KTM signs Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio for 2027 MotoGP factory team
The Austrian factory secures the 2025 runner-up and the current third-place rider on multi-year deals, reshaping the grid ahead of the 850cc era.
The signings
KTM announced on Monday that Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio will join its factory MotoGP team from the 2027 season. Both riders have signed multi-year contracts, the Austrian manufacturer confirmed, filling the seats left vacant by Pedro Acosta's departure. The moves had been widely anticipated in the paddock but were only made official after the so-called Brno agreement between factories, satellite teams and Dorna.
Marquez returns to factory status
The 30-year-old Spaniard, runner-up in the 2025 world championship, leaves Gresini Racing after four seasons on a satellite Ducati. He last rode for a factory team in his 2020 rookie campaign with Repsol Honda. Marquez has four MotoGP wins and 18 podiums from 118 starts, and he won the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez in both 2025 and 2026. His career began with KTM machinery: he took his first podium and victory on a KTM RC4 in Moto3 back in 2013.
- First podium and win with KTM in Moto3
- Moto3 World Champion
- Moto2 World Champion
- MotoGP debut with Repsol Honda
- MotoGP runner-up with Gresini Ducati (three wins)
- Wins Spanish GP at Jerez for second consecutive year
- Joins Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Di Giannantonio's breakthrough
Italian rider Fabio Di Giannantonio, currently third in the 2026 standings, also moves from a Ducati satellite squad, Valentino Rossi's VR46 team. He has collected three podiums and four Tissot Sprint podiums in the first ten rounds of the season, adding to his two career MotoGP wins in Qatar 2023 and Barcelona 2026. LaSexta reported that Di Giannantonio bid an emotional farewell to his VR46 crew, saying:
You have been an incredible team. I have never felt so good in a team. You have given me everything, everything I am now, all the beautiful things that are happening to me are thanks to you.
KTM's project and the 850cc era
The signings coincide with a major technical reset in MotoGP. From 2027, bikes will switch to 850cc engines, reduced aerodynamics, fewer rider aids and new Pirelli tyres. KTM, which has been navigating a difficult economic period according to El Periódico, is betting on an all-new rider line-up to develop the RC16 for the new formula. Motorsports Director Pit Beirer said:
We are extremely proud and happy to have secured an exceptional talent like Alex Marquez -- the 2025 World Championship runner-up -- for our project. Alex brings not only outstanding skill and race intelligence but also determination and a winning mindset that perfectly matches our DNA.
Wider rider market shake-up
The KTM announcements are the latest in a sweeping reshuffle of the MotoGP grid. Earlier moves saw Marc Marquez renew with his team, while Pecco Bagnaia, Pedro Acosta and Jorge Martin were signed by Aprilia, Ducati and Yamaha respectively, according to LaSexta. KTM's double capture of two front-running Ducati satellite riders signals its ambition to challenge the established order when the new regulations take effect.
