{"id":636727,"date":"2026-04-28T18:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/636727\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T18:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:22:08","slug":"key-pecco-bagnaia-motogp-ally-wont-follow-him-to-aprilia-claims-new-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/636727\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Pecco Bagnaia MotoGP ally won\u2019t follow him to Aprilia, claims new report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pecco Bagnaia is set to part ways with long-time MotoGP crew chief Cristian Gabarrini when he moves to Aprilia next season, fresh reports from Italy claim.<\/p>\n<p>The partnership between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/911999\/francesco-bagnaia\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pecco Bagnaia<\/a> and Gabarrini began in 2019, when the then-reigning Moto2 champion stepped up to the premier class with Ducati and Pramac.<\/p>\n<p>Gabarrini followed Bagnaia to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/ducati-lenovo-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">factory Ducati<\/a> squad in 2021, with the famed engineer helping the 29-year-old to all 31 of his MotoGP victories and both world titles.<\/p>\n<p>Bagnaia\u2019s place at the factory Ducati team was uncertain over the winter following a tough 2025, while early reports linking Pedro Acosta to his seat for 2027 all but confirmed his future.<\/p>\n<p>The Italian had been close to a Yamaha deal, but has now settled on Aprilia, with Bagnaia reportedly signing a four-year contract with the brand.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>The deal is yet to be made official, pending final confirmation of a new agreement between MotoGP and the manufacturers.<\/p>\n<p>Big changes ahead for Bagnaia<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, paddock chatter has centred on whether or not Bagnaia will bring Gabarrini with him to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/aprilia-racing\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Aprilia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Gabarrini has an illustrious career in MotoGP already, working with the likes of Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo over the years.<\/p>\n<p>According to GPOne, Gabarrini will remain at Ducati to work with the incoming Pedro Acosta in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>The Italian publication claims Bagnaia has elected against taking Gabarrini with him to Aprilia in order to start with a completely clean slate at the Noale brand.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>As such, he will link up with Daniele Romagnoli, who currently works with Jorge Martin, and who following the Spaniard to Aprilia last year after winning the title together at Pramac.<\/p>\n<p>Bagnaia\u2019s decision makes a lot of sense<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s pretty common for a rider to want to bring their crew chief with them to a different manufacturer. A crew chief knows the rider and what they need better than anyone.<\/p>\n<p>But that pattern of familiarity can also be a hindrance. KTM elected to pair Brad Binder with Phil Marron for this year, having felt like his long-standing relationship with Andres Madrid had opened the door to some complacency.<\/p>\n<p>From Bagnaia\u2019s perspective, Gabarrini has been a hugely influential figure in his MotoGP career.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving Ducati after the 2025 campaign he endured, and the underwhelming start to 2026 he\u2019s currently experiencing, is a sound move in itself to undergo a reset. And moving on from Gabarrini is a necessary part of that process.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Romagnoli staying put at Aprilia means Bagnaia is inheriting someone who\u2019ll have two years of experience in understanding what the RS-GP needs to be ridden fast.<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pecco Bagnaia is set to part ways with long-time MotoGP crew chief Cristian Gabarrini when he moves to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[10669,64,63,7607,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-636727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-aprilia-racing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-francesco-bagnaia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636727","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=636727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}