MotoGP News: Petrucci would "like to go to KTM" in 2021
Outgoing factory Ducati MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci says he would "like to go to KTM" in 2021, which is set to lose Pol Espargaro to Honda next year


As reported by Autosport on Thursday, 2013 Moto2 world champion Espargaro has agreed a deal to join Marc Marquez at the works Honda squad for 2021.
- The latest MotoGP rider market shocks
- KTM's Espargaro set for shock Honda switch
- Ducati agrees deal to replace Miller with Martin at Pramac
- Petrucci confirms Ducati exit at the end of 2020
- Espargaro close to new Aprilia deal
- Miller to join works Ducati team in 2021
- Why Ducati's latest divorce was inevitable
- Why Miller's Ducati move completes MotoGP's changing of the guard
Petrucci confirmed last week that he would be leaving Ducati's MotoGP team at the end of the year, and has been linked with a switch to World Superbikes with the Italian marque, as well as the second Aprilia MotoGP bike.
Admitting that he "would love" to go to Aprilia, he has also expressed a keen interest in KTM in an interview with Sky Italia.
Petrucci said: "I would love [to go to] Aprilia, which has a new bike and has aroused a lot of curiosity, because it was fast right away and this is something that is seen very rarely.
"In the [pre-season] tests, they went very fast. So I would like to go with Aprilia.
"I would also like to go with KTM, because they too have been growing and are working hard.
"Then [on Thursday], there was this news - which I don't know if it's official or not - of Pol leaving KTM.
"His decision to leave the team is a bit surprising, because he was the cornerstone of the project.
"But here there are two manufacturers that could take profit of my experience, which in MotoGP is a few years.

"I'd like to get to work and be available for a growing project. KTM has scored a podium [with Espargaro at a wet Valencia in 2018], Aprilia has still not.
"But they are two manufacturers that definitely want to get to the top. I'd like to run with one of the two."
Though Aprilia has publicly continued to back Andrea Iannone, who is serving an 18-month doping ban and insists it wants to keep him for 2021 if his punishment appeal is successful, Autosport understands Petrucci is close to a deal with Aprilia.
Aleix Espargaro confirmed to Autosport recently that he is also close to agreeing a new deal with Aprilia, which he admits is likely to be his last in MotoGP.
News of the younger Espargaro brother's departure from KTM came as another blow in the same week Autosport reported that Moto2 podium finisher Jorge Martin has agreed a deal to leave the Austrian marque for Ducati with Pramac next year.
Jack Miller will step up to the factory Ducati squad, with Andrea Dovizioso likely to continue despite talks having stalled over money, while Francesco Bagnaia is set to remain with Pramac.

MotoGP News: Miller "looked like he was in his first or second year" when he joined Pramac
Quartararo outlines why Rossi should choose SRT for 2021 MotoGP season

Latest news
Diriyah E-Prix: Evans snatches top spot from Ticktum in FE FP3
Jaguar's Mitch Evans snatched top spot at the end of the Diriyah E-Prix's third free practice session, knocking Dan Ticktum off the top of the Formula E timing board.
Bird's Diriyah FE podium a "reward" for Jaguar team's hard work
Sam Bird says that his return to the podium at the Diriyah E-Prix was an "amazing reward" for Jaguar's work after the Mexico Formula E opener.
Binotto praised for helping Vasseur’s Ferrari F1 handover
Former Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Mattia Binotto has been praised by replacement Fred Vasseur for helping talk him through their handover.
Buemi: Diriyah FE pole pace just the beginning, "sad" at how Nissan spell ended
Sebastien Buemi says his pole position pace at the Diriyah E-Prix is "just the beginning", but conceded it left him "sad" at how his time with Nissan ended.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.