The five-time MotoGP race winner’s fate at Ducati was revealed on Monday 3 June when Motorsport.com broke the news that the Italian manufacturer had decided to promote Marc Marquez to its factory team.
While an official Ducati announcement is still forthcoming, it was all but confirmed on Monday evening when Aprilia announced it had signed a multi-year deal with Jorge Martin.
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In 2025, Bastianini will face his fifth season in the premier class, where he has scored a total of five wins, 24 podiums and nine pole positions.
He earned a promotion to the factory Ducati squad after a stellar 2022 campaign on a year-old bike at Gresini, winning four races and challenging for the championship, but failed to live up to expectations at the Italian marque’s works team.
The Pierer Mobility Group, which manages both the factory KTM team and the works-suppported Tech3 GasGas satellite structure, is set to alter its branding strategy to have four RC16s racing in the company’s famous orange colours.
In fact, the interest of the business group led by Stefan Pierer in taking over the two places that, until now, have been attributed to Herve Poncharal – team owner of the French Tech3 squad – is not new.
So far, Poncharal has not wanted to get rid of them, although he has not been short of offers and it is not yet clear what the future of Tech3 will be under KTM’s new plans.
It is not clear who will partner Bastianini at the second KTM squad in 2025 after Pedro Acosta’s promotion to its factory team alongside Brad Binder was confirmed last weekend.
Jack Miller, who has endured a disappointing stint with KTM, is out of contract with the Austrian manufacturer at the end of the year and it is not known if he will continue to factor into its plans in 2025.
An official announcement from KTM on Bastianini’s signing is expected soon.