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Introducing Yamaha’s Factory and Supported Teams and Riders for 2026

Yamaha press releases on our motor sports racing activities

February 10, 2026

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February 10, 2026 –Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. will continue our motorsports efforts in 2026 with the same spirit of challenge we have carried since 1955, as we make various efforts under our basic policy of enhancing the value of the Yamaha brand, developing advanced technologies to feed back to our production machines and promoting the healthy growth of motorcycle racing.

For this season, we have made an organizational change by establishing the new MS Value Creation Department to handle motorsports planning and management. It will focus on creating value for stakeholders through our motorsports efforts.

Our primary focus remains on our efforts in the MotoGP World Championship. In 2024, we put together a new organizational structure as part of making a transformation aimed at global talent recruitment and updating development systems and processes. For 2025, our efforts centered around a dual factory team structure with the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP and Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP teams. We saw last year as a season of “realization,” in which we took on the challenge of developing both the inline-four and V4 engines for the YZR-M1 simultaneously. Particularly with the latter, we explored and verified the potential it held through tests and wildcard entries. In November last year, we made the decision to exclusively use the V4 engine configuration for the YZR-M1 starting in 2026.

Coming into 2026, our challenge continues as we approach the season with the same dual-factory structure as before. Four riders will be developing our current V4-powered machines toward taking victory while we also work in the background on developing our prototype for the 2027 MotoGP regulations. As we make efforts across various aspects of development, we are aiming to create new value in several domains. We are doing so by strengthening our organization, developing talent, advancing technologies like engines, chassis, electronics and aerodynamics, and developing manufacturing and production techniques that allow us to deliver these with high quality. Going forward, we aim to feed the knowledge gained from these efforts back into our products and manufacturing processes, transforming experience into value for our customers and stakeholders.

In addition to MotoGP, the BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 team, who compete in the Moto2 World Championship, enters its second year in 2026. The team serves as an objective for up-and-coming riders who are aiming to reach the pinnacle of road racing. Through the season, the team’s riders will work to develop the mental, technical and physical skills they need to step up to MotoGP. This year, the team will field two young riders whom Yamaha and Pramac will support and develop toward becoming the kind of talent capable of taking on challenges alongside our company.

In production racing, Yamaha competes in the Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), Endurance World Championship (EWC), Motocross World Championship (MXGP/MX2), AMA Supercross/Motocross, and the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship (MotoAmerica). Teams are run by Yamaha’s European and North American group companies, who campaign YZF-R and YZ series machines ridden by world-class riders aiming to win their respective championship titles.



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Main Yamaha Race Teams for 2026 *As of February 10, 2026.

Road Racing

Rider(s) Team(s) Machine
MotoGP World Championship
#20 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1
#42 Álex Rins
#43 Jack Miller Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
#7 Toprak Razgatlioğlu
Moto 2 World Championship
#28 Izan Guevara BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 Boscoscuro
#54 Alberto Ferrández
Superbike World Championship
#55 Andrea Locatelli Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team YZF-R1
#97 Xavi Vierge
#87 Remy Gardner GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
#62 Stefano Manzi
#13 Mattia Rato Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team
#54 Bahattin Sofuoğlu
Endurance World Championship
#1 Marvin Fritz Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team YZF-R1
#1 Karel Hanika
#1 Leandro Mercado
#99 Florian Marino Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99
#99 Randy de Puniet
#99 Alessandro Delbianco
#99 Bo Bendsneyder
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship
#50 Bobby Fong Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing YZF-R1
#95 JD Beach

Motocross/Supercross

Rider(s) Team(s) Machine
MXGP World Championship
#959 Maxime Renaux Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team YZ450FM
#243 Tim Gajser
#517 Isak Gifting JK Racing Yamaha YZ450F
MX2 World Championship
#47 Karlis Reisulis Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team YZ250FM
#772 Janis Reisulis
AMA Supercross: 450cc Class
#1 Cooper Webb Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team YZ450F
#32 Justin Cooper
AMA Supercross: 250cc Class
*Haiden Deegan competes in the AMA Supercross 250cc West class, riding for the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team.
#1 Haiden Deegan Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team YZ250F
#23 Michael Mosiman Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team
#25 Nate Thrasher
#37 Cole Davies
#61 Max Anstie
#163 Pierce Brown
AMA Motocross: 450cc Class
#2 Cooper Webb Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team YZ450F
#32 Justin Cooper
#38 Haiden Deegan
AMA Motocross: 250cc Class
#23 Michael Mosimann Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team YZ250F
#25 Nate Thrasher
#37 Cole Davies
#61 Max Anstie
#163 Pierce Browng

