Ducati has confirmed Pedro Acosta will join the Ducati Lenovo Team for the 2027 MotoGP World Championship season, signing a two-year agreement that will see the Spaniard remain with the factory squad through the end of 2028.
The move brings to an end months of speculation regarding Acosta’s future and represents one of the most significant rider transfers ahead of MotoGP’s switch to new technical regulations in 2027.
Acosta will move to Ducati after four seasons with KTM in the premier class. Since making his MotoGP debut in 2024, the Spaniard has established himself as one of the championship’s leading young talents, adding to the Moto3 and Moto2 World Championships he won earlier in his Grand Prix career—although still without the MotoGP race win he’s been so close to achieving on numerous occasions.
The 22-year-old will join a Ducati factory team that has been one of the benchmark operations in MotoGP in recent seasons. Ducati also confirmed that Francesco Bagnaia will leave the team at the conclusion of the 2026 campaign ahead of a suspected long-term move to the factory Aprilia outfit in place of the Yamaha-bound Jorge Martin. Bagnaia will ride alongside close friend Marco Bezzecchi.
Acosta’s signing comes at a pivotal time for the championship, with MotoGP introducing new 850cc machinery and revised technical regulations for 2027. Ducati’s decision ensures it will enter the new era with one of the grid’s most highly rated riders as part of its factory lineup and formally ignites the rivalry everyone wants to see—Marc Marquez versus his potential successor, Pedro Acosta on identical machinery.
For Acosta, the move provides an opportunity to continue his MotoGP career with the Italian manufacturer after progressing through the KTM ranks from the junior categories to the premier class.
The signing is expected to have implications throughout the rider market, with several teams now expected to finalize their lineups ahead of the 2027 season.
