Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta is Valentino Rossi’s top target for his VR46 MotoGP team, but he is facing competition from within Ducati.
The Spaniard is looking to find a way out of KTM, and has been since midway through the 2025 season. He had tried to break his contract, but Dorna and the Austrians were unwilling to let that happen.
With his contract expiring in 2026, Acosta has set his sights on leaving KTM and looks destined to ride a Ducati in 2027. Which team he will join remains to be seen, with Rossi holding an interest in the 21-year-old.
Is Pedro Acosta joining Ducati inevitable?
A report from Motorsport Espana says Acosta is top of Rossi’s wishlist for 2027, but he is not the only one pursuing him. The factory Ducati team want the Spaniard to replace Francesco Bagnaia, and it has even been suggested that Acosta has already signed the contract.
If the rumours are true, then Rossi and VR46 have missed out on their main target. But the MotoGP legend does have alternatives lined up.
Fermin Aldeguer and David Alonso are Valentino Rossi’s ‘Plan B’ for VR46 in 2027
With Acosta being a top target for Ducati, and his manager, Albert Valera, seemingly ruling out a move to VR46 as they are prioritising a factory move, Rossi has to look at other options.
VR46 will drop Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli at the end of the 2026 season. The team will therefore have an all-new rider line-up in 2027, and if Acosta is off the table, then Rossi already has a ‘Plan B’, according to Motorsport Espana.
The idea is to ‘recruit two young talents’, with Fermin Aldeguer and David Alonso being named as the two riders in consideration for a VR46 seat.
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Aldeguer, currently at Gresini, is coming off a brilliant rookie season, winning his first race in MotoGP in Indonesia and claiming the Rookie of the Year award. He was set to get a factory Ducati bike in 2026, as per his contract, but teammate Alex Marquez got the GP26 over Aldeguer instead.
Ducati want ‘to give Aldeguer the status of first official rider in a satellite team’. VR46 view him as a ‘valid alternative’ to Acosta if they cannot sign the KTM rider.
Alonso will enter his second season in Moto2 in 2026. Ducati are keen on signing the Colombian to a MotoGP contract in 2027, and VR46 could well be his destination.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Pedro Acosta from net worth to girlfriend
Fermin Aldeguer was targeted by VR46 before joining MotoGP
Aldeguer has long been a target for VR46 before he made the step up to MotoGP from Moto2 in 2025.
Aldeguer turned down VR46 for the 2024 season and had expressed regret over not taking the offer. He wanted to get to the premier class as soon as possible.
However, Aldeguer recently changed his mind about VR46 and rejected Rossi’s advances. He said that he made the ‘right choice’ to wait and join Gresini, as he signed an official Ducati contract, instead of one just with the satellite team.
Now that the Spaniard is eyeing a factory bike, and with Rossi set to change his riders in 2027, the opportunity is there for Aldeguer to take and become a lead rider.
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