Red Bull KTM has moved first in MotoGP’s 2027 factory reset, confirming Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio as its new works pairing for the start of the 850cc rules era.
The announcement gives KTM a proven race winner in Marquez and one of 2026’s sharpest form riders in Di Giannantonio, with both riders signed to multi-year deals. MotoGP confirmed Marquez’s agreement on Monday, while KTM’s own release framed the move around his title-winning Moto3 and Moto2 background, 2025 runner-up finish and renewed victory form at Jerez this season.
Embedded media: official MotoGP Instagram announcement.
Why KTM moved now
This is more than a rider-market headline. KTM has bought experience for a technical transition that will punish slow development, and Marquez arrives with the exact profile the RC16 programme needs: fast, mature, and already familiar with winning in multiple categories.
Di Giannantonio completes the harder edge of the deal. MotoGP says the Italian currently sits inside the top three of the 2026 standings, with a Barcelona win, three grand prix podiums and four Sprint podiums from the opening 10 rounds. That makes KTM’s line-up a direct performance play, not a speculative rebuild.
For Ducati, the optics are awkward. Marquez’s 2025 leap made him too valuable to ignore, yet KTM has turned that momentum into a factory appointment. It also links neatly with Read Motorsport’s recent coverage of Di Giannantonio’s Mugello pace and the wider KTM expectation management around Pedro Acosta.
The next question is whether KTM can give both riders a bike worthy of the statement. On paper, its 2027 garage now looks ready to fight at the front.
Sources: MotoGP, MotoGP Di Giannantonio announcement, KTM Press Center.
