Yesterday we reported on the growing rumour that Jeffrey Herlings could be heading to the Factory Honda HRC team for the 2026 season — a move that would be nothing short of blockbuster. But naturally, that raised the question: what happens to Tim Gajser?
The Slovenian has been synonymous with Honda for more than a decade. Gajser first joined the Gariboldi-run Honda team back in 2014 to contest the MX2 World Championship, and the rest, as they say, is history. He’s gone on to become a five-time world champion — claiming one MX2 crown and an incredible four MXGP titles — and has racked up 52 Grand Prix overall victories, with 47 of those coming in the premier class.
Despite such a decorated eleven-year partnership, Gajser entered the 2025 season knowing it was a contract year. The early expectation was that a new deal with Honda would be a formality. However, that now appears unlikely.
According to Lewis Phillips from Vital MX, Gajser is expected to make a major move for 2026 — joining the Factory Yamaha setup to take on the MXGP World Championship. We had also heard similar whispers over the weekend, but full credit to Lewis for reporting it first.
Tim Gajser signed with Yamaha late last week, per a brilliant source that I trust.
— Lewis Phillips (@LewisPhillips71) July 15, 2025
If the deal goes through, Gajser will find himself under the same awning as Maxime Renaux, who still has one year remaining on his current Yamaha contract. Historically, Yamaha have fielded three riders in the MXGP class, so it remains to be seen whether that structure continues into 2026 or if they scale back to just two riders. If it’s the latter, Jago Geerts and Calvin Vlaanderen could be left searching for new rides.
The potential domino effect doesn’t stop there. As previously reported, Ducati are set to go in a different direction in 2026 with Louis Vosters heading up the effort. Their top targets were believed to be Herlings and Gajser — both of whom now appear to be off the table. That leaves a big question who’ll be under the Ducati awning in 2026 alongside Jeremy Seewer.
Gajser has been injured since Switzerland but recently got back on a bike and should make his return to MXGP racing soon. He’ll be hoping to end his season on a high note before a new challenge.
As always, stay tuned — we’ll bring you more as and when we hear it.
