MOTOGP VETERANS FACE A TOUGH ROAD BACK TO MOTO2

MotoGP’s 2027 reshuffle will leave only five of the current 22 riders in their existing jobs, as the series also introduces new 850cc prototypes. Twelve riders are expected to move to different teams, including Fabio Quartararo, who is heading to Honda HRC; Jorge Martin, bound for Yamaha; Fabio Di Giannantonio, moving to KTM; and Pecco Bagnaia, joining Aprilia.

Five current riders will leave MotoGP: Alex Rins, Jack Miller, Franco Morbidelli, Maverick Viñales and Brad Binder. All have won in the premier class, but none is expected to return to Moto2 in 2027—a route taken by some riders in earlier eras.

Rins said a Moto2 seat was never among the alternatives he considered. “Everyone sees it differently, but MotoGP is a unique experience in the GP paddock, one that can’t be compared with anything else,” he told Speedweek. After failing to secure a place with a factory Superbike team, the Yamaha rider plans to retire after 15 years in Grand Prix racing, which included finishing runner-up in the Moto2 world championship.

Miller will move to the Superbike World Championship with Yamaha, while Binder has secured a factory BMW deal. Morbidelli, the 2017 Moto2 champion, will continue racing in 2027 as Nicolo Bulega’s successor at Ducati. Unlike Rins, he has not ruled out a future return to Moto2. “MotoGP is something very special, of course—but first and foremost, I’m a racer,” he said. “So why shouldn’t I race in Moto2, as long as I’m competitive and still passionate? The class is also enormously tough and exciting, in its own way.”

Intact GP team boss Jürgen Lingg, whose team previously brought Tom Lüthi back to Moto2 after his MotoGP stint, believes such a move would now be difficult. Lüthi finished third in the 2019 championship, but Lingg noted that he already had extensive experience in the category and spent only one year in MotoGP.

“Right now, I think it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for a MotoGP rider to step down successfully,” Lingg said. He pointed to the depth of young talent in Moto2 and the technical contrast between the classes: MotoGP’s emphasis on electronics and aerodynamics makes adapting to a category with almost no electronics a major challenge. In Moto2, he added, even small shortcomings can keep a rider out of contention at the front.

Viñales is the remaining departing rider whose next role is unclear. The leading Moto2 seats for 2027 have already been filled, and a development-rider position may be an option; otherwise, he could try to remain in the conversation as a substitute rider. For now, the path from MotoGP appears to lead elsewhere rather than back to the intermediate class.