Pecco Bagnaia on long-term deal until 2030: “Aprilia offered support”

What had been on the cards for months became official on the Thursday before the Assen GP: Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia is leaving Ducati after eight intense and successful years. Bagnaia has signed a contract with Aprilia Racing – running until the end of 2030. Consequently, the ‘big deal’ was a key topic at the official opening press conference for the 101st Dutch TT.

The most successful Ducati MotoGP rider to date said: “It means a great deal to me and I’ve put a lot of effort into securing this new, long-term partnership – but at the same time, Aprilia has also offered a great deal of support. In that respect, it was a very good fit.”

Bagnaia admitted that the contract was no coincidence: “Certainly, the outcome was already on the cards back in 2025, a difficult year. I’d already been giving it some thought back then – and yes – I’d also considered a move. And it’s no secret that Aprilia reached out and offered me support given my situation.”

Bagnaia, on the unusual length of the contract: “I’m someone who values good relationships. Four years sounds like a very long time, but I also recognise the circumstances. After all, we’re at a special point in MotoGP. It will take time, in every respect, to make the most of this new partnership.” With these words , the 2022 and 2023 champion also conveyed his emotional message to Ducati. Bagnaia emphasised: “It was really very important to me to express that. We’ve been together for eight years; it has been and remains a formative relationship – we still have a long season ahead of us.”

It also became clear at Assen that the seventh-placed rider in the World Championship hasn’t lost his sense of humour despite some tough years. Bagnaia laughed when asked what advice he would give to his successor at Ducati Lenovo, Pedro Acosta: “He can just ask Marc himself. Marc isn’t a monster, I hope.”

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On the track, Bagnaia has been in fine form recently. At Brno, ‘Go Free’ finished on the podium in both races, but in the World Championship standings there is still room for improvement after what has been a very mixed season so far. Bagnaia is currently in 7th place, just five points behind Pedro Acosta, but already 53 points behind Marco Bezzecchi – his future team-mate.