Not just riders
In the chaotic rider market ahead of the 2027 season, which was at least half-defined even before the start of this year, a further element of confusion has now been added. As emerged in recent weeks, in fact, at the moment the stay of the Gresini team within the Ducati ‘family’ is not 100% certain. From Borgo Panigale, on several occasions both Davide Tardozzi and Mauro Grassilli have underlined the importance of Nadia Padovani’s team for Ducati and the intention is to renew the contract expiring at the end of this year.
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But where would the hesitations of Gresini Racing, which is also being courted by Honda, stem from? The central issue would concern a rider: Fermín Aldeguer. The young Spanish talent is under contract directly with Ducati and Gresini would have liked to keep him for at least another season. Instead, the 21-year-old from Murcia will take the path of the VR46 team, which – despite the excellent performances achieved by Gresini in recent years – remains the reference satellite team for Ducati.
The Honda temptation
We spoke about this delicate issue with Carlo Pernat, who understands negotiations between riders, teams, and manufacturers like few others in the paddock. To FormulaPassion.it, the Genoese manager confirmed the centrality of the ‘Aldeguer case’ in the discussion between the parties, anticipating however that in his opinion Gresini will ultimately decline Honda’s offer and remain loyal to Ducati. “Aldeguer’s move to VR46 has created evident fractures between Gresini and Ducati. But in the end, this will not make Gresini switch to Honda – Pernat stated – I say no“.
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“The agreement expired this year – the historic World Championship manager added – but there are two more option years, so I expect it to stay there. VR46 is a team with a lot of money, it has big sponsors. Valentino is involved, his sponsors, his image. Ducati goes where the money is and it seems logical to me that it is so. But Gresini can still build a good team. Bastianini? He could be a possibility, but also some young riders from Moto2 – the names circulating are those of David Alonso and Dani Holgado – this could be a team that does very well and would also be in line with the team’s economic structure.”
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