Ducati, KTM the first manufacturers to officially commit to MotoGP until 2026

Ducati and KTM have both confirmed they will remain on the MotoGP World Championship grid for another five seasons after agreeing to the latest cycle of contracts with commercial rights holders Dorna.

The current deal between Dorna and the competing manufacturers comes to an end at the conclusion of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship season but there are expected to be relatively few changes beyond there potentially being more teams on the grid.

In the meantime, Ducati and KTM have both confirmed their presence in a factory capacity, while the latter confirmed satellite partners Tech 3 Racing have also signed on to ensure four RC16s will be on the grid for another five years.

2021 DUCATI MONSTER - Everything you need to know

"Racing has always been a truly fundamental part of the Ducati brand and will remain so in the future,” said Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali. “In fact, it represents not only a way to fuel the passion and cheer of the Ducatisti all over the world, but also an advanced research laboratory where the most sophisticated materials and the most innovative design methods are tested. 

“It is also the training ground where our young engineers grow to provide our customers with state-of-the-art motorbikes in terms of technology and emotionality of use, as the Superleggera V4 and Multistrada V4 recently demonstrated.

“I want to thank Dorna Sports and, in particular, Carmelo Ezpeleta for their great work over the years that has made MotoGP a truly extraordinary media platform.”

What will change on the 2022 MotoGP grid?

The only current MotoGP team expected to slip off the grid at the end of 2021 is Avintia Racing, with speculation suggesting it will revert to VR46 Sky Racing Italia, which is sponsoring Luca Marini’s maiden campaign on the Ducati this year.

Meanwhile, Gresini Racing reverts back to independent status having run the Aprilia effort since 2015. The Italian outfit is tipped to continue with Aprilia as its satellite effort, with the Noale firm taking its factory effort in-house.

Suzuki is still toying with the idea of a satellite team after winning the 2020 MotoGP World Championship, while leading Moto3 team Leopard Racing has signalled intentions to graduate to the top class too.