BLU CRU: Promoting Motorsports and Developing Talent

Yamaha Motor, including all our group companies worldwide, are fully behind the BLU CRU efforts we make toward promoting motorcycles and motorsports around the globe. Our motorsports division specifically aims to discover talented young Yamaha riders in both on- and off-road disciplines and develop them into riders capable of taking on challenges with us in the future, in both racing and other areas.

In recent years, we have strengthened these BLU CRU efforts. One example of this is the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU FIM World Cup (R3 FIM World Cup), which was launched by group company Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. In it, YZF-R3 machines race as part of a support class for the Superbike World Championship. In response, the Asia-Pacific region now hosts the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU Asia-Pacific Championship, while South America hosts Yamalube R3 BLU CRU América Latina, both of which are YZF-R3 spec racing series. Yamaha has built a unified global tiered step-up structure across the entire group, and as part of this, riders who excel in these regional championships have the chance to be sent to Europe to progress further.

Riders who win the R3 FIM World Cup will progress into the FIM Sportbike World Championship (WorldSPB). If successful there, the next step is a rider development seat in WorldSSP. By this point, the path to the top of the sport is clear, with further progress represented by a full-on WorldSBK seat, or by a seat in the pinnacle of the BLU CRU program: the BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 team.

Our BLU CRU efforts extend beyond racing itself, as they also encompass machine and rider talent development. We aim to cultivate the talent needed to promote and expand motorsports while creating new value.


Yamaha Supported Race Teams for 2026 *As of February 10, 2026.

Road Racing

Rider(s) Team(s) Machine
Supersport World Championship
#61 Can Öncü Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing WorldSSP Supported Team YZF-R9
#31 Yuki Okamoto
#75 Albert Arenas AS BLU CRU Racing Team
#57 Aldi Satya Mahendra
#94 Lucas Mahias GMT94 Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team
#37 Roberto Garcia

2026 Rider Profiles

Road Racing

MotoGP World Championship

#20 Fabio Quartararo

Nationality French
Born April 20, 1999
Racing team Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
           
Racing career
2015 10th in Moto3 World Championship
2016 13th in Moto3 World Championship
2017 13th in Moto2 World Championship
2018 10th in Moto2 World Championship
2019 5th in MotoGP World Championship
2020 8th in MotoGP World Championship
2021 MotoGP World Champion
2022 2nd in MotoGP World Championship
2023 10th in MotoGP World Championship
2024 13th in MotoGP World Championship
2025 9th in MotoGP World Championship

#42 Álex Rins

Nationality Spanish
Born Dec. 8, 1995
Racing team Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
Racing Career
2012 5th in Moto3 World Championship
2013 2nd in Moto3 World Championship
2014 3rd in Moto3 World Championship
2015 2nd in Moto2 World Championship
2016 3rd in Moto2 World Championship
2017 16th in MotoGP World Championship
2018 5th in MotoGP World Championship
2019 4th in MotoGP World Championship
2020 3rd in MotoGP World Championship
2021 13th in MotoGP World Championship
2022 7th in MotoGP World Championship
2023 19th in MotoGP World Championship
2024 18th in MotoGP World Championship
2025 19th in MotoGP World Championship

#43 Jack Miller

Nationality Australian
Born Jan. 18, 1995
Racing team Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
Racing Career
2011 Contested 125cc World Championship
2012 23rd in Moto3 World Championship
2013 7th in Moto3 World Championship
2014 2nd in Moto3 World Championship
2015 19th in MotoGP World Championship
2016 18th in MotoGP World Championship
2017 11th in MotoGP World Championship
2018 13th in MotoGP World Championship
2019 8th in MotoGP World Championship
2020 7th in MotoGP World Championship
2021 5th in MotoGP World Championship
2022 5th in MotoGP World Championship
2023 11th in MotoGP World Championship
2024 14th in MotoGP World Championship
2025 17th in MotoGP World Championship

