Jorge Martin To Join Factory Aprilia For 2025, Paves Way For Marc Marquez To Join Ducati Lenovo Team

By David Emmett |

Jorge Martin is to join the factory Aprilia team. Through the unconventional means of a post on Instagram, Aprilia Racing CEO Romano Albesiano introduced the Pramac Ducati rider as the replacement for the retiring Aleix Espargaro. They later followed it up with an official statement saying that they had signed Martin on a "multi-year" deal.

The news ended a weekend of fevered speculation about the future pairing in the factory Ducati team. On Thursday, it looked like Martin had been given the factory Ducati seat, and Marc Marquez had been offered a GP25 in the Pramac Ducati team. But Marquez publicly rejected the idea of a move to Pramac, saying that it made no sense to move from one satellite team to another. 

That appears to have completely upended Ducati's plans. According to a report on Motorsport.com, (in English on Autosport), and a report by Spanish daily AS.com, Ducati had offered Jorge Martin a contract in the factory Lenovo team, subject to the condition that Marc Marquez did not manage to win the 2023 MotoGP title. According to AS.com, Marc Marquez turned that offer down, telling Ducati that if he was not in the factory team, he had offers to go to other factory teams. 

That appears to have forced Ducati's hand. It appears that Ducati have now offered Marquez the second seat in the factory team, alongside Pecco Bagnaia. That was enough for Jorge Martin to draw his own conclusions and decide to sign for Aprilia.

Though there is still no official confirmation from Ducati, it seems that the factory Ducati line up will be Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez.

This also throws the situation with satellite teams into disarray. The question is now whether Pramac decide to stay with Ducati or switch to Yamaha, a choice which seems much more likely. That would put factory Ducati GP25s in the VR46 squad, with Fermin Aldeguer on one bike. It would also open the option of two more Yamahas potentially, with factory support. 

There is a lot to shake out from this decision, and four weeks between now and Assen for negotiations to take place. Expect a spate of announcements in the meantime.    

The Aprilia factory team sent the following press release, and posted the following video on their Instagram page:

Welcome Jorge
JORGE MARTÍN ALMOGUERA WILL BE AN APRILIA RACING RIDER FROM 2025 WITH A MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT

It could only be Jorge Martín the ideal rider to ensure continuity after the announcement of Aleix Espargaró's retirement, who has always been Martín's friend and mentor. Martín has signed a multi-year contract with Aprilia Racing starting in 2025, and the Team and the entire Piaggio Group welcome a rider who best represents the desire to establish himself at the top of MotoGP.

MASSIMO RIVOLA

“A path of unstoppable growth, Jorge is a building block to reach the goal we are all looking for with great hunger at Aprilia Racing. Thanks to Dr. Michele Colaninno for this opportunity, we spoke last night and without wasting any time we made the decision.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Aprilia (@aprilia)

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Comments

They will not though :-)

I'd like to see the BEast next to Martin.

Just imagine that for 2025, the two guys Ducati pushed aside, teaming up for that other Italian brand with humongous chips on their shoulders. Make that an entire potato farm in the case of Martin.

Juicy juicy juicy !!!

…came in like a wrecking ball 🎶

Ducati’s well laid plans go up in smoke, for better or worse.

Happy for Martin to finally get a factory seat after getting musical chaired by Ducati for so long. We know that Aprilia is fast, both Espargaro and Viñales showed that. Martin has the speed and should bring the consistency that’s been missing.

And then we have Acosta on a factory KTM…

Next season will be wild!

Who is Martin going to blame for his own mouth cornering him in, and pre-negotiation at that.

"I will not go to Pramac"  turned the entire grid on its head. Teams leaving, top tier riders forced out.

That's power.

Does make some sense of his 'downbeat' mood in France switching to happy warmth good news mood. He said he wanted factory and he said it was looking good. Never lied.

Well, respect for sticking to his guns. Hope Martin and the team go well. 

