- Pedro Acosta is set to ride for Ducati alongside Marc Marquez in 2027
- Tech3 is negotiating with KTM and Honda about its future from 2027
- The MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group is demanding permanent substitute riders per manufacturer
The 2026 MotoGP season has only just completed two overseas races, yet the carousel is already spinning at full speed behind the scenes. For the new 850cc era from 2027, the cards are being completely reshuffled. Major rider names are changing teams, long-standing partnerships are being put to the test, and the promoter is trying to impose new obligations on the manufacturers. What is currently happening could reshape the face of the premier class for years to come.
Acosta and Marquez as Ducati Duo: Schwantz Calls It a “Dream Pairing”
One of the biggest transfers in recent MotoGP history is considered all but certain: Pedro Acosta is set to switch from KTM to Ducati for the 2027 season and race alongside Marc Marquez. An official confirmation is still pending, as teams have not yet signed a new commercial agreement with MotoGP promoter MSEG and therefore cannot officially announce rider commitments. But within the paddock, the deal is considered done.
Former World Champion Kevin Schwantz described the pairing in an interview with the Spanish sports newspaper AS as “definitely a Spanish dream pairing for the Italian manufacturer.” The 1993 500cc champion also commented on Marquez’s current form. He did not believe the Spaniard had the start to the season he had envisioned. Marquez might be physically at 100 percent, but just not exactly where he needed to be. “At least, it’s not the Marc we know and have seen in the past,” said Schwantz.
It would be a true generational duel. Marquez will already be 34 years old at the start of the 2027 season, while Acosta will only celebrate his 23rd birthday after the opening races. When Marquez made his premier class debut in 2013, Acosta was still nearly three months away from his fourth birthday.
A taste of what could come was already provided by the Sprint race at the Thailand GP of the current season. Acosta and Marquez engaged in a close wheel-to-wheel battle, from which Acosta emerged victorious after a late penalty against Marquez.
Acosta himself responded to the dream team statement in Austin with clear words: “Time will tell. I don’t know how he feels about it, but for me it definitely is.” It was not every day that you stood on the other side of the garage next to a nine-time World Champion. “I think quite a few people in this paddock, except maybe his brother, would pay to spend a year or even longer with Marc as a teammate. Why wouldn’t I want that?”
Marquez had also spoken highly of Acosta in early March on the Spanish radio station Onda Cero. He called him the “leader of the younger generation” and “something special.” A real rivalry, however, only emerged when you were fighting for a title in the final races. “I hope to race many more races with Pedro Acosta, because he is the benchmark of the younger generation and will be one of the riders who defines a MotoGP era,” said Marquez.
In the current championship standings after the overseas races, Acosta sits third overall behind the Aprilia duo of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, but ahead of Ducati riders Fabio di Giannantonio and Marquez. The current KTM rider has been the only one consistently able to challenge the dominant Aprilias.
Tech3 Between KTM and Honda: Steiner Must Decide
While riders are planning their futures on one side, the oldest team in the MotoGP paddock faces a fundamental crossroads. Tech3, officially taken over by Günther Steiner only in January 2026, must choose between continuing with KTM or making a fresh start with Honda for the 850cc era from 2027.
The team’s history reaches far back. In 1990, Hervé Poncharal and the still-active technical expert Guy Coulon first competed in the World Championship, riding a Honda prototype in the 250cc class. After two decades with Yamaha and a joint ascent to the premier class, the southern French team switched to KTM for the 2019 season. Together they endured low points, but also highlights such as Miguel Oliveira’s home victory at the 2020 Portuguese GP.
The current agreement with the Austrians expires at the end of 2026. Negotiations over an extension have been ongoing for some time, but the situation is complex. Already at the peak of the KTM crisis in late 2024, there were talks between Tech3 and Honda to have an alternative ready in case of a complete collapse of the KTM project. That scenario did not materialize — KTM managed a turnaround thanks to massive restructuring and financial backing from new majority shareholder Bajaj. Just how serious they are was also demonstrated by the early premiere of the new 850cc engine.
Nevertheless, it is clear that Tech3 would have to shoulder a larger share of the overall budget from 2027 and would be less closely tied to KTM than before. The team therefore explored potential and conditions with other partners. Honda quickly emerged as a serious counter-bidder. The Japanese manufacturer has a stated goal of expanding its presence in the MotoGP paddock and at least matching Ducati, which fields VR46 and currently also Gresini as two customer teams. Since Pramac is with Yamaha, Trackhouse with Aprilia, and the Ducati satellites are considered established structures, only Tech3 remains as a potential new Honda partner.
KTM Motorsport Director Pit Beirer confirmed to SpeedWeek: “We are currently continuing talks with Günther Steiner and definitely want to keep the team with KTM.”
Should Tech3 actually opt for Honda, KTM would have to start the 2027 season without a customer team for the first time since 2018, falling back to pre-2019 levels. Neither for KTM nor for MotoGP management would this scenario be desirable. Ultimately, however, only Günther Steiner as team owner decides where the journey goes.
An interesting detail: it recently emerged that engine chief developer Kurt Trieb is returning from Honda to KTM. For Tech3, beyond the financial terms, the competitiveness of the factories and their infrastructure is likely to play an essential role. Which manufacturer ultimately brings the faster 850cc motorcycle to the grid will only become apparent in direct comparison.
