Jack Miller may have found some comfort in Honda closing in on a deal to sign Diogo Moreira to join LCR in 2026, but Yamaha and Pramac agree on their new rider target.
Doubts have lingered about the rider who will join Toprak Razgatlioglu in the Pramac line-up for the 2026 MotoGP season since Yamaha signed the two-time World Superbikes champion in June. Razgatlioglu will debut in the prototype series on a two-year factory deal next term.
Yamaha securing Razgatlioglu also immediately put Miller at risk of the axe, as the Australian is out of contract to race for their satellite team Pramac after this term. Yet Yamaha included a release clause in Miguel Oliveira’s contract, which opens the door for a complete overhaul.
Oliveira’s release clause is also now active, as he hit the summer break as the lowest-scoring Yamaha rider in 2025. So, the Japanese squad have taken their time to explore every option, including monitoring the Moto2 field. But Yamaha are due to miss out on Moreira to Honda.
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty ImagesPramac Yamaha target Manuel Gonzalez to replace Jack Miller after missing out on Diogo Moreira
It is said that Honda have secured the signing of Moreira to replace Somkiat Chantra at their satellite squad LCR for 2026 after offering the 21-year-old Brazilian a rich contract. AS also reports that Yamaha have ‘given up’ on Moreira, as they expect him to accept Honda’s offer.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Jack Miller from net worth to wife
Yet Miller’s future is still in ‘jeopardy’, as Yamaha and Pramac have agreed to explore a move to sign Moto2 championship leader Manuel Gonzalez having missed out on Moreira. Pramac team manager Gino Borsoi especially supports a deal to sign the 23-year-old Spaniard now.
Yamaha have admired Gonzalez for some time, so are renewing their interest as Borsoi does not rule out the Madrid native stepping up to MotoGP with Pramac in 2026. Miller is thus in a fraught position, as Yamaha will not cancel Alex Rins’ 2026 contract with their factory team.
Manuel Gonzalez leads the 2025 Moto2 standings, with Diogo Moreira 35 points shy in P3
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images
Miller is the second-highest scoring Yamaha rider in 2025, with the Pramac pilot penning 52 points from the first 13 rounds. Only factory racer Fabio Quartararo has earned more points than the 30-year-old yet this year with his 103, compared to Rins’ 42 and Oliveira’s mere six.
But Gonzalez has earned Borsoi’s backing for a move to MotoGP with satellite Yamaha team Pramac in 2026. The Spaniard has regularly impressed in 2025, to lead the Moto2 standings with 188 points over his compatriot Aron Canet on 169 ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Pramac from the MotoGP team’s riders to bike
Gonzalez has scored four Grand Prix wins, eight podiums and six pole positions thus far this term, as well. The Dynavolt Intact GP rider secured his most recent pole last Saturday at the Austrian Grand Prix with a new all-time Moto2 lap record for the Red Bull Ring at 1:32.779.
While Gonzalez did not start the Moto2 Austrian GP from pole owing to his three-place grid penalty for riding slowly in practice, his pace in qualifying impressed Neil Hodgson. Moreira won the Moto2 Austrian GP, while Gonzalez had to retire early after a stone hit his radiator.
“This is classic Gonzalez,” Hodgson said on TNT Sports 2 after Gonzalez topped qualifying for the 2025 Moto2 Austrian GP. “It’s what we’ve seen all year. He does it on his own. He has a clear race track. He doesn’t look hurried, rushed [or] ragged, he looks fully in control.
“Think of the shots we saw in just this session of the other riders, they look like they were going to crash every corner.
“But not your championship leader. Class act, not rushing the first part of the corner, working on his exits, making his time smooth in the breaking zones. Honestly, that is textbook how to get the most out of a Moto2 bike.”