Marquez is quite the strategist both on track and off. Angling for Martin's cherished ride next year seems to have disturbed Jorge's performance on track this past weekend. Did Aleix recently say that he was 99% sure Martin will not take his seat at Aprilia?

I think Pramac will delay the announcement as long as possible so they continue getting the same level of technical support for JM. I know Ducati has a contractual obligation to provide equal machinery, but one can imagine the quality of that support and timeliness of updates would suffer dramatically as soon as Pramac defects to Yamaha.

Was that before or after he said the same thing about Marc? The Bromance Battalion played their cards too, but I'm not quite sure what they achieved in the end.

Rivola spoke of not wanting to play their hand too early, as to not gift anybody a rider before they were ready. Then in the same breath says that they signed him and immediately announced it within 20mins, and with all of the legals done overnight between Saturday and Sunday.

"Pramac isn't an option for me."

  • Martin drops it in the sprint.
  • Runs off to another factory overnight.
  • Ducati lose Pramac to Yamaha, unless Rossi's hat was signalling to the bookies, then it's VR46.
  • If it's the former, Ducati need to rehouse two GP25's (I want it fought out in a cage. With weapons.)
  • Bestia bails out.
  • Ducati trying to fit 5 mid-pack riders into 4 spots

Marc took the best seat in the sport, culled two of his his fiercest inter-factory rivals, ensures Martin loses support late season and he gains it, and he did all of this with a single sentence released to the media with that smug, shit eating grin of his plastered all over his face.

Somehow he did all of this while running 3rd in the championship on the wrong (and old) bike, and HRC sit back tweeting their congrats at his success like a desperate ex-lover who is dopamine-scrolling through pictures of the good old days they had together. To make things worse, they are doing it whilst laying in bed with 4 dud roots.

How did we get on this time line? What the hell is going on?

If Marc and Jorge are happy then in the end that's all that matters. But even as a Marc fan/apologist, I think Jorge deserved that seat more. I have no choice but to root for JM89 next year as an underdog. I hope he can take the Aprilia to the next level, and that the Aprilia can hold itself together for a full season/championship fight.

Jorge is ahead in points. Marc has been catching up on a year old bike as he is learning how to ride a Ducati. Jorge is younger, but can sometimes be impetuous and a PR nightmare. Volkswagen is a big corporation that has had some really bad PR. They went from having to admit that they killed about 400 babies of their slave laborers to the diesel emissions scandal. Jorge is nowhere close to same the same galaxy of those things, but he still is a greater risk for a corporation trying to position themselves in a very positive light. 

I did always think with mentor Aleix stepping down that JM89 was in the frame and whilst I’m really excited Aprilia have got a current big hitter incoming, you have to wonder how the historically suspect recruitment department in Bologna have let him now become a hyper-motivated rival? Financially Aprilia wouldn’t be able to match Ducati so did MM93 play enough mind games, did Ducati believe they simply couldn’t pass up the chance to pick up the most naturally talented and most marketable rider or are they bound in a direction we can’t even yet imagine? 
I’ve ordered a truck load of popcorn but I’m not sure if I’ll get sweet or salty..🍿  

Jorge = competitive decision

Marc = business decision

In the end the business won out. I agree with your logic entirely, plus while I think Marc can help with the constructor's chip right now, I feel like JM89 + FB?? in red would be a lockout on the rider's chip for several years to come. I think if the Aprilia is at all competitive, JM89 is going to do his best to raise hell, which might have been part of Aprilia's motivation to sign (on top of his talent and classified Ducati info).

We will see what happens I guess.

Who knows ? Maybe their fancy simulations give x for the GP24, the riders then produce 101% of x. Their simulations for the GP23 in 2024 with Marc producing...head scratch. He's a long way ahead of the other GP23s.

The talk about Ducati not wanting to upset the apple cart, all the personal sponsors Marc would lose, whatever else was said to justify Jorge's promotion instead. I think Jorge deserved it more though, can't believe Marc's hardball about satellite teams won out. Marc's skill is so undeniable but I do honestly struggle to see him beat Ducati with another factory. And I don't see him wanting to team up with Pedro for that matter either. I guess the marketing opportunity was too good to pass up, and he's going to be fast for sure.

edit: What does this mean for Pramac? Is a payday from Yamaha still on the table?

