Did a Pedro Acosta Ducati deal trigger Quartararo’s Honda switch?

It was the final piece to emerge from an extraordinary day of MotoGP 2027 rider-market reports, but might have triggered the entire chain reaction.

Following Motorsport.com’s report that Fabio Quartararo has signed for Honda, and a follow-up suggesting Jorge Martin will replace him at Yamaha, came news by AS.com that Pedro Acosta has agreed to join Marc Marquez at the factory Ducati team.

Crucially, AS adds that Pedro Acosta rejected a Honda offer in favour of Ducati:  ‘Therefore, Honda moved quickly and signed Fabio Quartararo to a two-year contract’.

Acosta has been linked with Ducati since KTM's financial woes affected its early performance last season, with VR46 open about its talks to try and sign the double world champion.

However, with so much upheaval around the 2027 technical changes, the 21-year-old appears to have targeted the official Ducati seat, where he would replace the factory's double MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia.

With Marc Marquez admitting he is very close to a new Ducati contract, it therefore appears three of the big 2027 rider market players have made their decisions before the final season of 1000cc racing has even begun - just as Marquez predicted.

Acosta, who enters his third premier-class season still without a MotoGP victory, hinted that his future lay elsewhere when quizzed on 2027 during KTM’s launch:

“I think today is not the day to talk about that. We are at the KTM presentation today...”

Meanwhile, Marquez has been clear that he would not influence Ducati’s choice of team-mate to try and strengthen his own position.

“Never, never… have I placed conditions on my team-mate,” he said.

If confirmed, Acosta will attempt what Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, Pol Espargaro, Joan Mir and Bagnaia have all failed to achieve: beating Marquez across a full, injury-free season as a team-mate.

Bagnaia, meanwhile, would face a career crossroads: Either remain within Ducati by moving to VR46, or retain factory team status by switching manufacturers.

Depending on pay demands, Bagnaia's rival factory options could include Aprilia (alongside good friend Marco Bezzecchi), joining former title rival Martin at Yamaha, or swapping with Acosta at KTM.