Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta signed his Ducati MotoGP contract before Francesco Bagnaia had the chance to redeem himself, it has emerged. Bagnaia has won two world championships at Borgo Panigale, but he lost his way in 2025.
It was a drop-off that everybody at Ducati struggled to explain, most of all Bagnaia himself. He still won two races and scored eight Grand Prix podiums, but his inconsistency and DNFs left him fifth in the standings, ending a four-year streak of top-two finishes.
The comparison to Marc Marquez, a new signing for 2025, was particularly damning for Bagnaia. Marquez outscored his teammate by 257 points despite missing the last four rounds through injury.
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Pedro Acosta signed his Ducati MotoGP deal last December
Speaking on the Motorsport Republica podcast recently, MotoGP pit reporter Jack Appleyard revealed that Acosta, Bagnaia’s replacement, signed his Ducati contract back in December.
The announcement is simply on hold while negotiations over the sport’s new commercial agreement continue. Having lost his seat, Bagnaia is heading to Aprilia on a two-plus-two contract.
Bagnaia ended the 2025 season on a brutal run of five DNFs, and perhaps that made Ducati decide a change was necessary. They may have lost faith that he would return to top form in 2026.
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“80%, 90% of the factory contracts are all done,” said Appleyard. “They’re signed, they’re ready, they’re waiting.
“The reason that nobody is announcing just yet is because they’re waiting for the new agreement to be signed between MotoGP, Liberty Media and the teams and factories in terms of how revenue and profit is split between the teams.
“They’re waiting on that to be signed, then they’ll put a plan together so we don’t just get 10, 12 announcements dumping on Wednesday afternoon.
“Everything is done. Marc Marquez has been signed to remain at Ducati since the launch in February, Pedro Acosta has signed his Ducati deal in December.”
Davide Tardozzi’s Pecco Bagnaia prediction hasn’t aged well
Speaking in January, Davide Tardozzi predicted that the Bagnaia ‘of 2024’ would return this year. But if Appleyard is to be believed, the team had already signed Acosta by that point.
Perhaps Tardozzi was overstating Ducati’s confidence in Bagnaia, or maybe they simply felt Acosta was a better long-term option.
The KTM rider has made an excellent start to the season, bagging his first career ‘win’ in the Thailand Sprint and scoring two Grand Prix podiums. He has more than doubled Bagnaia’s points tally (60 vs 25), with 2026 largely feeling like a continuation of 2025 for the #63.
On that basis, Ducati’s decision looks justified, but it’s still noteworthy that they were willing to make a call so early, even before pre-season testing. This has to rank as one of the most ruthless MotoGP rider market decisions in years.
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