Metaphorically, he loathed getting publicly jilted by the girl he never on his own wanted to take to the prom. He was likely holding his nose and putting on a good face, simply for the sake of money and prestige, as the pressure grew to bring Marc to Pramac. Next thing he knew, he was the one who got kicked to the curb behind other factories and Gresini. I doubt he makes these statements if this wasn’t the case. 

joins your favorite team. I’ve never liked the personality he projects, but the reality is we don’t really know any of these guys. Still, I was hoping for a Ducati signing to create either a real or mythical, villainous combination. Which way will I cheer now? I don’t yet know.

Aprilia is my favorite team and Jorge is one of a couple of riders I see in a negative light. All 99.9% that fans have is perception. The entire world of sports and fandom is based on this. I qualified this from the reality of actually knowing someone. I’ve never hated on any rider and never want any of them injured or crashed. Still, there are riders fans relate positively and negatively towards. Some people take this way too far. For me, Jorge comes off very much like a couple of narcissists I have had to weather in life. That’s just perception from a distance, though. I’ve also not agreed with some of his actions. I think we all would like our favorite manufacturer to have a winning rider we highly respect. 

^ Really hear you Scrambler. Let's keep this in view over time here. Martin looks to be growing a great deal. Aprilia, for better or worse via centering around Aleix this era is ideally suited to Martin's spiciness and focusing style. Martin and the Black bike may gel REALLY well. 

I'm wondering if it may be the best match. And, if that may help Martin and our view if him evolve.

Still a bit of a "smarmy" guy? Maybe, yeah. But not seen the same in a year? He gets to focus on racing now!

 

It could be that they knew Pramac was leaving anyway, and Pramac's talk was all posturing to try and keep Jorge in with a chance at the factory seat.

In the end Marquez held all the cards, and he played them. There really was no other option at that point. Don't forget that they can all see his data... Ducati know exactly what he's capable of on their bike. Marketing prowess aside, Marc is probably the fastest Ducati rider on equal machinery, and they have to know that.

Everyone talking about Marquez' announcement that "Pramac is not an option" (including me) are forgetting that Jorge gave Ducati a deadline of the Mugello race day to promote him, a deadline which came and went. 

I can imagine this is more Jorge living up to his word than Ducati changing their minds. Both may be true, but Jorge took the initiative.

A deadline has to mean something, and by Sunday he knew the result. I'm sure after Thursday's bonbshell he probably gamed out several alternate scenarios (and clearly suffered on-track as well). Once he realized he was not the choice there's no need to wait for an official Ducati announcement to move on to Plan B, but he gave them until Sunday night to stay true to his word.

Has there EVER been a season this silly?! Holy sh×tballs.

I suggest we celebrate Martin to Aprilia. Fantastic signing, spreads out the talent. He seems a good fit. Very hungry and still growing. It was my wish, and making me smile. 

^ Wavey, I think you called this one first - good eye.

Spring Break, here comes the pile of puzzle pieces clicking in place...

After the sunday race, i had a wild vision ( not induced by any means of reality distorting substances) what will happen with MM93.

Herve Poncharal is well in his sixties, with the big 7 looming on the horizon for him - why not open up a golden road to retirement and sell a large chunk of Tech3 to the MM93 bunch.

Creating a spanish nationalteam with Repsol money, the GasGas brand, KTM machinery and his brother in the second seat would be really offlimits.

Nice one!

Firstly, I called Marquez to Aprilia....got that wrong.
Jorge quite rightly said enough is enough but Ducati wanted the two birds in the bush and at 32 for next season, Marquez has to do it first time but Ducati will be trying to sign off MM with a world championship and a huge retirement contract just like Doohan with Honda and Rossi with Yamaha (normally).  