One thing is clear: time is pressing. To prepare with a top-quality rider lineup for the new era, decisions must be made quickly, as the rider market is thinning out rapidly.
Mandatory Substitute Riders: Promoter Pushes New Rule, Manufacturers Hit the Brakes
Beyond rider transfers and team poker, MotoGP faces another issue with considerable explosive potential. The series promoter, the MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group, wants to mandate that every manufacturer must have a permanently contracted substitute rider available during race operations.
The numbers speak clearly. Since the start of the 2020 season, 117 MotoGP races have taken place. Only 19 of those saw the full starting lineup of all 22 regular riders. The field at times shrank to just 17 riders. Only two current MotoGP riders have gone their entire careers without injury-related absences. On the other hand, Marc Marquez missed 40 Grand Prix events, Jorge Martin missed 26. Both sat out virtually the entire season following their championship-winning years: Marquez in 2020 and Martin the previous year.
For the MotoGP product, it is problematic when major names regularly miss events or the field is filled with outclassed substitutes. The obvious approach of reducing the number of races or changing the format is rejected by the promoter. The current course is considered too commercially successful for that. With 22 planned races per season and the dense format of pre-qualifying, two qualifying segments, Sprint and Grand Prix, the pressure is enormous.
Instead, the promoter prefers to treat the symptoms rather than the causes. Every manufacturer should have a permanently contracted substitute rider who is present at all races and ready to compete at any time. Currently, teams are only required to replace an injured rider within ten days. How poorly the current system works was demonstrated most recently in Austin: when a rider had to withdraw after the first practice due to injury, KTM test rider Pol Espargaró was on-site but had no racing equipment with him, as he was working for Spanish television.
Manufacturers React Negatively
The manufacturers’ reaction ranged from cautious to outright negative. Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi called the proposal unfeasible in his view and raised the question of how many MotoGP-capable riders even existed who would qualify for such a role. The new regulation would make things considerably more complicated and expensive for the manufacturers. Not only would the substitute rider have to travel permanently from race to race, but at manufacturers like Aprilia with Lorenzo Savadori or Ducati with Michele Pirro, there is only one test rider each. These test riders are often deployed in testing in parallel with race weekends. An additional rider would therefore need to be put under contract.
The proposal clearly originates from the world of automobile racing. It is tempting to draw a connection to Liberty Media’s entry into MotoGP. But the starting conditions are entirely different from Formula 1. There, injury-related absences are far less common, and when they do occur, a driver from Formula 2 is quickly promoted. Pulling a Moto2 rider who may be in the thick of his own title fight out of his season for a MotoGP weekend is hardly conceivable. The smaller classes in motorcycle racing hold significantly higher status than the feeder series in automobile racing.
Experienced Former Riders as the Only Option
Riders with MotoGP experience who are currently not active in the premier class, such as Miguel Oliveira, Danilo Petrucci, Remy Gardner, or Iker Lecuona, are almost exclusively racing in the Superbike World Championship. Calendar conflicts with MotoGP exist there as well.
The only realistic possibility thus remains riders who have already completely ended their active racing careers but bring MotoGP experience. Think of figures like a Dani Pedrosa at KTM, an Andrea Dovizioso at Yamaha, or a Casey Stoner, who tested for both Ducati and Honda after his career. Whether these former top riders would be willing to permanently stand by as substitutes may well be doubted. Pedrosa, for instance, now even declines wildcard entries for KTM. Stoner continues to struggle with health issues.
The demand for permanent substitute riders would be part of the new contract set to run from 2027 to 2031. However, the manufacturers also have extensive demands of the promoter, including a significantly higher share of profits. A lengthy negotiation marathon lies ahead before an agreement is reached.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is Pedro Acosta moving to Ducati in 2027?
Pedro Acostau2019s move to Ducati as Marc Marquezu2019s new teammate is considered all but certain. An official confirmation is still pending as teams have not yet signed a new commercial agreement with the MotoGP promoter.
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Will Tech3 race with KTM or Honda in 2027?
Tech3 is currently negotiating with both KTM and Honda for a partnership from 2027. KTM u003ca class=u0022wpil_keyword_linku0022 href=u0022https://www.motorcycles.news/category/motorsport/u0022 title=u0022Motorsportu0022 data-wpil-keyword-link=u0022linkedu0022 data-wpil-replace=u0022u0022u003eMotorsportu003c/au003e Director Pit Beirer emphasizes they want to keep the team. Honda wants to expand its paddock presence. The decision rests with team owner Gu00fcnther Steiner.
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What are the new MotoGP substitute rider rules?
The MotoGP promoter is demanding that every manufacturer must have a permanently contracted substitute rider from 2027, present at all races and ready to compete. The manufacturers are opposed, citing the difficulty and cost of implementation.
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When does the MotoGP 850cc era begin?
The new era with 850cc prototypes starts with the 2027 season. Several manufacturers, including KTM and Ducati, have already unveiled or tested their new engines. Ducati test rider Michele Pirro recently completed initial laps with a GP27.
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What are the current 2026 MotoGP championship standings?
After the opening overseas races, Marco Bezzecchi on Aprilia leads the overall standings, followed by teammate Jorge Martin. Pedro Acosta sits third, ahead of Fabio di Giannantonio and Marc Marquez on the Ducatis.
➤ This article is part of our comprehensive overview: 2026 MotoGP Season: The Complete Overview – Teams, Riders, Calendar & Championship Standings. Find all key information on this topic in one place.
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