Why the Gresini team cannot keep any of its two current riders for the 2027 MotoGP season – future of Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer clarified
Gresini Racing, Nadia Padovani’s MotoGP team, has not yet been able to reach an agreement with Ducati to extend the collaboration that has been in place since 2022. As a result, the Italian private team will lose both riders with a view to the 2027 MotoGP season.
After it was announced that Alex Marquez will move to KTM, where he will replace his Spanish compatriot Pedro Acosta for the 2027 season because Acosta is moving to the Ducati factory team, further news has come to light this weekend in the MotoGP paddock in Goiania (Brazil).
Alex Marquez’s current Gresini teammate Fermin Aldeguer has decided to remain a Ducati rider in the future. He will be paid significantly better in 2027. As the Spanish daily newspaper AS reports, Aldeguer will switch to Ducati satellite team VR46, Valentino Rossi’s racing team.
Gresini still without riders for 2027 – and still without bikes
This double departure leaves the Gresini team, which is owned by Nadia Padovani, without a rider for 2027 – and without bikes for the time being. The team, which was once founded by Fausto Gresini, has not yet managed to secure a new contract with Ducati.
According to information from our colleagues at Motorsport.com Spain, talks between Gresini and Ducati are still ongoing. However, the conditions of the manufacturer from Bologna are currently far removed from the budget available to the private team.
The special thing about 2027 is the new technical regulations with 850cc engines and therefore completely new motorcycles. This in turn means that all riders who will be on a Ducati next year will start the season with the identical specification of the Desmosedici. This is exactly what drives up the price for a potential Ducati satellite team.
Parallel to this, MotoGP promoter MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (formerly Dorna) is still in open talks with the manufacturers’ association MSMA to extend the current contract between the two parties. The current five-year contract expires at the end of 2026.
This agreement will then determine the amount that each team will receive for participating in the MotoGP World Championship. Only then will Gresini know exactly what budget it can use to negotiate with Ducati and sign riders.
VR46 reaches agreement with Fermin Aldeguer
Before that happens, VR46 has meanwhile taken a step and secured one of the current Gresini riders: Fermin Aldeguer, who they have been courting since 2023. When it was announced that Luca Marini would be leaving his half-brother Valentino Rossi’s team to join the Honda factory team, Ducati made an effort to sign Aldeguer.
Aldeguer then signed a four-year contract with Ducati. It is a two-year contract with an option for a further two years. The contract contains an exit clause for the end of the second season (2026), which the Spaniard will not make use of – despite offers from factory teams.
According to information Motorsport.com Spain has received from Aldeguer’s entourage, he has reached an agreement with Ducati to fulfill the remaining two years of his contract, which runs until 2028. The agreement is accompanied by a significant increase in his salary and bonuses.
“We have not yet signed the new contract, but we have already shaken hands,” confirmed the source, adding: “Fermin will stay with Ducati for another two years. The contract is with the factory and includes the equipment and treatment of a factory rider, and he will receive updates almost at the same time as the factory riders, although we will be racing for the VR46 team.”
Confirmation of this comes from Valentino Rossi’s team. “The interest in Fermin is great and has been known for some time. We think he is a very interesting rider,“ explains VR46 Team Manager Pablo Nieto.
What remains to be seen is who will ride the second VR46 Ducati in the future – a question that, according to Nieto, ”is still completely open at the moment”. The team’s two current riders, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, could be considered, but also “other young riders with potential”, as Nieto explains.