Peco’s Ducati departure begins as Acosta prepares to join Marquez
Ducati Corse has formally confirmed that Francesco Bagnaia and the Bologna marque will part ways at the end of the 2026 MotoGP season, ending one of the most successful rider/manufacturer partnerships in Ducati’s premier-class history.
In a separate release, Ducati also confirmed that Pedro Acosta will join the Ducati Lenovo Team from 2027 on a two-year deal, joining the Spaniard with Marc Marquez until the end of 2028.
They are official Ducati lines. An even more interesting story sits between them.
Bagnaia’s move to Aprilia has been talked about for some time and MCNews understands that the deal was done a long time ago, despite the fact that it has yet to be officially announced. Yet the announcement is expected to be imminent, with Ducati’s overnight confirmation that Peco is leaving the Bologna fold serving as the necessary precursor.
It’s clear that Bagnaia is moving towards Noel, even if Aprilia hasn’t made that part official yet.
End of Ducati’s Bagnaia era
Bagnaia joined Ducati as a MotoGP novice in 2019 and since then, statistically, Desmosedici has become the most successful rider at GP. Ducati’s own headline table credits the Bagnaia/Ducati partnership with two riders’ world titles, 31 wins, 63 podiums and 28 pole positions.
The 2022 title ended Ducati’s 15-year wait for a rider crown following Casey Stoner’s 2007 success, and Bagnaia backed it up with another championship in 2023. For a period, Peco was the clear reference inside Ducati’s MotoGP structure: precise, polished, highly technical and central to the evolution of Desmosedici into the grid’s benchmark motorcycle.
Ducati’s language around the split was appropriately respectful. Claudio Domenicali noted Bagnaia’s clean and elegant style, while Luigi Dell’Igna’s words were perhaps more revealing, acknowledging that sometimes a cycle has ended and change is needed.
It was somewhat of a natural endpoint for the relationship after that for both parties, but its dynamics had clearly changed after Marc Marquez arrived in the factory garage.
peko and mark kept it civil
There has always been a fascinating tension in the Bagnaia/Marquez factory partnership. On the one hand, Ducati had the rider who dragged the red bike back to the top of MotoGP and built a title-winning streak around technical precision. On the other hand, it had the most decorated rider of the modern era, who still possessed the competitive force and gravity to stun any garage around him.
That dynamic has ebbed and flowed. There have been weekends where Bagnaia looked comfortable with the arrangement, and others where it was impossible to ignore the weight of having Mark on the other side of the garage. Yet, at least on the outside, it remains cordial, sometimes friendly, and always respectful.
The next edition of the Ducati Lenovo team could be a very different proposition.
Bagnaia may have had his disappointments, and the relationship may have developed in such a way that a new beginning was logical, but Peko could hardly have anticipated the chaos. He is measured, collected, analytical and diplomatic. In contrast, Acosta comes with a more clearly combative edge. He is young, naïve, extremely ambitious and unlikely to be satisfied playing second fiddle for long.
It will be interesting to see how it fares against Marquez when they are not only competing against each other but also sharing data, debriefs, engineers, politics and expectations inside the same factory garage.
Bagnia’s resurgence complicates farewell
The timing of Ducati’s announcement is also interesting as Bagnaia looks happier and more confident at Ducati compared to some of the more difficult rounds of the last few seasons.
After a hot weekend at Brno, where Peko again showed signs of a reasonable resurgence in form, Ducati’s announcement of his departure comes not against the backdrop of a rider quietly fading into the exhaust lounge, but rediscovering some of the confidence and sharpness that made him a double MotoGP World Champion.
This does not change the destination. However, it does make the final months of the relationship that much more interesting.
Ducati has said that both parties will continue to strive for the best possible results in the run up to Valencia, and there is no reason to doubt that. The Bagnaia’s value to Ducati does not disappear just because its future lies elsewhere. Equally, Peko has every incentive to close this chapter strongly, not only for his own pride, but also because if he completes 2026 he will arrive at Aprilia with greater authority, looking like a reborn rider rather than waiting for a new bike to save him.
There is also a delicate human element in it. A revived Bagnia makes Ducati’s departure less streamlined. If Peco keeps the pace and starts taking regular points from Marquez, Ducati will have a rider leading up to Noel who is still capable of shaping the championship narrative from inside the red garage.
