Jorge Martin has been heavily linked with Honda as he pushes to leave Aprilia at the end of the 2025 MotoGP season.
Alberto Puig confirmed Honda’s interest in Martin at Silverstone, after the 2024 MotoGP champion triggered an exit clause in his contract with Aprilia. The Spaniard is allowed to leave if he is not in a competitive position after the first six races.
Aprilia say the exit clause is invalid as the 27-year-old has barely ridden the RS-GP25; he has missed six of the seven races in 2025 through injury. However, Martin’s injuries are ‘not specified’ in the clause, with the Spaniard doubling down on his desire to leave in a recent statement.
This opens the door for him to join Honda, but there are several things to iron out behind the scenes. Martin must break free from his Aprilia contract before the Japanese manufacturer can confirm his signature.
Honda must also finalise their rider line-up for 2026, with Johann Zarco and Luca Marini out of contract this season. Zarco is set to stay at LCR, while the latter is awaiting his fate with the factory team.
Reports were suggesting that Marini could be demoted to LCR amid Honda’s links with Pedro Acosta. However, it now seems the manufacturer have changed their mind after reaching an agreement with Martin.
Luca Marini is set to leave Honda as Jorge Martin offered a three-year contract
Massimo Rivola met with Honda senior figures at Le Mans after Martin expressed his desire to leave Aprilia. The two parties will work through this awkward situation in the most professional way possible.
In a report from Paddock GP, ‘meetings with Puig have intensified’ as Martin seeks a move to Honda. It appears a contract has been offered as a ‘three-year agreement is ready’, which would take the Spaniard until 2028.
Martin would ‘become the figurehead of the project’ at Honda from 2026, provided he can find a way out of his situation at Aprilia. If he can, the Japanese manufacturer already have a ‘specific plan’ in place.
The report says that Martin will partner with Joan Mir at the factory team, leaving Marini out of a seat. A move to LCR was tipped for the Italian, but it is now believed that Somkiat Chantra will be retained alongside Zarco.
With Martin’s move, Marini is set to leave the Honda brand upon the expiration of his contract. However, ‘no decision has been communicated’ officially, with there being a number of things preventing an announcement.
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Luca Marini is set to be out until the summer break after Suzuka crash
As aforementioned, Martin’s move to Honda cannot go through until he has officially left Aprilia. The situation is made more difficult for the Japanese outfit after Marini’s serious accident while preparing for the Suzuka 8 Hour race.
The Italian went to Japan after the British Grand Prix with Zarco to begin testing for the event. On day two, he suffered a horror crash and sustained several injuries, including a dislocated hip, damaged ligaments in the left knee and a pneumothorax.
Martin sent Marini a message on social media, having also suffered a pneumothorax on his return to racing in Qatar. With the severity of the injury, the Honda rider ‘will not return before the summer break, at best’.
In good spirit, Honda will not announce their agreement with Martin while Marini is recovering in hospital. However, it seems that, unofficially, the Italian’s fate for 2026 has been decided.
