MotoGP rider rejected by KTM “made a good decision” about 850cc future

Enea Bastianini’s time with the Tech3 KTM team seems set to conclude at the end of 2026, but the Italian thinks he has “made a good decision” about his future.

Red Bull KTM Tech3’s rider line-up has not yet been confirmed for the 2027 season, but several riders are linked with the team, including Honda’s Luca Marini who was tight-lipped about his future when he spoke to the media at Sachsenring ahead of this weekend’s German Grand Prix (10–12 July).

Bastianini, though, is strongly thought to have been left out of KTM’s 2027 plans as the deadline for the Austrian brand to take an option on his contract to retain him for another year has expired.

A move to Trackhouse Aprilia, which will lose Ai Ogura to Yamaha at the end of this season, is anticipated for Bastianini. He says that his decision is made, but that he cannot talk about it yet.

“Yes, well, I made my decision many times ago and that is clear, but I cannot speak about it,” Enea Bastianini told the media ahead of the German MotoGP.

He was then asked if he could say that his deal for 2027 is done, even if he could not say with which team or manufacturer.

“I cannot say that, but I made a good decision,” he responded.

Thinking about the German Grand Prix weekend itself, Bastianini admitted that the Sachsenring is not among his favourite circuits. His best result there is a third, but that was back in his Moto3 days; since then he’s not been on the podium, with a best premier class result of fourth coming in 2024, when he was also fourth in the Sprint.

“Well, I missed the race last year after a problem from the chicken [food poisoning] and it's been, well, curious,” Bastianini said.

“But in any case, this track is very strange and, to be honest, I don't like it a lot. I missed something – I don't like it a lot. 

“But for the rest, it's like always, we need to be competitive and starting well from Friday.

“We're coming from a positive trend, also in Assen we fight very close to the top-five. 

“I hope to see me more or less in the same position from that race because it will be important after the summer break.”