The 2025 MotoGP rider market means 🌳some riders will be worrying about their future.

Fabio Quartararo’s conꦜfirmation that he will stay for two 🎃more years at Yamaha is a major domino to fall into place.

Othꦇer teams will bꦚegin committing to riders, which will inevitably leave somebody without a seat…

Franco Morbidelli

Franco Morbidelli ♊spent the entirety of last year fending off questions about his Yamaha future, with strong🎀 suggestions that he was set to be replaced.

He was ultimately replaced by Alex Rins and, unusually after such a poor period with Yamaha, ended up moving to Prama☂c Ducati which gave him the best bike on the grid.

But Morbidelli’s 2024 started off in thಞe worst possible way, with a serious injury suffered on a training track dayꦫ which robbed him of the chance to partake in MotoGP preseason testing.

Now🍌, Morbidelli is playing catch-up with the Ducati GP24, the most cov🎀eted machine on the grid.

He finished 18th in each of the first two grands prix - but in both rounds, his priority was building his physical꧃ fitness and feeling with a bike which he wasn’t abﷺle to touch in preseason.

The problem for Morbidelli is that the ruthlessness of silly season might not wait for hi♕m to develop feeling with the Ducati.

His teammate Jorge Marti♈n is expected to depart Pramac (for the factory team or elsewhere) while Fermin Aldeguer is guaranteed to arrive at a Ducati satellite team next🥂 year, probably with Pramac.

That’s one of Pramac’s bikes accounted for, and the other will be Martin’s if he U-turns⛄ and opts to stay.

Morbidelli,🐠 unless he can offer a reminder of his talent, could become a forgotten man.

Augusto Fernandez

Augusto Fernandez might have missed out ๊on a MotoGP seat this season (which would have been incredibly harsh given he was the 2022 Moto2 champion, and in his rookie premier class year in 2023).

But such is the competition within KTM, Fernandez came within a whiske🍨r of missing out to Pedro Acosta.

Ultimately, K💛TM offered a massive show of faith in Fernandez and instead got rid of Pol Espargaro.

Bu🌠t that faith means the Tech3 GASGAS rider must deliver.

He does not ne🐻ed a reminder about KTM’s willingness to axe young riders if they find somebody better.

Already, he is lagging behind his very special and hyped-up teammate Acosta which isn’t⛦ a good look.

Fernandez finished 17th in Qatar and 11th in Portugal, where Acosta was🌱 on the podi🍷um.

The KTM is looking like the closest competitor to the Ducati in the early stages of this season which will only incr🅺ease the competition for the bike that Fernandez rides.

A💙nd the arrival of the brilliant Acostaꦰ has only increased the spotlight on him.

Joan Mir

Less than four years ago Joan Mir🃏 was the MotoGP chaᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚmpion with Suzuki.

Still only 26, Mir 𝓀has failed to establish himself amongꦗ the top riders on the grid.

Suzuki’s withdrawal left him scrambling and a good move, on paper, toꦉ Repsol Honda became a nightmare.

Last year, Mir’s first with Honda alongside Marc Marquez, was so terrible that he was publicly questioཧning whether to retire.

Now with Luca Marini as h💮is teammate, the Honda is still a work in progress and Mir doesn’t yet have major reason for optimism.

What is clear is that Honda are utterly determined to restore themselves to the top of MotoGP, even if it currently feels like a long way awꩲay.

Marini is contracted ꦦinto 2025 so, should Honda want 🌜to plough their considerable financial backing into a new rider, it would come at the expense of Mir.

Raul Fernandez

The reb🔜rand of Trackhou🎀se from RNF means an exciting future - but perhaps an uncertain one for its riders.

Raul Fernandez feels particularly vulnerable in comparison to his teammate, former race winner Miguel Oliveira. Trackhou🍎🐻se inherited both riders when they took over the team.

The suggestion is that Trackhouse, now backed by the US-based team, mig꧃ht fancy a༒n American rider.

Joe Roberts, of John Hopkins’ American Racing Moto2 team, has been talking up🌞 a mo💯ve into MotoGP with Trackhouse.

Fernandez❀, meanwhile, has endured a drab start to 2024.

He stalled on the starting grid of ♎the season-opener at Qatar, then also failed to finish in Portimao.

One of four riders without a point after two rounds, Fernandez knows that earning a MotoGP contract sometimes comes down to more 🌄than just performances. He will need to make a major statement in coming weeks to prevent Trackhouse going in their own direction next year.

Takaaki Nakagami

Takaaki Nakagami is no stranger to the♎ feeling of his MotꩲoGP berth being threatened.

Last seasonꦗ he was given a reprieve after Honda’s horrendous 2023.

But that might have had something to do with Ai Ogura ꦉalso performing below expectation in Moto2, and failing to follow up on his runner-up finish of 2022.

Ogura, as a fellow Japanese rider, would allow Honda to maintain a rider f𝓡rom the country of the manufacturer’s origin in its MotoGP line-🀅up.

Ogura has finished fourth and f🦩ifth in the fi🌠rst two Moto2 races of the year.

LCR Honda rider Nakagami, meanwhile, has only managed 19th and 14th in a d🦹esperate start to the MotoGP season.

He does, at least, have more points than Repsol Honda’s new signing Luca Marini afte𝔉r two rounds. But Marini’s future is assured a🐠fter a long-term deal was handed to him.

Nakagami has no such assurances, and is already trailing behind n𓂃ew teammate Johann Zarco who stepped off a latest-spec Ducati last year.

Honda have majorly restructured their technical staff in a bid to improve the♛ir on-track fortune🍰s.

They will surely be ruthless in the rider market, too, if they sense ൩an opportunity to edge closer to the 🍰front.