Pedro Acosta signed his Ducati MotoGP contract before Francesco Bagnaia had a chance to redeem himself. Bagnaia won two world championships at Borgo Panigale, but lost his way in 2025.
It was the descent they all came to. Ducati He struggled to explain, most of all Bagnaya himself. He still won two races and scored eight Grand Prix podiums, but inconsistencies and DNFs dropped him to fifth in the standings, ending a four-year streak of top-two finishes.
The comparison with new signing Marc Marquez for 2025 was particularly negative. Bagnaya. Despite missing the last four rounds through injury, Marquez has 257 points ahead of his teammate.
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Pedro Acosta signed the Ducati MotoGP deal last December
Speaking on Republic Motorsport The podcast recently revealed that Acosta, who replaced MotoGP pit reporter Jack Appleyard Bagnaia, signed his Ducati contract in December.
The announcement was simply put on hold as negotiations continued over the sport’s new commercial deal. He lost his seat. Bagnaia is heading to Aprilia. On the two-plus-two contract.
Bagnaia ended the 2025 season with a brutal run of five DNFs, and that may have made Ducati decide a change was necessary. They may have lost faith that it will return to its peak in 2026.
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“80%, 90% of the factory contracts are all done,” Appleyard said. “They’re signed, they’re ready, they’re waiting.
“The reason no one has announced it yet is because they are waiting for the new agreement between MotoGP, Liberty Media and the teams and factories on how revenue and profits will be split between the teams.
“They’re waiting for that to be signed so we don’t get 10, 12 ads that will be thrown out on Wednesday afternoon.
“Everything is done. Marc Marquez has signed to stay at Ducati since the launch in February. Pedro Acosta He signed the Ducati deal in December.
David Tardozzi’s prediction of Peco Bagnaia has not aged well.
Speaking in January, David Tardozzi predicted Bagnaya’s ‘2024’ return. This year. But if Appleyard is to be believed, the team had already signed Acosta by that point.
Perhaps Tardozzi was overstating Ducati’s faith in Bagnaia, or perhaps they felt Acosta was a better long-term option.
The KTM rider made a good start to the season, taking his first career ‘win’ at the Thai Sprint and scoring two Grand Prix podiums. Baghian’s score has doubled (60 vs 25), 2026 mostly feels like a continuation of 2025 for #63.
On that basis, Ducati’s decision seems correct, but it’s still interesting that they’re willing to call it early, even before pre-season testing. This has to be classified as one of the most unsympathetic. MotoGP rider market Decisions over the years.
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