Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia looks set to embark on a farewell tour with Ducati during the 2026 MotoGP season, with the two-time champion now expected to join Aprilia from 2027.
A future away from Ducati has been on the cards for Bagnaia for the past few months, after he endured his worst campaign for their factory team to date in 2025. Failing to finish six of the final seven Grands Prix last term saw the 29-year-old fall to fifth in the riders’ standings.
Ducati saw Bagnaia’s P5 in the 2025 standings as their final straw after he failed to adapt to their bike throughout the year. So, the Bologna Bullets moved to capitalise on Pedro Acosta being out of contract at KTM in 2026 to snap the Spaniard up early as Bagnaia’s successor.
Acosta is on the verge of signing a two-year Ducati contract to partner with Marc Marquez, pending the 2025 champion also agreeing a new deal. So, Bagnaia has now agreed to join Aprilia from 2027, with reports that he is due to sign a four-year deal for the Noale natives.
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Francesco Bagnaia believes his Aprilia move will let him race without ‘much to lose’ at Ducati in 2026
Ducati deciding to replace Bagnaia with KTM rider Acosta and the former agreeing to move to Aprilia from 2027 before the 2026 MotoGP season has even started is set to tee this year up as a farewell tour from their respective crews for both riders. But Bagnaia is not worried.
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According to Motosprint, Bagnaia seemed calm about his expected future with Aprilia at the Buriram pre-season test last weekend. He also looked ‘confident’ that he can tackle his final year with Ducati without any ‘particular pressure’ to prove himself after last year’s struggles.
Bagnaia appears to have found ‘peace of mind’ during the winter and by deciding his future before the 2026 season has started. So, the 31-time career MotoGP Grand Prix winner will now look to tackle the campaign ahead with the sense that he does not have much to lose.
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Bagnaia discussed the growing rumours regarding his MotoGP future at the Buriram test last Saturday, and he confirmed that he has “decided” which outfit he will join ahead of his likely departure from Ducati. The Italian even suggested an announcement may just be days away.
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“I’m fully focused on the test and on the first race,” Bagnaia said, via Motorsport.com. “In a few days, the announcement of all the teams will come. We’ll see how it turns out. Wait for mine… Yeah, I just decided.”
It remains to be seen when Bagnaia will officially confirm which team he will be riding for in the 2027 MotoGP season. While the Turin native has claimed that an announcement about his future is very close, MotoGP teams are holding off on revealing their 2027 rider line-ups.
MotoGP teams are reluctant to announce their rider line-ups just yet as negotiations are still ongoing with the series’ promoter. The current agreement between the teams and MotoGP is due to expire after the 2026 season, so announcing riders could weaken the teams’ hand.
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