Marco Bezzecchi
KTM have officially announced the signing of Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio from Ducati satellite teams Gresini and VR46.
It emerged in February that Marquez would join KTM, who offered him factory rider status six years after his brief stint at Honda.
Marquez will partner Fabio Di Giannantonio, whose departure from VR46 had already been confirmed on Monday morning. It will be a brand-new line-up, with Brad Binder making way and Pedro Acosta moving to Ducati.
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Alex Marquez joins KTM after flourishing at Gresini
After winning titles in Moto3 and Moto2, Marquez joined Honda alongside his brother Marc, who suffered a season-ending injury almost immediately.
He lost his factory spot to Joan Mir at the end of his rookie season, dropping down to satellite team LCR. But ahead of the 2023 season, he received an offer from Gresini that would change the course of his career.
He reunited with his brother in 2024, but it was last season when he truly flourished following Marc’s factory promotion. He finally won his first Grand Prix at Jerez and followed it up with further victories at the Catalan GP and Malaysian GP en route to second in the championship.
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Ducati gave Marquez a 2026 factory bike as a reward for those performances, which helped him win the Spanish GP once again.
However, his season has been disrupted by injury. 24 hours after winning the Barcelona Sprint, he suffered a horror crash that sidelined him for three races.
After recovering from the broken collarbone and fractured vertebrae, Marquez took a full part in the Dutch GP weekend and finished a commendable fifth. He is currently ninth in the standings on 78 points.
With the route to the red bike closed off, Marquez has reportedly doubled his salary by joining KTM.
Gresini have already confirmed their all-new 2027 line-up of Mir and Daniel Holgado. Marquez’s current teammate Fermin Aldeguer will be joining VR46.
Fabio Di Giannantonio joins Alex Marquez at KTM
On the other side of the garage, Di Giannantonio will be wearing factory colours for the first time. He has spent his entire career on Ducati motorcycles, first with Gresini (2022-23) and then VR46 (since 2024).
VR46 saved Di Giannantonio, who was directly contracted to Ducati, after Marc Marquez took his seat. After a solid sixth-place finish in last year’s championship, he is producing his best season to date.
The Italian took his second premier-class victory in Barcelona and currently sits third in the standings, just 16 points off leader Jorge Martin. It’s no wonder that Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali says Di Giannantonio is a serious title contender.
VR46 are expected to sign Nicolo Bulega as Aldeguer’s teammate.
After KTM’s announcement, Honda are the only factory team yet to confirm either of their factory riders for next year. They have formally said goodbye to Mir but are waiting to unveil Fabio Quartararo.
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