Francesco Bagnaia knows that signing a four-year contract to join Apria in 2027 may seem strange, but he wanted a long-term contract to start a new challenge.
The news that has been waiting for the MotoGP paddock for the past few months was finally announced this Thursday Aprilia announced that Bagnaya He will replace George Martin next year. However, it was the length of Bagnaia’s contract with Noale’s team that came as a surprise.
It was widely known since February. Bagnaya will join Aprilia next year.later Ducati has signed Pedro Acosta The contract with KTM began in 2010. Bologna Bullets or Aprilia will announce their deal in time before it expires in late 2026, as they are still in talks with MotoGP over a new business deal that was finally approved last week.
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Francesco Bagnaia ‘really wanted’ four-year Aprilia contract as ‘new challenge’
MotoGP’s new commercial contract for 2027-2031 has opened the floodgates to the rider market, with Ducati confirming Acosta’s move on Wednesday and Aprilia revealing Bagnaia’s transfer on Thursday. Martin’s move to Yamaha for 2027 It has not been announced yet.
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Most teams have moved as early as 2026 to lock down the Riders’ lineup for 2027, claims first surfaced in February. Bagnaia and Epria agreed to a four-year deal.. But the idea at the time was that it would be an initial two-year agreement with options until 2030.
Aprilia, however, made a surprise announcement by announcing Bagnaya’s exit. Ducati 2027 as a straight four-year contract. Bagnaia admits it may sound strange, but he is determined to start fresh after his years in Red and wants to join Aprian on a long-term contract.
Bagnaia told him Sky Sports Italy: “I’m very satisfied and happy with how everything went and what’s to come. In the end I gave it my all and there’s still work to do because there are 13 races left but I really wanted this new challenge.”
“I really wanted this long-term contract, four years in sport may seem like a long time, but I believe in it with all my heart, and the support they’ve shown me is great. So I’m very happy.
“But like I said, we have to finish this season. There are 13 races left. Above all, we are going in the right direction. I am working hard and improving a lot.”
“Let’s just say we’ve always been in the pack in the last four or five Grands Prix. We’ve improved constantly, and we need to build on what we did this summer and take another step forward, which is a little bit lacking at the moment, but I’m very happy.”
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Bagnaia had earlier dreamed of retiring as a Ducati rider in 2019 when the Bullets of Bologna put him on Pramac for his MotoGP debut. The native of Turin graduated to the Ducati works team in 2021 and won the title in 2022 and 2023.
Ducati lost faith in Bagnaia at the end of 2025, however, after falling to P5 on the back of four successive title fights. The chance to sign a star like Acosta was too good for Ducati to turn down and Bagnaia will now look to make a fresh start at the 2027 Aprilia.
For now, Bagnaia and Ducati will continue their farewell tour at the TT Circuit Assen for this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix. And while Bagnaia and Ducati both know where they stand “for a very long time”, the 29-year-old doesn’t expect anything to change this term.
Bagnaia added: “We’ve known about this for a while in the team – really, really, really, nothing has changed. I’m very happy with what has changed.
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