Ducati confirm Alex Marquez in talks to join Gresini

Update: Lenovo Ducati Team Manager, Paolo Ciabatti, has confirmed Gresini Ducati and Alex Marquez are in 'ongoing discussion' regarding a 2023 deal.

Speaking about when rider announcements could be made, Ciabatti said: "Well, we have said that we will decide at the end of August, who will be the team-mate of Pecco [Bagnaia] at the factory team, and the other rider, either of Enea or Jorge, will be in the Pramac team with Johann Zarco.

"We are discussing the final details of his renewal and they will have 2023 bikes, so, equal treatment in terms of technical package. Concerning the discussions between Alex Marquez and Gresini, we know that it’s an ongoing discussion but it’s something more managed by the team than by Ducati."

This is the latest update after we brought you news earlier in the week that Miguel Oliveira and Alex Rins are close to having their MotoGP futures confirmed.

Oliveira looks set to sign a two-year deal at Aprilia with RNF Racing, while Rins is expected to replace Marquez at LCR Honda. 

With the second seat at LCR is expected to come down to either Takaaki Nakagami or Ai Ogura - the latter is rumoured to be the favourite - Marquez’s future is looking more and more like it's away from Honda. 

But that’s perhaps not a bad thing as Honda has endured another disastrous season so far -  highlighted by its inability to score points for the first time in a MotoGP race in 40 years (Sachsenring). 

Yes, a technical issue (Marquez), a rider error (Nakagami) and fitness problems (Pol Espargaro) affected Honda’s performance during last weekend’s German MotoGP, however, a lack of competitive performances and results were on show long before Sachsenring.

With Gresini Ducati seemingly missing out on its #1 target Oliveira, Marquez has since been linked with the Italian team. 

Gresini are resigned to losing Enea Bastianini as the former Moto2 world champion will either join Pramac or the factory team alongside Francesco Bagnaia.  

Fabio Di Giannantonio set for a second year in MotoGP

As previously mentioned, Gresini could announce one of their 2023 rider signings this weekend, with Di Giannantonio set for a second season with the team.

Recent performances, especially in qualifying have been nothing short of brilliant from the Italian, who confirmed that a deal is close on Thursday. 

Pol Espargaro rumoured with KTM return

Another rider who could be close to having his future decided is Espargaro, as a move back to KTM appears likely. 

While it won’t be in the form of a factory seat, Espargaro is likely to remain on factory machinery with Tech 3 KTM. 

Should such a move take place then the Spaniard will either replace Remy Gardner or Raul Fernandez - more likely to be the latter as RNF is rumoured to be looking at the former Moto2 star.