Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia and Aprilia have now decided that Daniele Romagnoli will stay in Noale to work as his crew chief upon the Ducati rider replacing Jorge Martin in 2027.
Aprilia are due to refresh their rider line-up next season as a result of the early moves in the market by their rival constructors. Martin is widely believed to be joining Yamaha, after they sought the Spaniard’s signature in the wake of Fabio Quartararo agreeing a switch to Honda.
Ducati have also acted early in the market, with it an open secret that Pedro Acosta will join the Borgo Panigale natives to replace Bagnaia once his contract with KTM expires. Bagnaia’s availability proved very appealing for Aprilia in their search for Marco Bezzecchi’s teammate.
It emerged this February that Bagnaia has agreed to join Aprilia on a four-year contract from 2027, which will include a break clause for after the 2028 campaign. But Bagnaia will have to part ways with his long-time crew chief, Cristian Gabarrini, when his Aprilia adventure starts.
How will we talk about Francesco Bagnaia’s Aprilia move in five years?
Francesco Bagnaia and Aprilia have decided that Daniele Romagnoli will be his crew chief in 2027
Bagnaia wanted to take Gabarrini with him to Aprilia in 2027, having worked with the Italian since he debuted in MotoGP in 2019. Ducati sent Gabarrini to Pramac to help Bagnaia adapt to the premier class, and they also won the 2022 and 2023 MotoGP titles together at Ducati.
READ MORE: The best moments of Francesco Bagnaia’s MotoGP career
But Ducati have blocked Bagnaia from taking Gabarrini to Aprilia when the 29-year-old joins their Italian rivals. It is also said that Acosta asked Ducati to make Gabarrini his crew chief in 2027, as the Spaniard wants to learn everything that he can from Casey Stoner’s former ally.
So, GPOne now reports that Aprilia and Bagnaia have agreed that Romagnoli will be his crew chief next season. Bagnaia wants to enjoy a completely fresh start when he leaves Ducati, so he will welcome the chance to work next to Romagnoli, who is currently Martin’s crew chief.
Romagnoli followed Martin to Aprilia when the Spaniard joined the Noale outfit in 2025, but he is happy to now stay and work with Bagnaia when the Italian arrives next year. It remains to be seen who Martin now looks to have serve as his crew chief when he moves to Yamaha.
Daniele Romagnoli was Jorge Martin’s second choice as he wanted a crew chief from Aprilia
Will Jorge Martin regret leaving Aprilia to join Yamaha?
Bagnaia making a fresh start at Aprilia in 2027 by welcoming a new crew chief in Romagnoli also means he has avoided one hurdle that Martin faced when he moved to Noale last year. Martin agreed to join Aprilia on a two-year contract before he won the 2024 title at Pramac.
Taking Romagnoli with him to Aprilia was not Martin’s “priority”, as he would have preferred to have adopted a new crew chief who had already been working in Noale to help him adapt to the Italian team and their bike. Bagnaia will now avoid that hurdle when he moves teams.
Martin explained in January 2025, via quotes by Formula Passion: “To be honest, my priority would have been a crew chief already within Aprilia who was familiar with the bike, because I think the adaptation process could have been quicker that way.
“Since that wasn’t possible, I chose someone who knows me well, because that’s equally important. I’m very happy to still have Daniele with me, and it seems like he’s even happier than I am about this challenge.
“He’s got great determination, he’s worked in teams like Yamaha, Ducati and now Aprilia. He knows me, and we’ve already been world champions – the potential is there.”
Romagnoli has been a key presence in the MotoGP paddock for the past two decades, after working for riders such as Jorge Lorenzo, Marco Melandri, Carlos Checa and Danilo Petrucci before Martin. Soon, Romagnoli can also add Bagnaia to his list when they link up at Aprilia.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
