Ducati announces 2027 MotoGP team launch date

The factory Ducati MotoGP team has announced when Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta will unveil its 2027 colours before the current season has even finished.

The 2026 MotoGP season still has two rounds left to run, with Ducati and Marc Marquez nearing the world title for the second year in a row.

But the Italian manufacturer has already revealed its initial plans for its 2027 MotoGP launch event, which will see Marquez and new team-mate Pedro Acosta in the team’s colours for the first time publicly.

Ducati will host its fifth successive Campioni in Pista event at the Madonna di Campiglio on Monday 18 January next year.

The event typically takes place over several days, with the livery launch the centrepiece of the celebration.

Ducati becomes the first MotoGP team to unveil when its 2027 livery will break cover.

Next year sees MotoGP enter a new era, as it moves to 850cc bikes, while Pirelli becomes the official tyre supplier.

Team launches are typically guarded affairs, so the bikes that will be shown on stage will likely be early development versions of Ducati’s 850cc prototype.

The factory Ducati line-up in 2027 will be all-Spanish, as double world champion Pecco Bagnaia departs for Aprilia.

One-time MotoGP race winner Acosta will take his place, having signed a two-year deal to join Marquez at the Italian manufacturer.

Only one rider in Ducati’s entire three-team stable will be Italian in 2027, as World Superbike champion Nicolo Bulega joins VR46.

Marquez is on the edge of winning an historic eighth MotoGP title in 2026, having taken a 60-point lead in the standings after the Qatar Grand Prix.

He will have the opportunity to wrap up the title next weekend in Portugal, and can do so by winning the sprint.

Should he win the championship, he will move into second all-time, level with Giacomo Agostini and ahead of arch rival Valentino Rossi.

Marquez will also move into third on the list of champions across all classes on 10, with only Agostini on 15 and Angel Nieto on 13 ahead of him.

He would also become the first rider to overturn a deficit of 100 points to win the championship, taking the record from Bagnaia, who came from 91 points behind Fabio Quartararo in 2022.