Reigning MotoGP World Champion Francesco Bagnaia has announced that he will remain with the factory Ducati team in the premier motorcycle racing category until at least the end of the 2026 season.
Bagnaia’s extension is guaranteed by a new two-year contract that will see him with the Ducati Lenovo Team through 2025 and 2026, the final season of the current MotoGP technical regulations. Bagnaia’s current contract was due to expire at the end of 2024.
On the announcement of his renewal with Ducati, Bagnaia said: "I am so happy to continue racing with the team of my dreams! Wearing these colours is an honour for me. It's fantastic and a source of pride. Together with Ducati, my team, and all the guys at Ducati Corse, we've achieved incredible things. In these three more years (including 2024) ahead of us, we'll continue to give our best to achieve as much success as possible. I am overjoyed and ready to hit the track in Qatar for the first race of the year."
Luigi Dall'Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager, reflected on the history Ducati and Bagnaia had made together. He said: "We are extremely happy to have Bagnaia with us again for 2025 and 2026. Together, we have written an important page of motorcycling history: Pecco was the first Italian rider to win a World Title in MotoGP with an Italian bike, our Desmosedici GP. Together, we brought back a riders' world title that had been missing for 15 years, and we did it again last year.
“He is a two-time [MotoGP] World Champion and has proven on more than one occasion that he truly deserves the number one on the fairing of his bike. In addition to these results, Bagnaia continues to demonstrate that he is in perfect harmony with his bike and team. For all these reasons, it was natural for us to want to continue with him. Therefore, we look forward to this new chapter together, confident that we can achieve other important results."
Ducati’s retention of Bagnaia is the first major piece of the 2025 MotoGP roster to be confirmed, but it comes after unofficial news last week that Moto2 star Fermin Aldeguer has signed with Ducati to race for the Pramac team in 2025. With its World Champion now confirmed to stay in its ranks for two more years, perhaps the next rider announcement from Ducati will be that of Aldeguer.
Bagnaia’s continuation in Borgo Panigale closes off one of the top two most desired seats in MotoGP: the one remaining is the one beside Bagnaia in the factory Ducati garage. Currently, Enea Bastianini occupies that position, but the likes of 2021 MotoGP World Champion Fabio Quartararo, eight-times World Champion Marc Marquez, 2023 MotoGP runner-up and 2018 Moto3 World Champion Jorge Martin, and 2023 MotoGP bronze medalist Marco Bezzecchi will all be aiming for the second set of red leathers for 2025.
The battle to obtain that seat will begin later this week when the Qatar Grand Prix kicks off the 2024 MotoGP World Championship at the Lusail International Circuit.
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