One point we're all missing; ducati are clearing the decks at Pramac meaning that Pramac WILL go with Yamaha.  

Jorge Martin now has piece of mind but a first string Aprilia isn't better than a second string Pramac Ducati!  Add to this Aprilia's concessions finished two years ago and while they have caught up, they only appear to have been hanging on since Aliex's 'hay days' back in 2022 when he won races and lead the championship.  As time drifts by, Aprilia will do well to keep close to Ducati.  

Also, let's credit the tight bond between Aliex and Jorge. The boy was crying at the news of Aleix's retirement.  Aliex will likely be a very good test rider for Aprilia, I just can't see him signing anywhere else.  He is Aprilia through and through........ 

But as Wolferl123 points out, the one thing missing is a Spanish bike or a Spanish team.  

Of course the top 9 riders were Spanish or Italian on Sunday.  Maybe Valentino is the one off to Yamaha and Pramac is a smokescreen????

Aleix Espargaró isn't going to be a Aprilia test rider, he ruled it completely out in a interview! Yamaha made a offer but it was far too low. 

Honda made a big bucks test rider offer to Aleix which will be announced confirmed fairly soon. Money talks and Aleix wanted the best deal for him and his family. 

Great signing by Honda. As Aleix previously helped the engineers develop the Suzuki & Aprilia bikes from the ground up into good bikes. 

Sylvain is such a great personality on TNT. Smart, funny, self-deprecating, small biceps...I love him. He's working on the BMW project at the moment. I think that's where he's staying. Sounded like that a couple races ago when he was chatting with the wonderful Suzi Perry. (She's such a pro)

I remember when he won the first WSBK race of the season at Philip Island -- maybe the year he won the title for Aprilia, can't recall -- and he was SO hyped after the race. Interviewer asked him how the victory felt, and he said "so good maybe we'll go back to the hotel and start another baby." He's got five or six kids, I think. 

Domenicalli is a big camel, forgets nothing, ever. He very much chose to boot Lorenzo instead of possibly earning the championship. So now that he has a champion, he would never accept Martin in the Ducati family. Certainly not after last year's scathing JM remarks regarding Ducati. Let's face it, if CD wanted Martin, they would have signed him already. The Spanish Toro has shown more than enough talent, spirit and speed the last 12 months to earn the saddle, which has been given to riders with less of everything in the past. But Ducati, very clearly, waited for MM to adopt and / or for the Beast to show up. And tried to control the whole MotoGP Domino game. After all, what use is power if not exercised?

Excellent news for Aprilia of course, one explosively fast rider and one (probably the fastest) but on dopamine. I love Vinales, but he has to get off whatever he uses to control his emotions. Brilliant development also for KTM, if Bastianini decides for the Alps as a healthier environment. Do not forget, in Mattighofen the last few years, Italian is becoming mother language.

What a joy, this news! Thanks, David, and thank you to all your engaged readers for their acumen and sporting spirit. Superb environment.  

I think the skinny jeans wearing mofo got involved, and fucked it up again...just like with Bautista. He's one of the most disingenuous people I can think of.

He needs to stop micro-managing. Let the people that understand what's going on run the program.

First the claims of any mistake of by race direction being a total failure, then claims that a dude running one of the most successful + iconic motorcycle brands and supporting the best MotoGP team as "fucking it up again"....

It's a real wonder someone hasn't put you in charge of everything, you are clearly smarter than anybody actually involved in MotoGP...

Yea IMO I would have put Jorge Martin on the red seat and found a way to get Marc a factory bike at Gresini............. but I'm humble + self-aware enough to know that maybe, just maybe, the folks actually making these decisions might know a little more than I do....

You are prob one of the folks who called Fabio dumb for signing with Yamaha too....

CTK your thoughts are really good ones and it is great to have diverse perspectives in MotoMatters. Second time in a week though that your posts are making things personal and adversarial or demeaning. 

