Team Gresini at the center of the MotoGP market: Honda tries to poach them from Ducati

The future of Gresini Racing is under negotiation: on one side Ducati aiming for a renewal, on the other Honda looking to pull off a coup.

Some MotoGP market deals have already been concluded and are just awaiting the official announcement, while other situations still need to be defined. Among these is the future of the Gresini Racing team, which has been tied to Ducati since 2022 and has a contract expiring at the end of 2026.

Ducati’s sporting director Mauro Grassilli has been clear in stating that he wants to reach an agreement as soon as possible. Confirming Nadia Padovani’s squad as a partner is important for the Borgo Panigale manufacturer. Negotiations are underway and twists cannot be ruled out.

According to The-Race.com, the Gresini Racing team is also in talks with Honda and the parties are even close to finalizing a deal. It would be a return, since the Faenza-based team actually debuted with Honda bikes in 1997. The partnership continued until 2014, then in 2015 the collaboration with Aprilia in MotoGP began, which ended at the end of 2021 in order to link up with Ducati. Speaking of comebacks, Enea Bastianini is already being mentioned as a new rider: the Rimini native, whose contract with KTM Tech3 is expiring, has already raced with Gresini both in Moto3 (2014-2015-2016) and in MotoGP (2022).

Honda wants to expand its presence in the premier class in 2027, the year a new technical regulation will come into force, and having six bikes instead of the current four could bring development advantages. Taking two away from a competitor like Ducati, which could be left with only VR46 as a “satellite” team (but watch out for Tech3), would be a smart move with a view to getting back to winning in MotoGP. Gresini Racing is an organization that over the years has shown it works well and is a reliable partner, an added value that HRC wants for the future.

Ducati, however, wants to do everything possible to avoid losing Nadia Padovani’s team. Team manager Davide Tardozzi also reiterated this to Sky Sport MotoGP: "We don’t want to lose Gresini. I believe it’s an excellent team, given the results achieved since the debut. We will do everything to ensure they stay with us, but I also think they want to remain with Ducati." The game is on.