Marco Bezzecchi
A report last week stated that Davide Tardozzi may be heading for the exit at Borgo Panigale, and the Ducati team manager has now addressed the rumours.
With nearly every single MotoGP rider’s contract up at the end of the 2026 season, the landscape of the rider market looked to have been the biggest talking point throughout the upcoming season.
However, a report from Italy previously claimed that Ducati chief Davide Tardozzi could leave the team next year after making statements that unsettled Luigi Dall’Igna regarding the struggles of Francesco Bagnaia.
The #63 had a torrid time atop Ducati’s factory spec bike in 2025, languishing with a swathe of issues as Marc Marquez dominated the rest of the field on equal machinery.
Dall’Igna made it clear that Bagnaia received all the help he possibly could have wished for, but Tardozzi’s communications contrasted that. He felt like Ducati hadn’t offered him the right amount of help.
- READ MORE: Davide Tardozzi names one moment from Marc Marquez’s 2025 season that ‘really bothered’ him
Which MotoGP team could benefit the most from stealing Davide Tardozzi away from Ducati?
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Davide Tardozzi addresses the rumours that link him with a Ducati exit in 2027
During a celebration of Ducati’s successful 2025 campaign in Borgo Panigale, Tardozzi took the time to address the recent rumours of a potential exit for him in an interview with GPOne.
The Italian team manager was asked how true the speculation was, to which he gave a firm response, “Absurd and unfounded rumours have come out. In fact, we are wondering why, since there would be no reason for it.”
Tardozzi was then asked whether the rumours bother him at all, answering, “Absolutely not because I know what my relationship is with Gigi Dall’Igna, Mauro Grassilli and Claudio Domenicali.
“We smiled, wondering why they came out, but I repeat, there is no basis for it. Also, whoever wrote internal rumours is not clear who they are referring to, as there is no internal rumour.
“There’s no reason for this story; however, it’s good to get people talking. If people think I can make headlines, they are welcome; however, my relationship with Ducati is absolutely solid.”
Tardozzi has been leading Ducati’s MotoGP charge since taking up the role in 2014. Since then, the Italian constructor has turned into the most dominant force in the premier class.
The turning point for Ducati came at the start of the new decade. Every constructors’ championship has headed back to Borgo Panigale, including four teams’ titles and three riders’ championships.
- READ MORE: Davide Tardozzi realised Marc Marquez is a ‘phenomenon’ when he did something ‘99%’ of riders can’t
Who is Ducati’s BEST option if they have to replace Francesco Bagnaia?
Three names were brought up as potential replacements for Davide Tardozzi at Ducati
In the days following the report that detailed Tardozzi’s potential exit, Michele Pirro was asked about potentially replacing the Italian at Ducati as the team’s leader.
The veteran rider has ample experience with the inner workings at Borgo Panigale and was open to the idea of taking up a management role at the factory in the future.
Two other names were touted in the meantime, Pramac chief Gino Borsoi and former KTM man Francesco Guidotti.
Borsoi has extensive knowledge of Ducati’s operations through the Italian team’s previous satellite ties to Borgo Panigale in the years leading up to Pramac’s switch to Japanese machinery with Yamaha.
Guidotti is also well-versed in paddock politics. He spent three years as the KTM team manager between 2022 and 2024, and could offer a new perspective on the future of Ducati as MotoGP’s new 2027 regulations loom.
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