Marco Bezzecchi
Luigi Dall’Igna wants to agree Marc Marquez’s new Ducati contract before the start of the 2026 MotoGP season, but the Spaniard is not the only rider on the Italian’s radar.
Ducati general manager Dall’Igna has decisions to make concerning the futures of the Borgo Panigale brand’s entire rider roster for 2027 and beyond. Only Gresini rider Fermin Aldeguer currently has a factory Ducati contract beyond the end of 2026 out of the brand’s four pilots.
Aldeguer’s factory Ducati contract carries options for the Bologna Bullets to extend his deal through 2028. Yet works team duo Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia, plus VR46 star Fabio Di Giannantonio, are currently due to become free agents at the close of the upcoming season.
Finish the sentence: In 2027, Francesco Bagnaia will be racing for…
Luigi Dall’Igna admits he would ‘definitely’ like Ducati to sign Moto2 star David Alonso
It is said that Marquez is set to sign a new two-year contract with Ducati, which will see him lead the team into the 2027 MotoGP regulations. But Dall’Igna expects a “very complicated” contest to sign another rider whom he would love to see riding a Desmosedici in the future.
READ MORE: Luigi Dall’Igna’s Ducati rider signings ranked from Marc Marquez to Jack Miller
Moto2 sensation David Alonso has caught Dall’Igna’s attention, as the Ducati chief thinks the 19-year-old has proven himself to be a “great rider”. The Colombian dominated Moto3 as he won the 2024 title, and he got his first intermediate class Grand Prix win as a rookie in 2025.
“David Alonso is a great rider,” Dall’Igna told MOW. “[He is] a great guy, intelligent, in my opinion, polite, and he’s definitely one of the riders I’d like to have, even if I think it will be very complicated.”
Honda and VR46 are considering signing David Alonso for the 2027 MotoGP season
Alonso won 14 of the 20 Moto3 Grands Prix held in 2024, and he reached the rostrum in 15 of the races to end the year 165 points clear of second-placed Dani Holgado. His rookie year in Moto2 yielded one win and five podiums in 22 races, as he secured ninth in the standings.
The Colombian’s race craft has regularly been his biggest strength, as well, as he picks off opponents almost at will whenever he feels it is time to strike. But Dall’Igna would likely face competition from Ducati’s rival brands in MotoGP if they were to try to sign Alonso for 2027.
Is there a better rider for Ducati to sign?
Recent reports have claimed that Honda are studying signing Alonso for the 2027 MotoGP season, as the Japanese crew see the Colombian as a possible teammate for KTM’s Pedro Acosta. Joan Mir and Luca Marini are both currently out of contract at Honda beyond 2026.
Additionally, reports claim that Valentino Rossi views Alonso as his Plan B in case VR46 fail to sign Acosta for the 2027 MotoGP season. VR46 currently run Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, who is also due to be out of contract directly for Rossi’s team at the end of 2026.
Dall’Igna would like to see Acosta at Ducati, as well, and recently named the KTM star as the current MotoGP rider he would have in a dream three-man 2026 line-up alongside Marquez and Bagnaia. It is even possible that Acosta and Alonso could both be riding Ducatis in 2027.
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