First rider for 2027 confirmed: KTM Tech3 signs Rossi's half-brother

KTM Tech3 has announced the signing of its first rider for the upcoming season.

As the team confirmed ahead of the race weekend in Aragon, Luca Marini will join the racing stable led by Team Principal Günther Steiner for the upcoming season.

"Luca is a rider we had a close eye on, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming him to Tech3 from 2027. He brings an enormous amount of experience, but also the right mentality and approach for what we are building here," the South Tyrolean Tech3 boss is quoted in a press release.

Steiner wants a rider who "can contribute to progress in the new era"

With a view to the regulation changes for the upcoming season, "it will therefore be important to have a rider who can contribute to our progress in this new era," says Steiner.

Marini, runner-up in the 2020 Moto2 World Championship, has been racing in MotoGP since 2021. The now 29-year-old joined the VR46 team, the racing stable of his half-brother Valentino Rossi. In 2023, he finished on the podium twice. Since 2024, the Italian has been competing for Honda.

Who his teammate will be next year is not yet officially confirmed. Internally, however, the KTM satellite team is said to have already agreed on Senna Agius. The 21-year-old Australian is currently third in the Moto2 standings.