#7 Toprak Razgatlioğlu

Nationality Turkish
Born Oct. 19, 1996
Racing team Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
Racing Career
2015 European Superstock 600 Champion
2016 5th in FIM Superstock 1000 Cup
2017 2nd in European Superstock 1000 Championship
2018 9th in Superbike World Championship
2019 5th in Superbike World Championship
2020 4th in Superbike World Championship
2021 Superbike World Champion
2022 2nd in Superbike World Championship
2023 2nd in Superbike World Championship
2024 Superbike World Champion
2025 Superbike World Champion

Moto2 World Championship

#28 Izan Guevara

Nationality Spanish
Born June 28, 2004
Racing team BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2
Racing career
2021 8th in Moto3 World Championship
2022 Moto3 World Champion
2023 22nd in Moto2 World Championship
2024 17th in Moto2 World Championship
2025 11th in Moto2 World Championship

#54 Alberto Ferrández

Nationality Spanish
Born Sep. 2, 2007
Racing team BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2
Racing career
2023 19th in JuniorGP Moto2 World Championship
2024 4th in JuniorGP Moto2 World Championship
2025 4th in JuniorGP Moto2 World Championship

Superbike World Championship

#55 Andrea Locatelli

Nationality Italian
Born Oct. 16, 1996
Racing team Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team
Racing career
2014 Contested Moto3 World Championship
2015 20th in Moto3 World Championship
2016 9th in Moto3 World Championship
2017 28th in Moto2 World Championship
2018 15th in Moto2 World Championship
2019 18th in Moto2 World Championship
2020 Supersport World Champion
2021 4th in Superbike World Championship
2022 5th in Superbike World Championship
2023 4th in Superbike World Championship
2024 7th in Superbike World Championship
2025 4th in Superbike World Championship

#97 Xavi Vierge

Nationality Spanish
Born April 30, 1997
Racing team Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team
Racing career
2015 Contested Moto2 World Championship
2016 20th in Moto2 World Championship
2017 11th in Moto2 World Championship
2018 11th in Moto2 World Championship
2019 13th in Moto2 World Championship
2020 10th in Moto2 World Championship
2021 11th in Moto2 World Championship
2022 10th in Superbike World Championship
2023 10th in Superbike World Championship
2024 11th in Superbike World Championship
2025 7th in Superbike World Championship

#87 Remy Gardner

Nationality Australian
Born Feb. 24, 1998
Racing team GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
Racing career
2014 32nd in Moto3 World Championship
2015 30th in Moto3 World Championship
2016 26th in Moto2 World Championship
2017 21st in Moto2 World Championship
2018 19th in Moto2 World Championship
2019 15th in Moto2 World Championship
2020 6th in Moto2 World Championship
2021 Moto2 World Champion
2022 23rd in MotoGP World Championship
2023 9th in Superbike World Championship
2024 10th in Superbike World Championship
2025 11th in Superbike World Championship

#62 Stefano Manzi

Nationality Italian
Born Mar. 20, 1999
Racing team GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
Racing career
2015 27th in Moto3 World Championship
2016 29th in Moto3 World Championship
2017 25th in Moto2 World Championship
2018 24th in Moto2 World Championship
2019 19th in Moto2 World Championship
2020 22nd in Moto2 World Championship
2021 19th in Moto2 World Championship
2022 6th in Supersport World Championship
2023 2nd in Supersport World Championship
2024 2nd in Supersport World Championship
2025 Supersport World Champion

MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship

#50 Bobby Fong

Nationality American
Born Oct. 25, 1991
Racing team Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing
Racing career
2015 6th in MotoAmerica Supersport Championship
2016 3rd in MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Championship
2017 3rd in MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Championship
2018 11th in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
2019 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion
2020 3rd in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
2021 5th in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
2022 5th in MotoAmerica King Of The Baggers Championship
2023 12th in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
2024 3rd in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
2025 3rd in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship

