Fantasy MotoGP: what'd be your ultimate 2027 bike and driver combo?

Next season, the MotoGP gods are hitting the giant reset button. New regulations, a change in tyre manufacturer, and the most spirited game of musical chairs the sport’s seen in years should all contribute to a wildly unpredictable season.

And yet, teams and riders have been forced to make those predictions anyway, with all seats on the 2027 grid now confirmed. Quite how they’ve made those decisions in light of such a shakeup to the bikes’ performance and the manufacturer hierarchy is anyone’s guess, but Top Gear understands the fortune-tellers and soothsayers of Andorra are expected to report record profits this year.

It’s a wild rider lineup to behold. Five rookies on the grid, including 2026 World Superbikes champion Nicolo Bulega. 2022 and ‘23 world champion Pecco Bagnaia hopping onto the favoured Aprilia with his mate Bezzecchi after a torturous and perplexing last couple of seasons on the Lenovo Ducati. Martin and Ogura on the factory Yamaha, Quartararo on the factory Honda with Moreira, and Joan Mir, a man who’s crashed more than Windows ME since his 2020 world championship, finally gets a stroke of good fortune, landing a Gresini Ducati ride.

It’s the factory Ducatis that look most ominous, though. They’ve retained the services of Marc Marquez as one would expect, but paired him with MotoGP’s enfant terrible. The mullet of Mazarrón himself, Pedro Acosta.

To boot, they’ve got a wealth of data to work from when adjusting to the Pirelli tyres, having run Pirelli-shod vehicles in World Superbikes.

So, is it the 2027 dream team? Earlier this season at Silverstone, we caught up with TNT Sport’s Gavin Emmett, and former MotoGP riders Neil Hodgson, Sylvain Guintoli, and Michael Laverty and asked them to play team boss, with two five-year contracts to hand out and a manufacturer deal to sign.

Here’s their fantasy bike and rider combos for next season. And, just because, the livery they’d have their bikes decked out in.

Gavin’s picks: Marquez & Acosta, Ducati

“I’d still go for Marquez. I don’t know if he’ll stick around for long, but I think he could be. He’s still got the hunger. He’s got the desire.

“ So I'd go with him and Acosta. That's why Ducati looked to have had the pick of the bunch. They'll be paying Acosta less than a lot of the others, he'll probably be on one of the lower salaries. But he's gone because he knows that's where he wants to be. He just wants to win.

“ And Ducati know that they can offer a better bike. ‘We've won the last number of championships, you know?’ So I probably would do what Ducati have done.

“ For the livery, I'll tell you what, I'll go with the Yamaha US ‘Speed Block’ design. It’s Kenny Roberts-esque, the yellow livery that they brought back at Laguna Seca when Valentino and Colin Edwards rode it.

“I really love that. It's just got that classic, flat track feel.”

Neil’s picks: Quiles & Acosta, Ducati

“I’m thinking Pedro Acosta. I want his signature. Second seat… I’m not going to go with Marquez. At 33, he’s not got five years in him.

“I’m gonna go with Maximo Quiles. He’s leading the Moto 3 championship this year, massive lead. He’s so determined, so angry when it goes wrong. He’s got everything. And he’s a bigger rider – usually that’s a disadvantage on the smaller bikes, but you can’t say that with him.

“ And I'm gonna go with Ducati. I know history shows that a manufacturer doesn't dominate for a really long period of time, and they've had a decent period now. Big shakeup next year. But I'm gonna trust Ducati so I'll stick with them.

“And the livery, I'm gonna go for the Pepsi Suzuki that Kevin Schwantz rode when I first fell in love with the sport in maybe '91. Quite a simple design. Big impact with that big Pepsi logo on it. It was just cool.”

Sylvain’s picks: Marquez & Acosta, Ducati

“ In the next few years we're gonna see Acosta on the Ducati, that is gonna be a major problem for most riders and manufacturers. Marc will give him [a good fight] you know, that team is sort of like a super team next year.

“I think Ducati will be strong because they’ve got the experience of the Pirellis from many years in World Superbikes, so they've already got the data. So I think the future is Acosta on Ducati.

“For the livery, the bike that straight away came to me is the Factory Aprilia. I like the rawness of it, and it looks good on TV, too. It looks a bit like a spaceship. But when you see it for real, it's raw. Like, it's raw carbon, the wings, the colours. I just love it.”

Michael’s picks: Marquez & Ogura, Ducati

“If this was full-on fantasy I’d try to get Casey Stoner out of retirement, but in his prime. But yeah, Marc Marquez has gotta be your number one bet.

“And I'd probably go with Ai Ogura. I'm a big Ai Ogura fan at the moment. I love what he's doing. I know he's never rode a Ducati, and I know Marc's getting on slightly but if you're looking at a five-year project, over the next two years he'd probably win you another world title.

“ I'm in two minds here about the manufacturer, but I think I'm gonna go Ducati, just because of their prowess over the last decade. They've built the best bike on the grid, although Aprilia are a close challenge at the minute, but I think I would hedge my bets and say Ducati will get it right with the new generation, with the 850 and with Gigi Dall'Igna at the helm.

“For the livery, I think the old-school Castrol Honda livery. I just always loved that. Iconic. I like the LCR right now, but I’d go with the old school version.”