BASTIANINI JOINS TRACKHOUSE APRILIA FOR 2027 AND 2028
Enea Bastianini will leave KTM at the end of this season and ride for the Trackhouse MotoGP Team in 2027 and 2028. The Italian replaces Ai Ogura and will partner Raul Fernandez, who renewed his own contract with the American team through 2028 earlier this month.
Once the Japanese rider Ai Ogura chose to join the factory Yamaha team alongside Jorge Martin, Trackhouse had to go to the market, and Bastianini emerged as the favourite after weeks of speculation.
In 2024 Bastianini was close to joining the factory team alongside Marco Bezzecchi, but that seat went to Martin after Ducati chose Marc Marquez over him for its own factory line-up. This time the factory Aprilia seat went to Francesco Bagnaia, who left Ducati once it became clear the team had signed Pedro Acosta. Aprilia’s interest in Bastianini did not go away, and with KTM rebuilding its own line-up, Trackhouse became the place where it finally worked.
He is 28, from Rimini, and won the Moto2 world title in 2020 before moving straight into MotoGP in 2021, taking two podiums in his rookie season. He has since won six premier-class races, the bulk of them in a strong 2022 with Gresini before he moved to the factory Ducati team.
His first podium for the manufacturer came with third place at Catalunya in 2025, and 2026 has produced flashes rather than results: sixth at Assen, ninth at the Sachsenring, and an early exit in the gravel at Silverstone.
Trackhouse has turned into one of the leading operations in the paddock this season. Fernandez won the British Grand Prix, Ogura won at Assen and sits third in the championship, and the team has been fighting near the front rather than scrapping for points. Bastianini said that development into a title contender was part of why he chose them, and that he intends to help keep them there.
Team owner Justin Marks framed the signing around experience, saying Bastianini’s record and his time at the top of the sport fit a team he believes is close to something significant. The American squad, better known to many for its NASCAR operation, will now field two proven race winners for the start of the 850cc era.
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