July 6 (Reuters) - ⁠KTM have signed Spanish rider ⁠Alex Marquez to a multi-year ‌contract from the 2027 season, the team said on Monday.

The 30-year-old, runner-up ​in the 2025 MotoGP ⁠championship, will leave ⁠Gresini Racing after four seasons and ⁠return ‌to a factory team for the first ⁠time since his rookie campaign with ​Honda ‌in 2020.

"We are extremely proud ⁠and happy ​to have secured an exceptional talent like Alex Marquez — the ⁠2025 World Championship runner-up — ​for our project," KTM Motorsports Director Pit Beirer said in a ⁠statement.

"Alex brings not only outstanding skill and race intelligence but also determination and a winning mindset ​that perfectly matches ⁠our DNA."

KTM have yet to ​announce Marquez's teammate ‌for the 2027 season.

(Reporting ​by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)