With a Yamaha works contract, Miguel Oliveira will contest the 2025/26 MotoGP seasons in the newly formed Pramac team – experience from KTM and Aprilia as key?
The complete Pramac-Yamaha rider line-up for 2025 should have been announced on Thursday in Misano, the media day for the San Marino Grand Prix of the 2024 MotoGP season. In reality, however, only part 1 of the announcement has been made so far: Miguel Oliveira has signed with the new Yamaha team for two years, until the end of 2026
Oliveira’s designated new teammate Jack Miller had announced at lunchtime in a small circle that he himself would be confirmed by Pramac-Yamaha at 2 pm. But nothing came of it (yet). The Oliveira announcement, which was published at 1pm, remained the only one of the day. The Miller announcement is now only expected for the second Misano weekend in two weeks’ time.
The fact is that the Pramac team, which has signed a seven-year contract with Yamaha until the end of 2031, will receive the Yamaha M1 in the same technical specification as the Japanese factory team from 2025. Paolo Campinoti’s racing team is making the flying switch from the factory-supported Ducati team to the factory-supported Yamaha team.
Oliveira’s contract with the Pramac team for the 2025/26 MotoGP seasons is a factory contract directly with Yamaha. On paper, the Portuguese rider is therefore on an equal footing with Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins, who will also form the rider pairing in the Yamaha factory team in 2025 and 2026.
Oliveira wants to bring experience from KTM and Aprilia to Yamaha
Oliveira is convinced that he can help Yamaha emerge from the slump in form of recent years. In his own career in the premier class, which began in 2019, Oliveira has ridden the bikes of two manufacturers to date. From 2019 to 2023, he rode a KTM (first two years in the Tech3 team and then two years in the factory team). In the current 2024 season, he is riding an Aprilia in the Trackhouse team.
“Having already worked for two different manufacturers, I feel like I can adapt quite well,” says Oliveira, adding: ”My riding style is very different now to what it was two years ago. I think this will help me to give my feedback to the engineers [at Yamaha] in order to progress faster. I really believe I can make a difference there. “
And the future Pramac rider draws another comparison: “Twice in my career I have been at the point of joining a team that was at the same point as it is now with Yamaha. The first was Tech3, when that team was first supplied by KTM. And Trackhouse was the same with Aprilia.”
“So I know exactly what to expect,” said Oliveira. “There will be stumbling blocks, but I also know that we won’t take any mini-steps to get on the right track.” He is already putting his future employer under pressure: “Everything will depend on Yamaha’s reaction time, i.e. how quickly new parts will be available. ”
Alex Rins welcomes the Oliveira deal
According to Oliveira, Lin Jarvis, who will step down as Yamaha Race Director at the end of the 2024 season, “was a key figure in starting talks and making this project happen. I believe I can be useful in this transition phase to bring the bike back to the top.”
Yamaha factory rider Alex Rins welcomes the Oliveira deal. “I am delighted. I am happy that he has signed a Yamaha contract. We raced against each other for years in the Spanish Championship. And then we were teammates in the Moto3 class,” said Rins, thinking back to 2012, when he and Oliveira rode together for Emilio Alzamora’s team (Estrella Galicia 0,0).
“I know that he has a lot of experience. The knowledge he gained at KTM and now at Aprilia will certainly help us to improve our bike,” said the Yamaha factory rider from Spain, who is currently completing his first year on an M1 himself.
