Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez is on the verge of signing a new two-year contract to commit his future to Ducati, who may also be about to replace Francesco Bagnaia from the 2027 season.
The MotoGP rider market has kicked off early this year, as only three riders on the 2026 grid hold contracts beyond the end of the campaign. Ducati have made retaining 2025 champion Marquez their priority, with the Spaniard one of the riders who are set to be out of contract.
Bagnaia is also due to be out of contract at the close of 2026, but the Italian’s lacklustre year in 2025 has hurt his stock in Borgo Panigale. The 29-year-old slipped from fighting for the title in each of the previous four campaigns to only bagging fifth place in the 2025 standings.
It is even said that Ducati have already decided to replace Bagnaia due to his bleak 2025. He was 267 points adrift as Marquez won the 2025 title with five rounds to spare and only took 10 points out of his deficit, despite his teammate missing the final four rounds due to injury.
Marc Marquez’s new Ducati contract looks a done deal 👀 but who should be his teammate in 2027?
Ducati are reciprocating Pedro Acosta’s ‘very keen’ interest in joining in 2027
Ducati made re-signing Marquez their priority given his dominant title triumph in 2025, and a new contract is said to be close. Marquez is set to sign a new two-year contract for Ducati, after which the Bologna Bullets will then get to work on finalising the Spaniard’s teammate.
READ MORE: Top five Spanish MotoGP riders including Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo
And reports by The Race claim KTM rider Pedro Acosta is ‘very keen’ on securing a move to Ducati in 2027. The 21-year-old’s desire to move to Borgo Panigale is also now ‘reciprocated’ by the Italian factory, who have never previously had an all-Spanish rider line-up in history.
Ducati bosses did little to hide the fact that Marquez is set to sign a new contract during the outfit’s 2026 launch event on Monday. The two parties are in the final stages of reaching an agreement for his new deal, with the only uncertainty being whether Bagnaia will also stay.
Pedro Acosta and Marc Marquez would be Ducati’s first all-Spanish MotoGP rider line-up
Fermin Aldeguer had a better 2025 MotoGP season than Pedro Acosta, prove me wrong
Bagnaia says he is “extremely relaxed” about his future at Ducati, but the Italian has faced a tidal wave of speculation regarding his future in Borgo Panigale due to his struggles in 2025. There have even already been reports that Acosta has already signed a contract with Ducati.
Acosta is believed to want to move to Borgo Panigale in 2027 after struggling to fight for the title or race wins with KTM in 2025. The Murcian is still yet to win a MotoGP Grand Prix after 41 starts, yet he saw Raul Fernandez and Fermin Aldeguer both take their first wins in 2025.
KTM’s development during 2025 helped Acosta to end the term with five podiums and claim fourth in the standings with a 19-point lead over Bagnaia. But Acosta’s manager has strongly hinted that he will leave KTM, and Albert Valera named Ducati or Aprilia as possible options.
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