Red Bull KTM confirm Marquez and Di Giannantonio signings for 2027

As last season's championship runner-up Alex Marquez has managed to carve his own independent success story without having to remain in the shadow of his brother's astronomical achievements. KTM clearly feel the same way and made it their priority to sign the Spanish rider as part of their factory duo for next year.

Meanwhile VR46's Fabio Di Giannantonio has is a two-time race winner and consistently finds himself at the front end of the grid lately, even staking a claim as one of five key championship contenders this season.

With Pedro Acosta already confirmed to be leaving the team for Ducati next year, and with Brad Binder likely to make way to either Tech3 or WSBK, 2027 will be something of a reset season for the Austria-based manufacturers.

The 2027 season won't just see a massive mix-up when it comes to team and rider lineups. The regulations themselves are also set to see one of the biggest overhaul's in the sport's history as new 'sustainability' measures are implemented such as a reduction in engine power from 1000cc to 850.

As a result, nobody knows which teams will come out on top and which will be left behind under the new rules. While it may seem like a gamble for KTM to go for Alex Marquez, who hasn't been consistent throughout his career and only achieved real success in recent years, he does represent one of the more experienced heads on the grid nowadays, at least one with race-winning potential still. Despite his horrific crash in Barcelona earlier this year, Alex made a super-human recovery to return to the track just one month after suffering a fractured neck vertebrae. This kind of mentality and physical durability will certainly be a positive to KTM, though ironically it was their bike cutting out which caused the crash in the first place.

As for Di Giannantonio, who has become the face of the VR46 team this year, securing a stunning victory in Catalonia and several impressive podiums throughout the year, the move is an opportunity for him to become a full factory rider rather than another one of Ducati's satellite men.

While it may not seem like the most sensible move to leave a team where he has already won multiple races for an unknown project, there isn't a better time than now for both Marquez and Diggia to do it.