Fyi nh_painter has been here a while as a good part of the community. Please be kinder? (And if you watch closely over time, after about 5 of these readers can be uneelcomed from the site. Last one was just a few months ago).

If it makes things seem more reasonable, I was on the receiving end of this from Krop way back for referring to a certain rider by a certain derogatory phrase.

(I'm not coming after you mate, opposite...please stick around and share your perspective! Which for example about the Yamaha and Quarty re-signing to be our highest paid rider, I respectfully disagree with still. Great discourse here for a change! 101 comments on bonkers silly signing of the half decade.)

Please and thanks join us in keeping Motomatters from devolving into Crush.Nut?

Sincerely,

Dave S

I agree with crankophile above that this has Domenicali's handprints all over it. Just like when he pushed Lorenzo out when he was finally winning aboard his Ducati. He aught to stay out of their MotoGP effort altogether and let Gigi run the whole thing.Yes we now Gigi is impressed with Marquez data, but I am sure he didn't want to push JM to Aprilia! Domenicali should just stick to managing the business side of Ducati. He's no Enzo Ferrari or Soichiro Honda... 

...I think there is more in play then we realize. Several months ago, there was an announcement of Marc and Alex teaming up/being sponsored by AUDI! Need I repeat that? To me, the meaning of that signing was very obvious.....there was NO WAY Audi was going to let Marc leave the 'family' and it was fairly obvious that he'd be on a 'factory' Ducati.

David, care to comment on this?

 

Good for Martin. He’s now going to be a factory rider. But he deserved the factory Ducati seat. 

Good for Marquez. He is going to work his magic on the top machine in factory colors. But choosing him was really a business decision by Ducati. 

Gresini - PLEASE sign Mir and reunite him Frankie Carchedi!!  🙏🙏

Good on Jorge for backing himself. No point forcing yourself into a Team that only sort of want you. I’d like to be a fly on the wall at Ducati if it transpires that MM93 ends up at Gas Gas along with EB23. Losing three of the best wouldn’t be a good look.

Pernat Just confirmed Bestia in KTM

The more I think about all this the more I see the old Ducati ways creeping in. They lost Martin, who truly deserved the seat  they lost Bestia... And Pramac most probably... 

Ducati has said numerous times they wanted to scale down to 6 bikes. Economic reasons being stated. I do believe it’s also what Dorna would like, 8 Ducatis simply doesn’t look so good.

What also changes is the fact that Ducati will no longer pay a third rider like they are doing today with Martin. So Pramac would have to pay both their riders, something they haven’t done the last few years and that inevitably has an impact on their budget.

I don’t really see Ducati losing Pramac. All those Ducati contracted people working inside Pramac will move to VR46 or Gresini, wherever the GP25s will end up next year. They’ll up the level of the satellite teams and probably dominate the next 2 years.
Then we roll into a new era anyway.

I could however very much imagine Paolo Campinoti at the helm of an MV Agusta "Factory" team with Bastianini on one ride an another Italian alongside. Okay, it's pipe dream imaginings, but still - that would be tasty. 

(Having said that, Suzy Perry mentioned on the TNT feed that KTM were having some financial issues - but I've not seen it mentioned anywhere else and the other commentators were surprised to hear it - so perhaps they won't be taking those 2 Duc spots right now)

KTM are making massive profits, all the manufacturers are coining it at the moment bar H-D as usual.  No, all they did was close a department-no panic.  

The MV team seems a logical way forwards.  at the turn of the year, they bought the Russian major shareholder out and own the majority share and run the company now with the Rusky holding a deputy acting assistant role.  

If you run a GasGas team you HAVE TO run an MV team.  I personally can't wait to see the Fire Engines out there again.  Red and Silver!  

