Prima Pramac Racing has officially announced a multi-year arrangement with Yamaha to become its satellite team starting 2025.
The championship-leading Prima Pramac Racing has officially announced its switch from Ducati to become Yamaha’s satellite team after signing a multi-year deal that will start from 2025 MotoGP.
With the signing of a new multi-year contract with Yamaha, the Italian team will end a relationship that started almost two decades ago in 2005.
The announcement comes following concerns over Pramac’s future with Ducati with world championship leader Jorge Martin leaving the outfit and Marc Marquez saying the the team was not an option for him, while Yamaha was in search of a satellite MotoGP team.
Prima Pramac Racing has dominated this season thanks to two factory-spec GP24s as Jorge Martin holds an eighteen-point lead entering this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Assen. Despite the impressive performance, they chose not to exercise their option to extend their contract with Ducati due to a number of related issues.
The two outfits got into a dispute that ultimately resulted in the split after Campinoti sensed that Ducati was becoming more and more interested in the VR46 structure. The Italian manufacturer even suggested that Pramac give up an official bike to Valentino Rossi’s squad.
However, their split means Yamaha will once again have a satellite team under its belt thanks to team manager Lin Jarvis, who will be retiring at the end of 2024. His next major goal was to get two more Yamaha M1s on the grid in 2025 after successfully convincing 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo to sign a multi-year contract extension with the Japanese manufacturer.
With Pramac, Yamaha could see significant progress in its efforts to reclaim its former glory as the new deal means it will now have more resources to further develop the M1. This marks a change in mindset with the brand now focusing on improving bike performance.
Prima Pramac Racing will retain its independent ownership and operational base in Rugby, UK. However, the team will benefit from a closer integration with Yamaha’s MotoGP engineering expertise.
Yamaha’s engineers will work alongside Prima Pramac Racing’s staff, fostering a collaborative environment that leverages the strengths of both organizations. This synergy is expected to enhance bike performance and team efficiency, contributing to better race outcomes.
Pramac’s rider line up for 2025 MotoGP is yet to be confirmed, however Miguel Oliveira of Trackhouse and Fabio di Giannantonio of VR46 appear to be the frontrunners while factory Yamaha rider Alex Rins’ future remains unclear.
Pramac could consider promoting young riders as well, so Moto2 Sergio García or Alonso Lopez can not be ruled out.
