BOLOGNA — Ducati announced on June 24, 2026, that Pedro Acosta will join the Ducati Lenovo Team for the 2027 and 2028 MotoGP seasons. Acosta will replace Francesco Bagnaia, whose departure from the team was confirmed for the end of the 2026 MotoGP season.

Acosta will ride a Desmosedici GP bike. The Valencia GP in 2026 will mark Bagnaia's final race for the team.

Acosta made his MotoGP debut with the GasGas Tech3 team in 2024. He won the Rookie of the Year title and finished with five podium finishes that year. In 2025, riding for the KTM factory team, he achieved five podium results and finished fourth in the standings. He has recorded three top-three finishes in the 2026 season prior to the announcement. Acosta previously won world championships in Moto3 and Moto2, as well as the Red Bull Rookies Cup in 2020.

Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding, commented on the signing. "Pedro is undoubtedly one of the most talented young riders in the MotoGP paddock," Domenicali said. "At just 22 years old, he is the kind of rider with whom a new and exciting chapter can be written." Luigi Dall'Igna, general manager of Ducati Corse, said: "Pedro is undoubtedly an undisputed talent; he has demonstrated extraordinary precocity."

Bagnaia joined Ducati in 2019. Since then, he has recorded 31 victories, 62 podiums, and 28 pole positions. He won the MotoGP world championship for Ducati in 2022 and 2023. The 2022 title was Ducati's first Riders' Title since 2007. Four Riders' Titles have been won by Ducati in the premier class of MotoGP.

Bagnaia commented on his tenure in an Instagram post. "We've grown together, we've weathered every kind of situation together without ever giving up and we've always spurred each other on to give our all," he said. "I feel the need to start afresh with a new challenge, but I'll never forget what we've been." He added: "You're part of me, and you always will be."