{"id":451486,"date":"2026-02-01T11:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/451486\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T11:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:14:07","slug":"why-2027-ktm-deal-could-lure-alex-marquez-out-of-ducati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/451486\/","title":{"rendered":"Why 2027 KTM deal could lure Alex Marquez out of Ducati"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid the start of MotoGP\u2019s earlier than ever 2027 silly season, one name unsurprisingly linked to factory seats is 2025 championship runner-up Alex Marquez.<\/p>\n

Specifically it\u2019s the KTM spot expected to be vacated by Ducati-bound Pedro Acosta that Marquez is being mentioned in connection with.<\/p>\n

But even with the prospect of the radical new rules for next year shaking up the pecking order of the grid, the idea of the 29-year-old leaving the Ducati fold just when he’s hit his best MotoGP might seem odd.<\/p>\n

The sometimes inconsistent racer is coming off the back of a year few previously thought he was capable of. It was by far the best season of his career to date, and one that very much should establish his name on the shopping list for multiple teams for next year.<\/p>\n

However, with any chance of joining brother Marc in factory red at Ducati seemingly gone with the team\u2019s rumoured signing of Acosta, and with spots elsewhere filling up quickly (as Honda talks to Fabio Quartararo<\/a> and Yamaha looks to Jorge Martin), it has led to resurging Austrian brand KTM looking like the most interested right now in Marquez.<\/p>\n

Buoyed by new Indian owner Bajaj after last year\u2019s financial woes, the team looks ready to commit to the new era of MotoGP from 2027 – and Marquez would be a strong addition to a line-up that\u2019s also expected to feature the promoted Maverick Vinales, currently at its satellite squad Tech3.<\/p>\n

Marquez has, of course, been a factory racer before in MotoGP. Unexpectedly promoted straight from Moto2 world champion to Repsol Honda in November 2019 to fill the spot left by the shock mid-contract retirement of Jorge Lorenzo, that only lasted one season before he was moved down to satellite squad LCR – and given the circumstances of the deal, it likely didn\u2019t bring many of the perks of factory status.<\/p>\n

First of those, of course, is financial. Though likely to have been one of the best-paid satellite racers in MotoGP last year thanks more to Ducati\u2019s comprehensive bonus structure than his base salary, Marquez could nonetheless earn multiple times what he\u2019s on with a factory move – something not to be sniffed at as he approaches 30 and after being something of a journeyman career up until this point.<\/p>\n

But perhaps more importantly going into a whole new era of MotoGP, there\u2019s the promise of full factory support, something that\u2019s going to be crucial next year with the rule changes. All manufacturers are going to have to field brand new bikes for all their riders, putting a squeeze on development for satellites and meaning that factory colours are almost going to be mandatory for success as the year proceeds.<\/p>\n

And, while he might have found a very happy family team that he loves being a part of at Gresini, for his part Marquez also recognises the reality of what 2027 may bring – and says that he needs to carefully consider the options on the table in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe market for 2027 is quite crazy,\u201d he said at the team\u2019s presentation on Saturday. \u201cI think that many people will think about making some changes on their teams. People will say \u2018why are they going to that factory if they are not fast now?\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there will be new rules, and that will open some options for the future. There will be some risk, because no one knows. Every manufacturer will say to you that they have the best bike!<\/p>\n

\u201cBut nobody knows, and that\u2019s why we have to be really clever, because the motivation and the expectation of every rider is to be in a factory team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Gresini, I\u2019m super happy – but also I have to look at the balance, and when all the options are on the table I\u2019ll consider the best option for my future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amid the start of MotoGP\u2019s earlier than ever 2027 silly season, one name unsurprisingly linked to factory seats…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451487,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-451486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}