Marco Bezzecchi
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola is excited to welcome Francesco Bagnaia to Noale in 2027, after the team confirmed that they have signed the Ducati ace on a four-year contract.
Bagnaia was officially only on the market for one day, after Ducati confirmed on Wednesday that he would be leaving the team when his contract expires at the end of 2026. Ducati also announced that they have signed KTM ace Pedro Acosta to partner Marc Marquez next year.
It had been an open secret in the paddock for months that Bagnaia would leave Ducati after his miserable 2025 campaign tempted the Bologna Bullets to land Acosta. It was also widely known for months that Aprilia had swooped to sign Bagnaia to replace Jorge Martin in 2027.
Aprilia confirmed they have signed Bagnaia this Thursday, with the team also revealing that the two-time MotoGP champion with Ducati will move to Noale on a four-year contract. He will partner Marco Bezzecchi in an all-Italian team at a time when Ducati will be all-Spanish.
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Massimo Rivola is sure that Yamaha or Honda offered Francesco Bagnaia more money than Aprilia
Rivola is thrilled that Aprilia will get to welcome Bagnaia to Noale in 2027, as he believes the 29-year-old feels he has a point to prove after being replaced by Ducati after having one bad season. But Rivola also thinks Bagnaia was “brave” to join Aprilia after receiving other offers.
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Aprilia CEO Rivola is sure that Bagnaia was offered a “higher” wage to join either of Yamaha or Honda. It was reported in February that Bagnaia backed out of a move to Yamaha after he realised how slow their new-for-2026 1,000cc V4 bike looked during pre-season testing.
“We’ll see how two roosters get on in the henhouse,” Rivola told Motorsport.com. “I prefer to work with champions, with thoroughbreds rather than with donkeys.
“To be honest, we’ve had thoroughbreds because our experience with Martin has shown us [that] a rider of sensational explosiveness – perhaps even too much so that he didn’t know how to handle the excitement of joining us as a world champion.
“I have to say, we’re very motivated. We have a huge challenge ahead of us. I also believe Pecco was brave because apart from the VR46 issue, in the training sessions where he competes daily with Bezzecchi, there’s a sense of redemption in him.
“I believe he chose us because he thinks he can beat those who, I’m not saying they have disowned him, but who preferred other riders over him, even though he’s the rider who brought them the world championship.
“[Bagnaia] also turned down the higher salaries offered to him by the Japanese teams. So, bring it on. It will be an opportunity for us, and I have no doubt we’ll make the most of it.”
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Reports in February suggested that Yamaha offered Bagnaia a big-money move for 2027, as the Iwata crew had identified the Italian as their potential new leader after it emerged that Fabio Quartararo will join Honda next year (in another move that has yet to be confirmed).
But Honda have held an interest in signing Bagnaia in the past, too, with reports as far back as January 2025 claiming that the Tokyo team had set their sights on his signature for 2027. Ultimately, however, Honda agreed a two-year deal with Quartararo from 2027 this January.
It is also now believed that Honda are weighing up promoting Moto2 star David Alonso into their works MotoGP team next season or giving their second seat next to Quartararo to LCR rookie Diogo Moreira. Reports suggest that Alonso’s inconsistent results in Moto2 are giving Honda second thoughts about the Colombian’s readiness to move straight to a works team.
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