It’s what his manager Carlo Pernat has claimed this evening…

https://m.gpone.com/it/2024/06/03/motogp/pernat-svela-il-futuro-di-bastianini-sara-su-una-ktm-ufficiale-nel-2025.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=social&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0PYl5r6zWVzQaNkst116gqW45v9fn6tStqAZpSwbMrprfY2V3XMQTqPQ8_aem_Ab2du_nIwLiA6q0UBo2gg5csFvrNguDNH5H9sDMwOVV9JmP123llAd1IRU0QKrk1vqqd7cWqU5FGK-Sl6OEdumDK

 

Sais they could rebrand Tech3 GASGAS back to KTM. Would mean he rides a KTM next year.
 

It's listed as a KTM anyway. They just like to pretend. Even Birtie talks about it as if it's a different bike. Constructor rules mean it's listed as a KTM. Does, me, head, in. At least they haven't called it a GC16 or a GG16. Well that would make all the difference wouldn't it ? Look at Moto3, they have many different bikes such as the RC250GP, FR250GP and to be a bit more or less creative, the Moto3...Moto3 bike. I don't get it, the whole world knows it's the same bike, an RC250GP but maybe we'll all think differently about CFMoto because it's not a KTM but is.

It’s worth noting that the non-David Emmett portion of the MotoGP media has missed on most of the signings to date. Fabio was as good as gone from Yamaha. Jorge was given the second Lenovo seat. Marc to Pramac was all but a lock. Yamaha was going to land a satellite team. Enea would be on an Aprilia with Maverick, if Aleix retired. Aleix would likely postpone retirement, though, and if he didn’t he would test ride for Aprilia. Most got Pedro getting promoted correct. Outside of that, a lot of wrong conjecture has been published as inside knowledge. 

I got a lot of it wrong along with the rest of the media. That's also because the situation changed so quickly. Martin was told on Thursday he would get the factory Ducati seat, and he signs for Aprilia on Sunday night. 

If anything, this is what I keep going on about. You can learn an awful lot from talking to people. But you are still only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Can Fermin go to Gresini and ride a 24 bike if Pramac goes to Yamaha? I hope they do in a way.

I cannot see VR46 wanting to get rid of Bez, but Digga is outperforming him constantly.


 

Gresini currently recruits and pays its own riders, but nothing would prevent two willing business partners from making a contract modification if it’s seen as mutually beneficial. They could write it for a two year duration for one seat or for whatever terms they desire. It could probably be accomplished in a day or two if kept simple. 

So MM as Pecco's teammate, should be interesting. Could be the hottest factory rivalry since VR and JL. It's early days yet and Pecco could end up being champion again this year, so a three times MotoGP WC has an 6 times WC as rival in the team.

Could get quite spicy, I wonder how Ducati will manage that?

Ducati wants to win and keep improving... getting a 6 time WC that adopted to their bike almost immediately in the factory seat is a great way to do that. It would have been the same "slap in the face" if they signed JM89. The only way to coddle Pecco completely would be to not give him a  teammate at all...... but this is not a kind or gentle sport....

What I mean is that for some years now Ducati has started a policy of nurturing young talent and then bring the deserving ones to the factory team. All based on talent and merit.  Martin should have gotten that seat and it's not Pecco place to pass judgement on it. However given the mood in Italy and the fact that the underlying narrative says that Pecco wins just because he has a good bike, the moment ducati bring in Marquez they basically say Pecco you are not good enough. That's all. Nothing to do with narcissism or hubris. 

I agree that Martin deserved the seat more than Marquez, but I disagree that Pecco isn't allowed to have an opinion on the change, or that Marc's signing was driven by "narratives" and a desire to "send a message" to Pecco. There are pretty obvious reasons why Ducati would sign Marc- the biggest being his brand and marketability, the second being his unparalleled championship pedigree/experience, the third being the speed with which he has adapted to and became competitive on the GP23. All of which have absolutely nothing to do with Pecco. It's not personal, it's business.

Maybe it's different in Europe but most folks I talk to, and the discussions I see online, seem to have him an extremely polarising figure. For every fan there seems to be an anti-fan. So I'm not sure of the Marquez "brand" cache, I mean even years after he retired I see more Lorenzo rep helmets around than Marquez replica's, and it's not like Lorenzo was a marketing home run. And the Repsol Honda Fireblade's seem to sit on dealer floors for an awfully long time. 

