Pramac Racing to switch to Yamaha in 2025

Prima Pramac Racing have announced they will end their 20-year collaboration with Ducati Corse at the end of the 2024 MotoGP season to run Yamaha’s YZR-M1 in a “multi-year” deal with Yamaha Motor Corporation (YMC). Effective from 2025, the upcoming switch will see the return of a Yamaha satellite team to the MotoGP grid for the first time since 2021.

Under the new deal, Prima Pramac Racing will receive the latest YZR-M1, not a year-old model, they’ll remain independent and continue to operate out of their current base in the UK.

"The new partnership with Prima Pramac Racing will take a different form than we have used in the past,” said Lin Jarvis, Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing (YMR). "Rather than a satellite team, Yamaha have put their trust in Pramac Racing, and we will be providing them with factory bikes of the same specification used by the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team.

"The targets are to accelerate bike development, which remains YMC and YMR's key priority in our quest to return to winning ways, as well as having four competitive riders in the MotoGP championship in two top-class teams.”

At time of writing, Yamaha’s last win in the premier class was at the German round in 2022, but the recent re-signing of Fabio Quartararo to the factory team suggests some confidence that their form will turn for the better in the near future.

"In addition to the MotoGP programme, our collaboration includes a future Moto2 project to provide a platform to groom future MotoGP riders,” Jarvis added. “This will be developed in the months ahead.”

Of Prima Pramac Racing’s current riders, Jorge Martin has already signed with Aprilia Racing for 2025 and Franco Morbidelli is unlikely to retain his seat, so there should be two openings for next year. No-one had been confirmed at time of writing, but Trackhouse Racing’s Miguel Oliveira is considered a strong possibility. Two replacement rides with the factory Yamaha team this year has led to Remy Gardner’s name being mentioned, although it’s more likely that Pramac’s second rider will be drawn from the Moto2 class.