Valentino Rossi and his VR46 MotoGP team are facing an important decision regarding the 2027 season.
The squad has already locked down Fermin Aldeguer, who will move over from Gresini and whose salary will be covered directly by Ducati.
On the other side of the garage, Fabio Di Giannantonio will leave VR46 at the end of the season and move to the factory KTM team.
Di Giannantonio recently won his first race for Rossi’s team in Barcelona, while it was also VR46’s first victory since Marco Bezzecchi triumphed at the Indian Grand Prix in September 2023.
“We are all very, very satisfied with the work we’ve done so far with Diggia,” Rossi said in an interview with Sky Italia. “When we started out together, ‘Diggia’ was still just getting started. Year after year, we’ve managed to grow together. Now he’s performing very strongly. That fills us with great satisfaction.”
Di Giannantonio is also in the running for the world championship title. After six race weekends, the 27-year-old is the highest-ranked Ducati rider in the standings, sitting right behind Aprilia duo Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin. But for the future, Rossi will have to plan without him.
VR46 has been competing in the premier class since 2022. With Luca Marini, Marco Bezzecchi, Di Giannantonio, and Franco Morbidelli, only Italians have ridden for the team so far. With Aldeguer, a Spaniard will be joining VR46 for the first time.
Valentino Rossi
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
The candidates are in the running
That’s why it’s important to Rossi that the second rider holds an Italian passport.
“We want to have at least one Italian rider for next year, because our team has always grown with Italian riders,” he said. “We’d like to continue that tradition. So there are various options and a few things still to be clarified. Nothing is official yet; we’ll see.”
Morbidelli’s departure is considered very likely, while candidates for VR46 include Luca Marini, who will no longer have a spot at Honda; Nicolo Bulega, who is dominating the World Superbike Championship; and Celestino Vietti from Moto2.
“We need at least one Italian rider on the team, so the names mentioned are among our priorities,” Rossi said. “Then we’ll see how it goes. As I always say: What counts are the results.
“Until last week, Vietti wasn’t on the list — then he took pole [in Barcelona] and is in the mix. Whoever shows the best form in the next few races will be the favourite.” In Barcelona, Vietti started from pole position and finished the race second behind Manuel Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, Marini achieved his best result of the season in Barcelona with a sixth-place finish. Rossi’s half-brother is the top Honda rider, sitting 11th in the championship after six race weekends. However, Honda is planning the future of its factory team without him.
Nicolo Bulega (11) is racing from victory to victory in the Superbike World Championship
Photo: Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images
On the other hand, Bulega continued his dominance in the World Superbike Championship on the same weekend MotoGP visited Barcelona. The Ducati rider won all three races in Most and has been undefeated in 19 consecutive races, setting a new record.
When the series visited the Czech Republic last weekend, Bulega was once again asked about his future.
“My manager is talking to Ducati to find the best solution for me,” said the Italian. “We’ll see. It’s still too early to say anything. My goal is to secure a spot with Ducati in MotoGP. Ducati is working on it, and so is my manager. I hope to be able to tell you something very soon.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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