Sure he's the biggest name in the sport but for many he is a reason not to buy a certain product.

Edit: and then we have the uncomfortable reality of where the Honda went under Marc's guidance. Pol Espargaro nailed his "long 'n low" iteration of the RCV to the top of the timesheets in 2022 pre-season testing.....only for Honda to stick with Marc's preferred, but slower in the same test, "short 'n tall" version. As other manufacturers have progressed Honda stood still and it's only now that Marc felt no option but to jump ship to a competitive "long 'n low" bike that he has himself made the adaptation. 

So as fantastic as he is, if you were Gigi, would you trust him to develop your bike? It's not like Aprilia or KTM , or for that matter Yamaha, are going to be making the job any easier. Remembering some intense development is looming in the shape of the 2027 rules update.

There are huge differences between how Honda went about bike development and how Ducati does things.

Gigi and his team back home develop the bike. They have incredible models these days putting them lightyears ahead of the Japanese. So they already know the package. Pirro will ride a bezillion miles on it to provide feedback and a butload of data that gets fed back to the engineers who will tweak both models and the actual design.

After all that, they put it on track again and get data from 8 (soon to be 6) riders. Along with feedback which will be filtered to see what’s common and what not. That will help define areas where they need to improve.

The key factor here being a (large) pool of rider feedback and data.

But don’t for a second think Gigi will allow 1 rider’s feedback to determine everything. It’s simply not possible with the system they have in place.


The intense development of the 2027 bikes you mention simply will not involve the full time riders as they are not allowed to ride it at that time.

I remember the paddock thoughts on Marquez to Gresini. Unfortunately or fortunately, it wasn't so easy. Their opinions of Marquez remain the same. They (if they have) signed him because he's one of the best to ever throw his leg over a bike and he was available. They see the data, we do not. I don't see any need to explain or qualify picking Marquez over Jorge beyond riding. Right choice/wrong choice time will tell. They take the same risk, their risk, with every signing. 

If you start with the premise that Pecco only wins because he has a good bike and that Ducati think that that as well, the conclusion follows quite naturally. Many reached the same conclusion when Miller was sent off in favor of Bastianini and against Bagnaia's hints.

However, this premise didn't match reality then and definitely doesn't now either. What I see is that Ducati have signed Bagnaia up as soon as possible and have once again fully backed him at every twist and turn; on his part Pecco, who isn't one for PR answers, made it clear that while he enjoys the way he's working with Enea he ultimately understands that Ducati will follow their own interests.

Until proof if the contrary, I think Ducati hired Marquez purely on his merits rather than on Pecco's supposed lack thereof. 

If Martin went Red, and Gresini didn’t get a Factory bike (because Pramac stayed Duc)...odds of Marc to KTM looked highest from my seat! 

(Yes, the permutations have been dizzying)

749R, re the prev thoughts above that...

It is amazing how much money there is is hats, jerseys, flags, and wee swag schtuff. In this era that is squarely in the VR46 camp, their bread and butter. And, caviar too. But Marquez is very popular as well. Crowds around his trailer et al. Our current Alien. He has huge sponsors! Repsol followed Him and left...Honda.

Next...The development of the Honda over the last decade is a fairly weird and dynamic thing. Yes, last word on direction (ie short and high brake bomber with power) was with Marc. But much more goes on, and it is HRC that guides the ship. One view is that they are negligent in letting their bike go so shite that it is trying to throw riders. ××× I am careful not to place responsibility out of role function ×××. Meaning, what is the rider's role function? Easy to say. But the (Ohlins specialist) has a different ROLE FUNCTION to stay in, that they MUST do a good enough job of...as well as stay within. 

If anyone is either 1) functioning outside of their role, or 2) underfunctioning within their proper role, this is quite problematic. Dangerous even at worst, but the common term is dysfunctional. Them, and the system enabling it.

Who has the role function of being sure that each person in the team is functioning well enough in their role, as well as not functioning outside of it? Team Manager.

