MotoGP 2026: Martin Gets Rossi’s Former Crew Chief as Aprilia Struggles

• Jorge Martin is set to work with David Munoz at Yamaha, Valentino Rossi’s former crew chief
• Marco Bezzecchi slipped from the championship lead to fourth place after a string of incidents
• The Red Bull Ring is setting up its first dedicated fan grandstand for Toprak Razgatlioglu in September

Several quiet weeks separate the German GP at the Sachsenring from the next round in Silverstone. Little happens on track, but plenty is going on off it. The questions on the table: who will stand at which pit wall in 2027, why a championship leader dropped away within a few races, what value a nine-time world champion still brings to his own team, and why a rookie is getting his own grandstand in Austria.

What makes Toprak Razgatlioglu’s riding style so special?

Razgatlioglu brakes extremely late and attacks fast corners aggressively. His crew chief Alberto Giribuola, the technical head of his box at Pramac Yamaha, calls it “pure magic” and says even his own team is sometimes startled by it.

Giribuola can draw the comparison because he has worked with a late braker before. He partnered with Andrea Dovizioso, who won 15 premier-class Grands Prix. He sees similarities between the two riders, but also one clear difference. Dovizioso, he says, was very sector-focused and struggled in fast sections like Phillip Island. Razgatlioglu, by contrast, shines there too, making him in some ways the more complete rider.

As a second standout trait, Giribuola points to the Turkish rider’s quick grasp of a track. If Razgatlioglu follows another rider, he can immediately adopt that rider’s lines and braking points, even if he has never ridden them before. A single reference point is enough for him to close much of the gap. Other riders often can’t follow a faster rider in the same way at all.

So far, that hasn’t shown up much in the results. The three-time Superbike world champion is still adapting to MotoGP, and above all to the Michelin tyres, which behave differently from the Pirellis used in World Superbike. He hasn’t finished inside the top ten in 2026 yet, with his best result an eleventh place in Hungary. A noticeable jump is expected for 2027, when MotoGP switches to Pirelli. Razgatlioglu is staying with the team regardless, having signed a multi-year contract with Yamaha. His new teammate will be Moto2 frontrunner Izan Guevara.

Why is Jorge Martin getting a new crew chief at Yamaha?

Martin is moving to the Yamaha factory team in 2027 and cannot bring his current crew chief with him. According to media reports, David Munoz will take on the role; he currently works with Alex Rins.

For the 2024 world champion, it’s his third manufacturer within a few years. His move to Yamaha alongside Ai Ogura was announced before the current season began, once it was confirmed that Fabio Quartararo was heading to Honda. The break is a clean one: most of his current Aprilia crew will stay behind.

Munoz brings an unusual reference with him. After splitting with Silvano Galbusera, Valentino Rossi pulled him from his own VR46 Moto2 team to the pit wall and worked with him in 2020 and 2021, his final two years in MotoGP.

Which other crew chiefs are switching in 2027?

The reshuffle runs through several teams. Martin currently works with Daniele Romagnoli, whom he brought from Pramac to Aprilia after winning the title in 2024. Despite that close bond, Romagnoli is staying in Noale and will look after Francesco Bagnaia going forward. Bagnaia’s long-time crew chief Christian Gabbarini, a key figure behind the 2022 and 2023 titles, is staying at Ducati and will be assigned to Pedro Acosta. Acosta, in turn, leaves Paul Trevathan behind at KTM.

The obvious scenario would see Trevathan and Phil Marron, currently Brad Binder’s crew chief, stay at KTM and work with Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Nothing has been finalised yet.

A rider being unable to bring his trusted crew chief along isn’t a new pattern. Marc Marquez wasn’t allowed to bring Santi Hernandez to Gresini in 2024 because he didn’t want to commit to a multi-year Ducati contract at the time. He still won races with Frankie Carchedi and dominated in 2025 with the factory team alongside Marco Rigamonti.

Why has Marco Bezzecchi dropped from first to fourth in the standings?

Bezzecchi lost the championship lead during a stretch marked by several incidents and crashes. After colliding with teammate Martin at Balaton Park, a slap at Brno that triggered a race ban, and heavy crashes at Assen and the Sachsenring, he heads into the summer break only fourth in the standings.

The start of the season looked very different. The Aprilia rider won the opening Grands Prix in Buriram, Goiania and Austin, then added a home win at Mugello. He led the championship for a long stretch. Martin currently leads with 208 points, followed by Ogura on 194 and Marc Marquez on 190. Bezzecchi sits on 186 points.