Already thinking about Aprilia?
One of the most interesting recent paddock moments came when Bagnaia asked Ai Ogura how he could enter corners with rear sliding on the Aprilia, while they were in the car on the way to the podium interview in Brno…
In itself, this may simply be recorded as one racer being curious about another racer’s technique. In the current context, it’s hard not to see this as something more obvious.
Bagnaia is clearly already thinking about the RS-GP, how it builds its lap times, where its strengths lie, and how its character might demand a different approach. The Aprilia often looks particularly powerful in areas where the Ducati hasn’t always given the Bagnaia the feel it wants, particularly corner entry, rotation and the way the bike can be taken over the apex.
Bagnaia’s curiosity suggests he is already mentally preparing for the switch, even if he is unlikely to throw his feet up at Aprilia until December.
For a settled rider like Peko, the learning process has probably already begun. Questions are still being asked, even if the answers won’t be properly answered until Noel gets his first taste of the machine.
Acosta to Ducati, finally official
The other piece of news from Ducati overnight was another long-known move, but one that is now official: Pedro Acosta will replace Bagnia at the factory Ducati team from 2027.
Ducati confirmed that the 22-year-old Spaniard has signed for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, during which he will make his debut in the factory Desmosedici GP alongside Marc Marquez.
Acosta’s credentials hardly need much embellishment. He arrived in Grand Prix racing as one of the most exciting young talents of his generation, winning Moto3 and Moto2 world titles in his first three seasons in the world championship, then backed it up in MotoGP by taking Rookie of the Year honors in 2024. Ducati’s own release also points to their fourth place in the 2025 standings and 13 premier-class podiums.
Domenicali described Acosta as one of the most talented young riders in the MotoGP paddock, while Dall’Igna described him as the ideal candidate for the future of the Ducati Lenovo team.
That future is going to be fascinating and potentially combustible.
A very different Ducati garage
For all of Bagnaia’s achievements, Ducati’s 2027 line-up represents a significant change in personality and, perhaps, an emphasis on evolution.
Bagnaia’s Ducati was built with precision. Marquez and Acosta bring something more aggressive, more spontaneous and potentially more volatile. That is not a criticism. This could be exactly what Ducati wants as it looks to remain the dominant force in MotoGP as well as re-establish the factory team based on both experience and youth.
Marc gives Ducati a proven, brutal winner who has already shown he can bend the Desmosedici to his will. Acosta gives him the next generation of superstars, a rider with extremely natural speed, a straightforward personality and little apparent interest in maintaining composure.
The contrast with the Bagnaia/Marquez dynamic is obvious. Peko and Mark’s relationship may have been filled with competitive shades, but both are experienced enough to understand the importance of keeping it cool on the surface. Acosta is still at a level where the hunger can spread quickly, and where every strong weekend is likely to reinforce his belief that he is ready to be the main man.
For Ducati, this is both an attraction and a risk. The Marquez/Acosta pairing is a dream pairing on paper, but not necessarily cool. Two Spanish stars, two huge competitive egos, and a factory garage. Ducati will be confident it has the structure, engineering depth and political discipline to manage this. This will still be one of the central stories of 2027. Who will David Tardozzi embrace most with unbridled emotions next season…?
Essen Heat adds another layer
Before any of that happens, this weekend’s attention turns to Assen, where MotoGP comes under very different conditions to the usual cool, changeable Dutch GP script.
After the heat of Brno, now a record-breaking European heatwave is upon us, and everyone at the Dutch TT is ready to get scorched. Forecasts for Assen suggest temperatures could reach the mid-30s over the race weekend, a far cry from the more familiar image of the northern Netherlands in June.
That kind of heat changes the character of a MotoGP weekend. Track temperature, tire pressure, rear tire life, brake cooling, rider hydration and physical recovery all become big parts of the equation. Assen is already a circuit that rewards flow, confidence and commitment through rapid changes of direction. Add the oppressive heat, and the challenge becomes as much about management as it is about sheer speed.
Marc Marquez is likely to find a more difficult task at Assen than at Brno, and Bagnaia is likely to overtake him this weekend.
For Bagnaia, Assen is the next opportunity to underline that his Ducati story is not ending passively. For Ducati, this is the first race weekend since publicly confirming the end of the Peco era.
