Priorities meant that the teams first focused on deciding which rider line-ups they would put on track in 2027, a season in which many of the championship’s protagonists will change teams, before turning their attention to the less visible side of the operation, but one that is just as vital: the technical staff.
With a season of considerable movement between garages looming, arrivals, departures and reshuffles will be just as evident among the various engineering departments. While it is true that most of the factory teams will retain virtually all of their current technical chiefs, there will be some promotions and moves between their respective structures.
Arguably the most eye-catching signing will see Fabio Quartararo move into the official Honda garage, where Cristhian Populin will look to accelerate his adaptation to the Japanese manufacturer’s bike.
While Honda has yet to announce which rider will occupy the other side of its factory garage, Motorsport.com understands that both candidates already know who they will be working with.
In Diogo Moreira’s case, it will be Andrés Madrid, recruited from KTM, who will take charge of that side of the garage. David Alonso, meanwhile, will receive guidance from Santi Hernández, Marc Márquez’s right-hand man during his golden years at HRC, who has worked alongside Joan Mir since the Spaniard’s move to Ducati. Johann Zarco, for his part, will retain his current group, headed by David García.
At Ducati, Márquez will remain alongside Marco Rigamonti, while Pedro Acosta will inherit Pecco Bagnaia’s crew, with Cristian Gabarrini acting as the conductor. At VR46, Fermín Aldeguer will work with Massimo Branchini, who will finish the current season with Fabio Di Giannantonio, while Nicolò Bulega will be paired with Matteo Flamigni.
At Gresini, Joan Mir will be reunited with Frankie Carchedi, with whom he won the 2020 MotoGP world title with Suzuki, while Dani Holgado will make his debut alongside Donatello Giovanotti, Alex Márquez’s current crew chief.
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Aprilia will once again place its trust in Francesco Venturato to set up Marco Bezzecchi’s Aprilia, while Daniele Romagnoli will welcome Pecco Bagnaia. Trackhouse, meanwhile, will continue to rely on Noé Herrera with Raúl Fernández and Giovanni Mattarollo with Enea Bastianini.
At Yamaha, David Muñoz will take over Jorge Martín’s crew when the Spaniard ends his stint at Aprilia, while Diego Gubellini will oversee Ai Ogura’s arrival. Pramac, meanwhile, will retain Alberto Giribuola with Toprak Razgatlioglu, in a crucial year for both the Turkish rider and the tuning-fork manufacturer, as well as Giacomo Guidotti, who will help Izan Guevara adapt to the premier class.
KTM is where the biggest positional changes will take place, with three of the four engineers moving to new positions. In the factory team’s garage, Phil Marron will welcome Alex
Márquez, while Manuel Cazeaux, a figure closely associated with Maverick Viñales, will be promoted from Tech 3, the satellite operation, to the factory team to work alongside Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Guenther Steiner, the director of the French-based outfit, has opted for a bold approach, giving two engineers their first opportunity to become crew chiefs in MotoGP. Eneko Hernando, currently Luca Marini’s data engineer at Honda, will move with the Italian, while Francesco Munzone, a former Suzuki engineer who currently heads Adrián Huertas’ group at Italtrans in Moto2, will work alongside Senna Agius.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