#95 JD Beach

Nationality American
Born Oct. 12, 1991
Racing team Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing
Racing career
2015 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion
2016 2nd in MotoAmerica Supersport Championship
2017 2nd in MotoAmerica Supersport Championship
2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion
2019 4th in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
2020 20th in MotoAmerica Supersport Championship
2021 23rd in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
2022 4th in American Flat Track
2023 11th in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
2024 8th in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
2025 7th in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship

Motocross/Supercross

MXGP World Championship

#959 Maxime Renaux

Nationality French
Born May 17, 2000
Racing team Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
Racing career
2019 7th in MX2 World Championship
2020 3rd in MX2 World Championship
2021 MX2 World Champion
2022 4th in MXGP World Championship
2023 10th in MXGP World Championship
2024 17th in MXGP World Championship
2025 7th in MXGP World Championship

#243 Tim Gajser

Nationality Slovenian
Born Sep. 8, 1996
Racing team Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
Racing career
2014 5th in MX2 World Championship
2015 MX2 World Champion
2016 MXGP World Champion
2017 5th in MX2 World Championship
2018 4th in MX2 World Championship
2019 MXGP World Champion
2020 MXGP World Champion
2021 3rd in MXGP World Championship
2022 MXGP World Champion
2023 11th in MXGP World Championship
2024 2nd in MXGP World Championship
2025 9th in MXGP World Championship

AMA Supercross/Motocross Championships: 450cc Class

#1 Cooper Webb

Nationality American
Born Nov. 10, 1995
Racing team Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team
Racing career
2013 9th in AMA Motocross 250cc class
2014 5th in AMA Supercross 250cc West Division
3rd in AMA Motocross 250cc class
2015 AMA Supercross 250cc West Division Champion
11th in AMA Motocross 250cc class
2016 AMA Supercross 250cc West Division Champion
AMA Motocross 250cc Champion
2017 13th in AMA Supercross 450cc class
8th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
2018 9th in AMA Supercross 450cc class
9th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
2019 AMA Supercross 450cc class Champion
6th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
2020 2nd in AMA Supercross 450cc class
27th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
2021 AMA Supercross 450cc class Champion
4th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
2022 7th in AMA Supercross 450cc class
2023 3rd in AMA Supercross 450cc class
12th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
4th in SuperMotocross World Championship 450cc class
2024 2nd in AMA Supercross 450cc class
35th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
5th in SuperMotocross World Championship 450cc class
2025 AMA Supercross 450cc class Champion
13th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
6th in SuperMotocross World Championship 450cc class

#32 Justin Cooper

Nationality American
Born Aug. 31, 1997
Racing team Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team
Racing career
2017 21st in AMA Motocross 250cc class
2018 3rd in AMA Motocross 250cc class
2019 2nd in AMA Supercross 250cc East Division
3rd in AMA Motocross 250cc class
2020 2nd in AMA Supercross 250cc West Division
5th in AMA Motocross 250cc class
2021 AMA Supercross 250cc West Division Champion
2nd in AMA Motocross 250cc class
2022 4th in AMA Motocross 250cc class
2023 22nd in AMA Supercross 450cc class
2nd in AMA Motocross 250cc class
6th in SuperMotocross World Championship 250cc class
2024 6th in AMA Supercross 450cc class
4th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
8th in SuperMotocross World Championship 450cc class
2025 3rd in AMA Supercross 450cc class
4th in AMA Motocross 450cc class
5th in SuperMotocross World Championship 450cc class

#38 Haiden Deegan

Nationality American
Born Jan. 10, 2006
Racing team Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team
Racing career
2023 2nd in AMA Supercross 250cc East Division
4th in AMA Motocross 250cc class
SuperMotocross World Championship 250cc class Champion
2024 2nd in AMA Supercross 250cc East Division
AMA Motocross 250cc class Champion
SuperMotocross World Championship 250cc class Champion
2025 AMA Supercross 250cc West Division Champion
AMA Motocross 250cc Champion
5th in SuperMotocross World Championship 250cc class
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