Honda has had structural deficits. Blaming the rider to me is too easy, obvious and tempting. Why they have done this is another complex story not for me to comprehend beyond surface and basics. 

(I don't blame young children for getting obese either, rather American analogy).

Ducati are making another big mistake by signing Marquez to the factory team. Another Rossi & Lorenzo failure fiasco? Marquez is the past, Martin is the future. What other factory seats are still available to Marquez? Not Aprilia or KTM & Yamaha won't want him. Back to Honda with all of Ducati's secrets?

Pecco is only 1 year older than Jorge.

Marc still has 3-4 years in him to set some more records.

By the time he signs off, even it’s in 2 years time, a young guy like Fermin Aldeguer could be ready to take over. If you have 2 guys of the same age in the team, you kinda block that kind of flow.


If Martin had signed fir the factory Ducati team, Marc would be on his way to KTM in a heartbeat. Pit ain’t stupid.

Is that a record here? And the MM93 deal isn’t even official yet. This is bigger news for some folks here than Rossi going to Ducati, or Ago switching from MV to Yamaha. 

This whole Ducati rider thing reminds me of when we were teenagers and my buddy started going out with a really hot girl, and then after a week or so found out her hotter besty really liked him. He tried to hedge his bets and upgrade on the sly. Whole thing imploded. They both moved on. JM89 has made his move. EA23 is rumoured to have inked his move to KTM . . . leaving MM93 in the lime light. Ducati can only blame themselves for that.
I’m imagining Marc becoming Peco’s smiling assassin. Outwardly being a perfect team player, giving absolutely no one any reason or cause to dislike him, but on the track being mercenary in his relentless attack on Pecco. It will undermine the typical VR46 type mind games and usual process of making the main rival out to be the bad guy perfectly. Imagine a press conference where Marc finally wins, and when given the opportunity he smiles and compliments Pecco on how well he is riding and then thanks him for showing how to ride the GP24.It will be game on! And provide us with so much to talk about.

Marc please go to Gas Gas or MV or KTM :)

125 comments in 2 days...might be a record?

And it is so communitarian! Minimal cranky reactive stuff too.

Take THAT Crush.Nuts!

(Where is Mir going? How much do you think Maverick should get paid? Trackhouse, or Black? I'd say less money to the tune of HALF what he just was gifted. Miller? I am seeing him as a SCORE for either a Test spot (Aprilia) or a WSBK seat).

What do you think is next? Curious about?

Basic juvenile outburst, you know what sucks about F1? Cars. And everything else too, except for the bizarro budgets we could use a bigger chunk of. People like cars like they common things. Bikes? Uncommon. Cars schmars!

…I think Mav should stay right where he is. It could get very spicy having JM89 as his “team mate”. I think though, that his value may have shrunk somewhat. I’m so disappointed by JM43’s performance this year but I’m sure it’s a pale shadow of his own disappointment. 
I can’t see a MotoGP seat for him in ‘25 but I think he would be a perfect fit in WSBK. On cars, I do enjoy them…have a Mercedes SLK 350 and a GLC 43 AMG and both are fun drives. Had an E-Type for 25 years. Watching car racing however, is not my bag, unless it’s historic racing. F1 puts me to sleep. Bikes keep me on the edge of my seat.

 

Fellow Triumph enthusiast, agreed on Miller as a potential SBK front pack rider I'd LOVE to see. It is really nice over there these days! His riding style has SBK written all over it. 

I loved cars as a kid, and "also had a step thru Honda Cub." Restored a late 60's Triumph in my parents garage from age 15. Last car go? Put together a Subaru WRX in...2014? Stock bedides suspension, wheels and tires. Shake out, drove like hell for 3 weeks. Sold it right then and there! Why? Zzzzzzz underwhelm. You can't lean them!

;)

Since then, still building a campervan and a car, but the car is a simple underpowered lifted 4wd. Cars are transportation. Motorcycles? Divine bliss!