Ducati Addresses Consequences of Choosing Marc Marquez
During the race weekend at Mugello, it seemed certain that Jorge Martin would move to Ducati’s factory team in 2025 alongside Pecco Bagnaia. However, this situation abruptly changed.
The complete reasons for this change are not yet clear. It was already known that Marc Márquez in the factory team colors would be a big story and a commercial opportunity for Ducati. It was also not news that he was outperforming all the other riders with 2023-spec Ducatis.
What changed was that Márquez clearly indicated that he was not willing to move to Pramac to get a 2025-spec bike. At the same time, he absolutely wanted a 2025-spec bike.
So, if Ducati wasn’t going to give him a 2025 bike at Gresini and he didn’t want to go to Pramac, Ducati only had one other option and couldn’t afford not to seize it, regardless of the other consequences. If Márquez wasn’t willing to accept Ducati’s plan A, that plan had to be abandoned because he was too valuable to be ignored.
Simon Patterson, a respected commentator in the MotoGP world, commented on the situation: “The only thing I can think of is that they sat down and really analyzed what he is doing with that year-old bike. This is not the bike Bagnaia won the 2023 championship with; it’s a much older and more basic version. And he is still in title contention against riders with a package that Ducati knows—better than anyone else—is much better. They saw that the 0.2–0.3 seconds per lap he is losing come from the bike package and decided they couldn’t afford not to give him what he wants. He drew a very firm line about not going to Pramac.”
This decision to secure Márquez for the factory team in 2025 puts Ducati in a complicated position, especially regarding Jorge Martin, who seemed to be the natural candidate for the spot. Martin has shown impressive performances, and it was expected that he would have the chance to ride the factory bike.
However, Márquez’s talent and experience, combined with his remarkable performance on an older Ducati, showed Ducati that he is a safe bet for future title contention. Negotiating this transition and managing the expectations and feelings of the involved riders will be a challenge for the team.
Ducati’s decision to give in to Márquez’s demands underscores the importance they place on having a world-class rider like him on their factory team. This also indicates Ducati’s ambition to continue dominating MotoGP and ensuring they have the best riders on their most advanced bikes.
