Marini Set for Tech3 Move: KTM Rebuilds Its Customer Team for 2027

• Two-year deal running until the end of 2028, so far without official confirmation
• Tech3 is replacing both riders; alongside Marini, Moto2 rider Senna Agius is considered a lock
• Marini currently sits tenth in the championship standings and is the best-placed Honda rider

The MotoGP rider market is nearing its conclusion, and one of the last open points concerns Luca Marini. The 28-year-old from Tavullia no longer figures in Honda’s plans for the 2027 season, but he does remain in the premier class. According to consistent reports from Italy, he has agreed a two-year deal with KTM and is moving to the French customer team Tech3. The contract is said to run until the end of 2028.

What is behind Luca Marini’s move to Tech3?

Marini and KTM are said to have agreed a two-year contract that ends in 2028. There was no official announcement from the manufacturer or the team up to 4 August 2026; the information comes from Italian media reports.

For Marini, KTM would be the third manufacturer of his MotoGP career. He started in the premier class with the team of his half-brother Valentino Rossi, before taking over the seat vacated by Marc Marquez at Honda in 2024. After three years, that chapter is now coming to an end. What is notable is what Marini deliberately turned down: a return to VR46 would have been an option, but he decided against it because he saw it as damaging to his credibility.

Why does Honda no longer have a seat for Marini?

Honda has already settled its 2027 line-up without him. During the summer break, the manufacturer confirmed the signings of Fabio Quartararo and Moto2 rider David Alonso, while Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira hold contracts for the customer team LCR.

The only thing still open at Honda is which of the two new arrivals will ride alongside Quartararo in the factory team and which one ends up at LCR. In that equation, no seat was left for Marini. In sporting terms that is quite remarkable, because he is currently the strongest of the four Honda riders. With 79 points he sits tenth in the championship, 31 points ahead of Moreira, 45 ahead of the injured Zarco and 53 ahead of his team-mate Joan Mir, who has already secured a seat at Gresini.

Ahead of the season restart at Silverstone, Marini wants to defend exactly that role. “We need to keep taking good points to protect our position in the top ten in the standings and stay as the fastest Honda,” he said. He names qualifying as the first critical point of the weekend, because direct progression into Q2, the decisive second qualifying segment, has been a weak spot for Honda this season.

Who will be Marini’s team-mate at Tech3?

Australian Senna Agius is regarded as a lock for the seat alongside Marini. The Moto2 rider is set to step up to the premier class as a rookie; this signing has not been officially confirmed either.

For a long time it looked like a duel between the two Intact GP riders Manuel Gonzalez and Agius. Team principal Günther Steiner confirmed in July that both were on his list. He praised both and did not want to commit. In the paddock the Australian is seen as the favourite despite Gonzalez leading the championship, partly because there are already numerous Spaniards in the field. With David Alonso, Dani Holgado and Izan Guevara, three more Moto2 riders are moving up anyway.

Experience alongside a rookie: Steiner’s approach for 2027

The combination of a veteran and a newcomer is not a stopgap but a coordinated strategy. KTM motorsport director Pit Beirer made clear that he does not see the customer team as second choice: “Our second team is not a B team.” The planning is done jointly, he said, and the decision was made to pair a young rider from Moto2 with an experienced one at his side.

Steiner described his approach to picking riders at the German GP by saying that lap times alone do not count for him. He had spoken to several riders in order to get to know them beforehand, because you do not just get someone who rides a motorcycle, but a personality who has to fit into the team. On Marini he then became specific: he had not known him before, but considered him a very pleasant person with plenty of experience who could help the team get better. And further: “Could he have value for the team? Maybe yes.”

The contractual structure is new as well. Until now, the Tech3 riders were under contract directly with KTM; in future the team will conclude the contracts itself and also pay the salaries. Steiner justifies this with greater control over his own squad and points to a German saying: whoever pays, calls the shots.

What does the shake-up mean for Maverick Vinales and Brad Binder?

Both lose their perspective within the KTM structure through the new line-up. Vinales is left without a bike for 2027, and Brad Binder does not feature in Steiner’s plans either.

Vinales had publicly criticised KTM sharply at Assen and placed the responsibility for his situation with the manufacturer. Steiner reacted with restraint and considered the accusation too harsh, because the performance of the bike is certainly there. He suspected that the Spaniard had simply let his emotions run away with him, and considered a continuation of the collaboration unrealistic, because such a situation can hardly be patched up after a public exchange of blows. Vinales is missing the season restart at Silverstone through injury.

With Binder the case is different. The South African lost his factory seat to Fabio Di Giannantonio and would have been an obvious solution at Tech3. Steiner rejected that with a clear justification: “We do not want any old baggage. We want a fresh start, and so people who have already been associated with the group, not just Tech3 but KTM as well, for too long may not fit.”

What is changing at Tech3 beyond the riders?

The shake-up also affects the team’s appearance. Tech3 is examining whether Red Bull will stay on as a sponsor and wants to separate itself more clearly from KTM both visually and commercially.

Steiner explained that the team will go its own way together with KTM, including in terms of looks. Should the current title sponsor drop out, the appearance will change in any case. Even if Red Bull stays, it is not expected to back the team to the same extent as today. Over the past two years the colours were identical to those of the factory team. Steiner considers it plausible that the bikes will no longer be orange in 2027 and that the name Red Bull KTM Tech3 will disappear. The technical and personnel ties to Mattighofen are set to remain in place.

What does the 2027 MotoGP grid look like?

Apart from the two Tech3 seats, the line-up for the new era with the 850 cc machines is practically complete. Ducati is fielding Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta in the factory team, VR46 is set to run Fermin Aldeguer and Superbike dominator Nicolo Bulega, and Gresini is entering Daniel Holgado and Joan Mir.

Aprilia lines up with Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia, who has signed a four-year contract, plus Trackhouse with Raul Fernandez and Enea Bastianini. At KTM, Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio form the factory pairing. Yamaha puts Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura in the factory team, while the customer team Pramac has Toprak Razgatlioglu and Izan Guevara. Marini’s move is therefore one of the last pieces of the puzzle in the rider market for the coming generation of machines.

A domino effect hangs directly on it: because Marini is not returning to VR46, Bulega moves into a good position there. The Italian is dominating the Superbike World Championship and had won all 21 races of the season up to the end of June. Ducati has promised him five test days with the new 850 prototype. This move is not finalised either, because among other things it has to be clarified what share of the salary and bike costs the manufacturer will cover and what share the team will take on.

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