Valentino Rossi set to lose Italian talent from VR46 squad

Fabio Di Giannantonio, who has so far been the standout rider across all of Ducati's MotoGP teams, currently sits in P4 in the championship standings after five rounds, racking up podiums in both Brazil and Jerez. Despite crashing out of the Saturday sprint last weekend in Le Mans, he rallied to overtake Pedro Acosta on the final lap to achieve another solid P4 finish at the French Grand Prix.

However, not everything is as stable as his results suggest inside the VR46 garage. The team are already rumoured to be signing Spanish youngster Fermin Aldeguer from Gresini, but they may need another replacement if 'Diggia' decides to leave at the end of the season.

It is an open secret that both Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio will be joining the Austrian-based manufacturer from 2027 onwards, though as yet no rider moves have been confirmed due to an ongoing disagreement between MotoGP teams and the sport's organising body MSEG (MotoGP Sports-Entertainment Group).

The move would be Di Gianntonio's first time in a factory team seat, having previously spent his time in Ducati's satellite teams, Gresini and VR46. While he was briefly linked with a potential move to Yamaha alongside Jorge Martin next year, it seems that the seat will instead go to Japan's Ai Ogura.

Diggia has made headlines already throughout the season with his intense duels with Marc Marquez in Brazil and Texas, before getting on the bad side of Pedro Acosta at the French Grand Prix.

The way things look currently, there may be a seat available at VR46 next year. Contenders for the seat include the likes of Rossi's half-brother Luca Marini, who is currently at Honda, or Celestino Vietti, who currently competes in Moto2.