Ducati extends Gresini and VR46 partnerships until 2029

Ducati has confirmed that both of its MotoGP satellite teams will continue racing with the Italian manufacturer from 2027. Gresini Racing announced its new agreement first, followed a day later by Valentino Rossi’s Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team.

VR46 has signed a new three-year deal that will keep the team with Ducati until the end of the 2029 MotoGP season. The team will continue as Ducati’s official Factory Supported Team, a partnership that first started in 2022.

The 2027 MotoGP season will introduce completely new technical rules. Ducati is already working on its new 850cc Desmosedici GP machine, which will replace the current 1000cc bike. The new motorcycle will be lighter, have less aerodynamic bodywork, no ride-height devices and will use Pirelli tyres for the first time in the premier class.

Ducati will have six bikes on the MotoGP grid in 2027, which is now the maximum number allowed under the championship regulations. Two factory bikes will be raced by Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta in the official Ducati Lenovo Team.

Gresini Racing will field Joan Mir and Daniel Holgado. Mir will ride a full factory-specification Ducati, meaning he will receive the same upgrades as the factory team during the season. Holgado will race on a satellite version of the bike, which is expected to stay largely unchanged throughout the year.

At VR46, Fermin Aldeguer has already been confirmed. Like Mir, he will have a full factory Ducati and will receive any new developments introduced during the season. The team's second rider has not yet been officially announced, although current WorldSBK championship leader Nicolo Bulega is widely expected to join the team. If he signs, he is expected to ride the satellite-specification Ducati.

At the start of the 2027 season, all six Ducati motorcycles are expected to be technically identical. As the season progresses, only the full factory machines are likely to receive performance updates, while the satellite bikes will remain in their original specification. This system allows Ducati to offer different levels of support to its customer teams.

The new six-bike limit marks an important change for Ducati. Between 2022 and 2024, the Italian manufacturer had eight bikes on the MotoGP grid thanks to its partnership with Pramac Racing. That collaboration proved highly successful, with Jorge Martin winning the 2024 MotoGP World Championship.

However, Pramac switched to Yamaha after the two sides ended their partnership. Ducati was interested in finding another customer team to return to eight bikes, but MotoGP organisers introduced a new rule limiting each manufacturer to a maximum of six identical motorcycles on the grid.

The regulation was officially announced in June 2025 as part of the 2027 rules package. Alongside the six-bike limit, MotoGP also confirmed the removal of ride-height devices and changes to starting grid procedures, with riders being positioned slightly further apart to improve safety.

With new technical regulations, new team agreements and a fresh generation of motorcycles on the way, the 2027 MotoGP season is shaping up to be one of the biggest changes the championship has seen in many years. Ducati will remain one of the leading manufacturers, supported by both Gresini Racing and VR46 as it begins a new era in Grand Prix racing.