Option one is to wait and see which of Honda's current factory line-up of Joan Mir and Luca Marini gets ejected in favour of Quartararo's arrival.

Option two is to anticipate free agency anxiety for whichever one of those two you like more (as there's also a real possibility still Honda would drop both), and get them nailed down for 2027.

Marini brings a bit of adult-in-the-room stability and developmental acumen. Mir is still one of the grid's more effective riders over a race stint. Both could be real assets.

Go leftfield

No reporting has said much about Brad Binder's 2027 prospects yet, but Yamaha could do a lot worse than resurrecting a rumoured past interest in the KTM racer - who even at his worst remains a productive rider.

Then there are other, more fanciful options on the market - like Ai Ogura, if he can recapture some of that early-2025 magic, or whoever makes the most convincing start in Moto2 this year.

Finally, Jack Miller isn't thought to be in pole position for a promotion but has had a reasonable off-season on the new V4 bike, so at the very least deserves to be a 'Plan C' to any factory team 'Plan B'.

Alex Rins

You know it's not been a great time when the current incumbent of the seat doesn't even crack the top three candidates. But that has to be the reality of the situation with Rins.

He has been unproductive since joining from LCR Honda, his 99 points as a Yamaha rider so far less than a third of what Quartararo had accrued on the other side of the garage.

His best chance of keeping the seat - if he even wants to, given the fit with Yamaha has seemed uneasy throughout - is a bit of a pause in the market that allows him to show something better on the new Yamaha. But any uptick must come very, very soon, if it's not already too late.