It’s been a busy few days in the rider market, with no less than six seats announced over the course of a few short days. First up were Ducati, who on Friday announced that Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) had edged out Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) to a place in the factory side alongside star man Francesco Bagnaia from 2023.
The decision brought an end to one of the longer running sagas of the season, with the Italian coming out on top of a three-way battle for the place. It also means that Martin will continue with Pramac for the foreseeable future, with Johann Zarco as his teammate.
Then, on Tuesday, Aprilia confirmed the line-up of their first ever MotoGP™ satellite team, with four-time premier class race winner Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) making the switch to the Noale factory, while they also secured the services of Tech3 rookie Raul Fernandez once the current campaign concludes.
Earlier in the day, Honda announced that current Suzuki rider and 2020 World Champion Joan Mir will partner Marc Marquez in the Repsol colours from next year, making for a formidable-looking outfit.
As a result of the big moves in the Ducati and Aprilia boxes, the five riders involved will take to the stage to discuss their respective moves, and their motivations behind them, on Thursday at 17:40 CET in Misano. Bastianini, Martin, Zarco, Oliveira and Fernandez will all be present at the Special Conference to field questions from the media, while it will be free to stream on motogp.com.
As for Mir, he won’t be present at the Press Conference, but motogp.com will have his reaction to the move too on Thursday so make sure you stay tuned for all the latest news!