Yamaha has withdrawn both its MotoGP teams from the 2026 Qatar Grand Prix, following growing opposition from riders over security concerns in the Middle East. The decision came just hours after the Malaysian GP at Sepang, where 19 of the 22 riders reportedly said they did not want to race in Qatar.
The withdrawal rules out Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins from the factory Monster Energy Yamaha team, as well as Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlioglu from Prima Pramac Yamaha. Miller revealed the extent of the opposition at Sepang, saying riders had made their position clear to championship organisers.
“I don’t want to go. Like everybody. There’s 19 of us that don’t want to go there,” he said. “I don’t think we should be racing like that. We’ve made our opinion very clear on that. As riders, we’ve united and done the best we can.”