Veteran rider manager Carlo Pernat puts the slump down to changed circumstances. Last year, he says, Bezzecchi was effectively the team’s sole focus, since Martin was out injured and stand-in Lorenzo Savadori wasn’t a regular rider — the whole team stood behind him. He also only started winning once Marc Marquez was sidelined by injury. Now he has to beat both Marquez and Martin, and Martin is an awkward teammate to have.

What has changed at Aprilia since the Hungary race?

According to Pernat, the start-line incident at Balaton Park permanently changed the mood inside the factory team. He describes a team that used to function like a bubble of champagne, and where distrust has taken hold ever since.

Riders and race engineers barely speak to each other anymore, and the mood is poor. “Somehow the vase has shattered,” Pernat sums up. The situation is made worse by the fact that Martin is leaving for Yamaha at the end of the season anyway, and so rides without regard for his teammate. As an example, Pernat points to the scene in the Aprilia garage where Martin vented his frustration at Paolo Bonora.

Still, he sees a way out. Bezzecchi needs to change his mindset and take a page from Marquez, who learned to handle difficult situations after his injury. The double pressure from his own teammate and from Marquez is new territory for him. Still, Pernat’s interim verdict on the first half of the season is positive overall, since Bezzecchi led the championship for long stretches.

What role does Valentino Rossi still play at the VR46 team?

Rossi only shows up trackside for select races, but within his own team he’s seen as something of a wild card. Team manager Pablo Nieto says that on those weekends, VR46 has something other teams simply can’t offer.

Since retiring at the end of 2021, the nine-time world champion has focused on GT racing. As a result, his calendar regularly clashes with Grand Prix weekends. Nieto would like to see him in the garage more often, but knows the two programmes are hard to combine. Riders Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli would also welcome more visits.

Nieto sees the biggest value in Rossi’s experience. No one else in the paddock can draw on a comparable body of knowledge, and Rossi notices things others miss. What’s also impressive, he says, is how he passes his observations on to the riders. He was on hand for the team’s only race win of the season so far: Di Giannantonio’s victory in Barcelona in May.

Why is Cal Crutchlow calling for a riders’ union?

Crutchlow believes MotoGP riders are too poorly organised on safety issues. The former Grand Prix winner, now a test and reserve rider for LCR Honda, points to Formula 1, where the drivers present a more united front.

The debate flared up again at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno. Conditions there were extremely hot, and Crutchlow already found the sprint borderline. “It was bloody hot. One of the hottest races I’ve ever ridden,” he said afterwards. Riders had stood on the grid for a long time trying, in vain, to cool down. In his view, those in charge need to rethink the whole situation.

He left open what such a rule might look like. He simply pointed out that other sports have clear guidelines for extreme weather conditions. The real obstacle, in his view, lies with the riders themselves. There will always be someone willing to race regardless, and then everyone ends up racing. Those in charge know that perfectly well.

Crutchlow puts it down to fear of losing an edge. No rider wants to hand a rival an advantage, and many worry their manufacturer could cut payments if they sit a race out. Asked about the difference with Formula 1, the 40-year-old answered simply: “In Formula 1, they stick together.” Why that doesn’t happen in MotoGP, he said, isn’t something he can answer, since he’s no longer an active MotoGP rider.

A dedicated grandstand for Razgatlioglu at the Red Bull Ring

At the Austrian GP in September, the Red Bull Ring will set up a dedicated fan grandstand for Razgatlioglu for the first time. The area is located on grandstand T10 at the final corner and officially carries the name “T10 Toprak Razgatlioglu”.

The location has history. In 2020, Miguel Oliveira celebrated KTM’s first home win there, and three years earlier Andrea Dovizioso got the better of Marc Marquez in that very same spot on the final metres of the race.

Anyone securing a seat in the grandstand by September 7 also gets a shot at a meet and greet with the Yamaha rider. Behind the grandstand area, Turkish specialities will be on offer, alongside exclusive fan merchandise and other goodies. Children’s tickets for the Toprak T10 start at 20 euros (around 23 US dollars). The promotion is being advertised with videos of Razgatlioglu performing his trademark stoppies — front-wheel braking manoeuvres. The footage was shot in mid-May at the “Go with your Pro” event at the Red Bull Ring, where he rode, among other bikes, a Yamaha R1 from the YART team. Ticket information is available on the Red Bull Ring’s website.

How does the 2026 MotoGP season continue?

After the summer break, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone follows from August 7 to 9. This year, the Austrian GP sits unusually late in the calendar, not taking place until September 18 to 20.

That shifts the framework for the second half of the season too. The championship battle is tight, 2027 personnel planning is running in parallel, and the switch to Pirelli tyres already marks the next technical turning point on the calendar. The 2026 MotoGP season will therefore be decided on several fronts at once.

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