Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez’s contract saga with Ducati ahead of the 2026 MotoGP season appears to have concluded.
The seven-time MotoGP champion’s contract expires at the end of the year. Naturally, several teams have been linked with Marquez as they look to lure him to their projects for the new regulations in 2027.
Honda have been heavily linked with Marquez during the winter, while it has even been reported that KTM have made an offer for Marquez. However, the main priority has always been to stay at Ducati.
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The Borgo Panigale outfit still have the fastest bike on the grid, which gives the Spaniard, in hindsight, no reason to leave. Marquez has been in talks with Ducati over a contract extension, and it seems a deal has been agreed.
Motorsport.com is reporting that the Ant of Cervera has signed a new two-year contract with Ducati, taking him up until at least the end of 2028.
Marc Marquez’s new Ducati contract will be announced before the Thailand Grand Prix
The report states that the deal was ‘finalised’ on Monday, during Ducati’s presentation for the 2026 season and the Desmosedici GP26.
Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia revealed Ducati’s 2026 livery at Madonna di Campiglio on Monday. It was there that the former put pen to paper on a new extension.
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The contract will see Marquez wear the factory red of Ducati until at least 2028, making him the first rider on the MotoGP grid to sign a new two-year deal.
According to a ‘source familiar with the negotiations’, the news will be officially announced before the Thailand Grand Prix on March 1. It is ‘likely to coincide’ with MotoGP’s official launch of the season on 7-8 February, just after pre-season testing at Sepang.
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Marc Marquez showed ‘mastery’ in his body language when talking about his Ducati future
Marquez was bombarded with questions about his future with Ducati at the presentation. Multiple rumours have been swirling about the Bologna Bullets’ line-up for 2027, including Pedro Acosta reportedly signing his Ducati contract already.
But amid the talks, journalist Adam Wheeler noted Marquez’s body language and how he displayed ‘mastery’ with his answers.
He said on the Paddock Pass Podcast: “There is kind of like another Spaniard that’s been lurking in the background. I mean, the name of Pedro Acosta keeps coming up to be a Ducati Lenovo rider.
“We asked the riders about this in the press conference about strategies for 2027. And there was a little look, you identified it, with Marc Marquez, he said: ‘You don’t agree a one-year deal. You have to be fair to the manufacturer and to the team and you have to agree a two-year contract.’
“And he’s not being vague, he’s not being indecisive. I mean, if you study his body language, perhaps there’s a degree of mastery there, because he wasn’t giving a lot away, but it seems like he’s intent on doing another two years.”
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