The race for one of the most coveted satellite rides in MotoGP for 2027 appears to be down to four Italian riders.
Valentino Rossi, team owner of Ducati satellite partner VR46, had told Sky Sports Italia that his outfit will prioritise retaining an Italian presence in the line-up.
While it is not being talked about openly by the team yet, it is known it will be losing lead rider and Catalan Grand Prix winner Fabio Di Giannantonio to KTM in 2027 – and gaining Spaniard Fermin Aldeguer from Gresini.
But Aldeguer’s team-mate is still unclear. And when Sky Sports Italia put a three-name shortlist to Rossi – comprising Nicolo Bulega, Luca Marini and Celestino Vietti – Rossi didn’t dispute the names, instead emphasising that incumbent rider Franco Morbidelli was also in the mix.
So let’s run through the case for and against each – Bulega, Marini, Vietti, Morbidelli – before revealing what our pick would be.
Nicolo Bulega
Why Bulega: Already under contract with Ducati for 2027 and already involved in its 850cc bike development, Bulega feels like the path of least resistance – but with enough upside to make it worth VR46’s while.
A former part of the Academy (who left in slightly murky circumstances but seems to retain a solid enough relationship with the VR46 structure), Bulega impressed standing in for the injured Marc Marquez at the works MotoGP team last year.
And that was on Michelin rubber – but MotoGP is about to switch to Pirellis, and Pirelli is currently the tyre supplier in the World Superbike series that Bulega is dominating.
New team-mate Iker Lecuona has thrown a few ‘haymakers’ his way in recent WorldSBK races, but ultimately has not been able to stop Bulega’s record winning streak from reaching a ludicrous 19 races.
Picking him up for MotoGP would further strengthen the ties between VR46 and Ducati – and avoid potentially unsettling a rider who’s clearly an important asset to the manufacturer.
Why not: Bulega would be entering MotoGP as a 27-year-old and is ultimately unproven in grand prix racing – his initial career there having unravelled badly after an impressive 2016 Moto3 rookie campaign.
Moving him over would also obviously weaken Ducati’s World SBK set-up, though given team-mate Lecuona has been runner-up for 12 races in a row now (and good MotoGP options will be available to replace Bulega in WSBK) it can’t be too much of a worry.
Luca Marini
Why Marini: Marini’s apparent availability is a little surprising, given his time at Honda has by and large been a success – he has put up good points against his squadmates, and has contributed to a tangible improvement in the bike.
But Honda moved quickly to freshen up its line-up and now has no more seats going having committed to Fabio Quartararo and David Alonso as its works future, plus locked in Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira at LCR and failed in its bid to add Tech3 as a third team.
Plus, it’s easy to make the case that satellite teams should now actively pursue the dependable Marini.
With VR46, and Ducati, there will be the added benefit of familiarity (Marini isn’t just an Academy member and former VR46 team rider, he’s also Rossi’s actual brother), and MotoGP teams across the board clearly appreciate his intellect and acumen.
Why not: Marini’s status as Honda’s top scorer this year is not representative of true performance, even when you account for the fact he’s so reliable. There’s no real case to be made that he’s anything other than third-fastest in the Honda line-up right now.
He’s one of three riders in the field being ‘whitewashed’ by their team-mates in qualifying so far this season, the other two being Brad Binder and Alex Rins. Binder and Rins were also being handily beaten last year – but Marini was a lot closer to team-mate Joan Mir in 2025 than it looks right now.
Celestino Vietti
Why Vietti: Vietti is the one high-level VR46 prospect yet to find his way into MotoGP, and Rossi and co. would probably feel good to tick that box as long as he gives them any reason – which Rossi indicated he’s started to do as of late.
It’s his sixth season in Moto2, which is too many, but he was never a bad intermediate-class rider – just an erratic one. Eight wins in 100 starts is not shabby (Ai Ogura went 6 in 73, Franco Morbidelli 8 in 71, Alex Marquez 8 in 89, Marco Bezzecchi 3 in 52) and the current campaign has the potential makings of being his best.
He also seemed to acquit himself well enough when rewarded with a sudden MotoGP test call-up last year due to Morbidelli’s final-round injury.
And it’s a good time to bring a rider out of Moto2 given the impending Pirelli switch, as the category uses Pirellis already.
Why not: Erratic and incident-prone, in Moto2 too long without a true breakthrough and probably doesn’t have ‘superstar upside’ that you would want when you choose a rookie over established options.
It will also intensify accusations of institutional nepotism from the team, which isn’t necessarily a real problem but can be annoying to deal with – and would be an extra burden on Vietti, who would probably be coming in with the reputation of someone undeserving and would face the pressure of proving that criticism wrong.
Franco Morbidelli
Why Morbidelli: The VR46 set-up obviously loves him, and Rossi’s comments to Sky Sports Italia suggest they feel he’s been hard done by in terms of perception this season – in that he’s saddled with last year’s Ducati that in 2025 gave Pecco Bagnaia so much trouble.
And Morbidelli did produce his first truly good round of the season last weekend at Barcelona.
Why not: Morbidelli is better than he’s shown in 2026 so far, but there’s little reason to believe he’s better enough to warrant continuing in the seat.
He has been only very sporadically productive since his mid-2021 knee injury, and has laboured to string together complete weekends since his 2024 Ducati switch.
His propensity to draw the ire of stewards and rivals is also known, but is currently a secondary point to the fact that he’s not performing at his best – and may be better-served discovering the next chapter of his accomplished career.
Who we’d choose
Rossi indicated that performance over the next few rounds will determine the outcome of this particular contest – though you would hope that he and the VR46 structure will take a more holistic view.
Morbidelli would be the least logical option, despite everything he’s done well over the years. Vietti feels a stretch, too – he’s better than consensus suggests, but just doesn’t have the pedigree of the two remaining candidates.
Marini is the stability choice, and is easy to talk yourself into, especially as the partner to the much rawer, much less predictable Aldeguer, who will be a priority for VR46 to nurture into a superstar.
But the question is whether Ducati wants Bulega in the seat – and if it does, there’s little reason to say no. He’s paying his dues in World Superbikes, looks more ‘together’ than he did when he washed out of grand prix racing, and is obviously a high-upside talent – even before you account for the fact that the tyre supplier change in MotoGP should suit him for obvious reasons.
The best play would be to pretend to Ducati that you really want Marini in the seat and negotiate some sweetener for taking on Bulega – who is anyway a worthy choice.