Gresini could switch to Honda MotoGP bikes in 2027
Ducati MotoGP satellite team Gresini Racing could be set to make an historic switch back to Honda machinery for the 2027 season, according to The Race’s sources in the paddock.
The Italian team is believed to be in talks with the Japanese brand to once again run Honda machinery after a decade of working with first Aprilia and then Ducati.
According to The Race’s sources, Gresini is already close to finalising a deal with Honda - which would entail an all-new rider line-up as both Fermin Aldeguer and Alex Marquez are set to leave the squad.
Founded by former boss Fausto Gresini as a Honda squad, the team ran Honda bikes from its beginnings in 1997 - most notably with Sete Gibernau and Marco Melandri finishing runner-up to Valentino Rossi in the rider’s championship across 2003-2005.
Gresini then switched to Aprilia machinery in 2015, leading the way for the Noale brand’s first full-time factory venture in MotoGP, before switching to Ducati in 2022 and winning races with Enea Bastianini, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez and Aldeguer.
However, with the introduction of MotoGP’s new technical rules and a new tyre constructor for 2027 in Pirelli (replacing Michelin), and with Honda looking to expand its grid presence as part of a bid to return to the front, it’s believed that the Japanese factory is now seriously courting a Gresini return, something that has already been hinted at in other news to emerge from this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.
Current Gresini and factory Ducati-contracted racer Aldeguer has been heavily linked with a move to Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Ducati team, a step that would make the most sense if Ducati was expecting to lose Gresini for 2027.
Aldeguer signed directly for Ducati as a rookie on a four-year deal believed to have an escape clause at the end of 2027, an option that he has reportedly elected not to take despite interest from other factory teams in MotoGP.
Instead, it seems like he will move to Rossi’s squad, likely to replace Brazilian GP polesitter Fabio Di Giannantonio, who has previously been linked to Alex Rins’ factory Yamaha seat.
Marquez also looks set to depart from Gresini, heading to KTM’s factory squad to take over from Ducati-bound Pedro Acosta.
However, none of those teams have yet been made official, as MotoGP’s five manufacturers continue to negotiate their own five-year contracts with series bosses, a process that for the first time ever is happening collectively rather than on an individual factory-by factory basis.
Former Gresini rider Bastianini is one name that has been suggested as a potential 2027 signing should the Honda switch happen.
Two extra bikes on the grid would also give Honda the space to promote former Moto3 world champion David Alonso to the premier class, too, with the factory believed to have courted the 19-year-old for a potential factory spot for 2027 - with no space currently available at only satellite team LCR thanks to existing long-term contracts for Johann Zarco and rookie Diogo Moreira.
