Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez says the rider market is moving early again for 2027, which is not how he would prefer it but also can be "not fair" to riders like his team-mate Pecco Bagnaia.

On the heels of a dominant 2025 campaign, Marquez is unsurprisingly the prized 'free agent' asset in MotoGP going into the 2027 decisions, with every factory team having (officially, at least) both seats open.

The expectation is that a commitment for Marquez will set the rest of the market fully in motion - and during Ducati's 2026 launch it was made very clear by all the parties involved that a new deal for 2027-28 is being discussed and prioritised between Marquez and Ducati.

"First of all, we are looking to try to renew the world champion, that's obvious, like we did with Pecco in the past," team manager Davide Tardozzi told MotoGP.com. 

"And then we'll see. In this moment we are really focused on the first [pre-season] test and then we'll see. We are not under pressure. Again, we would like to fix [secure], if it's possible, the world champion and we'll see."

Tardozzi used very similar rhetoric in his native Italian talking to Sky Sports, so it can be taken as the formal Ducati position.

And Marquez - who would have no shortage of alternatives to Ducati if he decided to move on - has admitted that he expects to have something in place for 2027-28 before the start of racing this year, which suggests a high likelihood of a Ducati renewal.

"Of course 2026 will be tricky not [only] on-track - off-track. Because for '27 everything is open. Nobody can promise the best bike - of course you need to feel and follow your instinct, which is the best project for yourself.

"Of course some riders will close [their contracts] already before the first race. It's true that I'm [expecting to be] one of them, we are in conversations, but I need to analyse everything, what is the best for my professional and personal life.

"I would like to go more forward and to wait a bit more, to decide our future mid-season for example, because now for example we're in a situation that Pecco maybe doesn't have enough power [on the market]- but it's not fair. But it's like this.

"In the end, now we are in the conversations, we are getting closer and closer, to some projects. And then I need to decide.

"It's true that the manufacturers always try to take one rider [early] and then from that point start to build the project [around the rider]."

Marquez also pointed out to Sky Sports that his past preference in his career has been to stay in place if he's comfortable in competitive terms rather than seek out an alternative employer.

And he confirmed that, "if we decide to go forward", it will be a two-year deal whichever manufacturer he signs with.

Ducati's pointed if unsurprising admission that Marquez is being prioritised over Bagnaia in contract talks comes against the backdrop of increased speculation that KTM rider Pedro Acosta is very keen on securing a Ducati future (and that this interest is being reciprocated).

Bagnaia, for his part, claimed that his next MotoGP contract is currently far from his thinking.

"Honestly, after my season from last year I just want to be focused on riding, and then what will happen will happen," he said. "But I just want to think race by race, and then we will start speaking about it. But before that I want to be more focused on riding."

Marquez shoulder injury latest

Marquez's spectacular 2025 campaign was cut short four rounds early by a right-shoulder injury incurred in a Mandalika crash with Marco Bezzecchi.

He was only back training on a dirt bike in December, and a sport bike earlier this month - and has now admitted the rehabilitation has been an arduous one.

"If you asked me two weeks ago, I would've said 'hmmm, so-so'," he said of his shoulder. 

"But as with every rehabilitation we have some ups and downs and now I start to feel better and better. I don't know at which percentage I am because I don't know what will be my 100%. I think it will be the same as before but I need to analyse this, try to discover."

He admitted it was a "long winter, tough winter", though pointed out that nursing a damaged shoulder through the winter was nothing new in his MotoGP career.

He explained his current issue: "Durability. I can ride very well at a normal level one day, but then the second day I drop a lot. This means that we need to keep going with the work and try to work on that long distance. 

"I already predict that in Malaysia on the first day [of testing] I will feel super good. But what I feel is the most difficult thing to control is that, from the first day to the second one, or just to go two days in a row in the gym, the second day I cannot perform in a good way, something that last year I was doing in a good way. 

"So let's see. We have one month and a half [before racing], and I think we're in a good way, but to ride a bike one single day I'm already at my normal level.

"I think, or I can say to you, that in Thailand I will be close to my 100%. This was the point, was the target, and I think we will achieve it."