KTM Reshuffles MotoGP Factory Team: Marquez and Diggia Arrive in 2027

• Alex Marquez moves from Gresini to the KTM factory team for the 2027 season, taking over Pedro Acosta’s seat.
• Fabio Di Giannantonio completes the duo, ending Brad Binder’s seven-year factory stint at KTM.
• Both riders are committed for at least two seasons and are set to help develop the RC16 for the new 850cc regulations.

There is movement on the MotoGP rider market, and KTM made two personnel decisions for the future on a single day. Within just a few hours, the manufacturer from Mattighofen confirmed the signing of Alex Marquez on Monday, followed shortly after by that of Fabio Di Giannantonio. That completes the factory duo for the technical overhaul of the premier class, which switches to a regulation with 850cc displacement from 2027. For KTM, this means a complete swap of both factory seats, as Acosta and Binder will both leave the factory team after this season.

Why is Alex Marquez moving to KTM?

Alex Marquez will race for the KTM factory team from 2027, after the Austrians reacted to Pedro Acosta’s departure to Ducati and signed the reigning runner-up as his replacement. Marquez receives a multi-year contract, marking what KTM describes as the third phase of its factory MotoGP project. The Spaniard is expected to bring his experience to the development of the RC16 for the 850cc format.

Team boss Pit Beirer frames the signing as a signal of the team’s own ambitions: “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. Together we share a clear objective: to take the KTM RC16 to the next level and fight at the very front of MotoGP.” Marquez himself has not yet commented, as his existing contract with Gresini runs until the end of the year.

Alex Marquez: from understudy to factory rider

Alex Marquez brings unusually broad class experience to the KTM factory team. He looks back on 13 world championship seasons, has won titles in Moto3 and Moto2, and is among the riders with Grand Prix wins in all three classes. In total he has 16 wins from 56 podiums, having celebrated his first podium and win as early as 2013 on a KTM RC4 in Moto3. He has now amassed six years of experience in MotoGP.

For a long time, number 73 stood in the shadow of his older brother Marc. After several quiet years, including a 17th place in the overall standings in 2022, he found a fresh start at Gresini from 2023, reaching the podium as early as his second race for the team and adding his first sprint win the same year. In 2024, brother Marc joined the team; Alex improved to eighth place but struggled with that year’s machine. The breakthrough came in 2025: with the more up-to-date Ducati equipment, he strung together several second places at the start of the season, briefly led the championship, and celebrated his first Grand Prix win in Jerez. A broken hand slowed him around the summer break, before he ended his brother’s 15-race winning streak at the home round in Barcelona. A few weeks later he secured the runner-up title in Malaysia; by year’s end he had three Grand Prix wins and three sprint wins, 21 further podiums, one pole position and 467 championship points. In the ongoing 2026 season, he won again in Jerez and in the Barcelona sprint on works-spec machinery, before a heavy crash in Catalonia left him with a broken collarbone and spinal injuries. Following his return, he finished fifth in Assen and sits ninth in the championship ahead of the Sachsenring weekend.

Who replaces Alex Marquez at Gresini?

Gresini will field a completely new duo of Joan Mir and Dani Holgado in 2027. With his four MotoGP wins and runner-up title, Marquez is considered the most successful Gresini rider since the team’s successful Honda years with Sete Gibernau and Marco Melandri. Team owner Nadia Padovani accordingly gave him an emotional send-off. “Alex, it’s truly hard to let you go,” she wrote in a team statement. She spoke of shared emotions, growth and moments together that she will always remember, and said she was proud of both the person and the rider. There is, however, still a shared chapter to complete this season before the actual farewell.

What does Fabio Di Giannantonio bring to the KTM factory team?

Fabio Di Giannantonio completes the factory duo and likewise signed a multi-year contract for the RC16 from 2027. Like Marquez, the Roman rider is among the few in the field with wins in all three classes. The 27-year-old made his full Grand Prix debut in 2016, became Moto2 runner-up in 2018, reached the podium in his first Moto2 season and won a race in his third year in the intermediate class. He started as a MotoGP rookie in 2022, settled in quickly in 2023, claiming his first trophy in Australia and shortly after his first win in Qatar. Now in his fifth season in the premier class, he sits in the top three of the 2026 overall standings. From the ten races so far, he has taken three podiums including one win, plus four sprint podiums, putting him in contention for the title. Beirer describes him as a consistently top rider whose speed and commitment are beyond question, and who fits well into the project as a team player.

Why is Brad Binder leaving the KTM factory team?

With the signing of Di Giannantonio, Brad Binder’s seven-year spell in the KTM factory team comes to an end. According to media reports, what comes next for the South African remains open. The other seat becoming vacant was Pedro Acosta’s, who moves to Ducati after this season. Attention now turns to the satellite team Tech3 KTM, which has yet to announce its own line-up for 2027. According to reports, one current rider could stay on alongside a Moto2 graduate, while an experienced rider is also said to be in contention for one of the seats.

How is KTM positioned in the 2027 MotoGP field?

With both factory seats confirmed, KTM is among the manufacturers who have locked in their line-up for 2027 early, alongside Ducati, Aprilia and Yamaha. Only Honda’s factory team remains open, with one of its two seats reportedly going to 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo. KTM’s double signing is part of a busy transfer period, in which numerous riders are switching manufacturers ahead of the shift to 850cc regulations. For the Austrians, the early commitment to an experienced duo is also a building block for developing the new RC16, which is meant to mature in this line-up over the coming years.

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➜ More on this topic in our overview: 2027 MotoGP Season: The Complete Overview.

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