Ducati Backs Decision to Choose Marc Marquez Despite Jorge Martin Title Win

When Ducati announced it was signing Marc Marquez to the factory Ducati team in 2025 alongside Francesco Bagnaia, four very big knock effects took place.

The first of those saw Jorge Martin jump ship to Aprilia and after winning the title by ten points on Sunday in Barcelona, he did so by taking the number one plate with him, which was the worst case scenario for Ducati.

But there have also been a lot more riders that were affected as Enea Bastianini also saw his future away from the Italian brand as a result of being replaced by Marquez, leading to him joining KTM, while Marco Bezzecchi, who was hopeful of a factory-spec bike in 2025, followed Martin to Aprilia.

The final move to take place was Pramac joining Yamaha, and while it was expected for weeks before its eventual confirmation, the decision to leave despite it being Ducati’s best season ever in MotoGP was a clear message that the Bologna-based company is not invincible in the eyes of a team that had enjoyed huge success with Ducati machinery, or the three riders who decided to look for pastures new.

But Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi defended the decisions made, telling Crash.net: “You know what, Ducati this year had the ‘Fabulous Four’ because the four guys who are first, second, third and fourth in the championship are for us.

“And unluckily we were forced to take some decisions, make some really hard decisions on the heart side. And in the end, we took it and unfortunately, Martin and Enea have to leave Ducati because they prefer to have another factory bike.

“This is a shame but it was something that was impossible to recover from. We wish the best for them for the future. Again, there was a decision to take and unfortunately, this decision sent Pramac to Yamaha and Jorge to Aprilia.

“But I think that Ducati will be strong anyway next year too, and I think that this is something we need to prove to the fans that we made the right decision.”

2024 was Ducati’s best season ever as it became the only European brand to achieve 100 MotoGP wins while it also won a 19 of the 20 Grand Prix held in - Maverick Vinales was the only non-Ducati winner at COTA (Circuit of the Americas).

While Ducati won the title but, in some ways, was left defeated by the fact that Martin would be leaving, the Spaniard was nothing but a ray of happiness following his triumph on Sunday.

“I still can't believe it, I'm in shock!” said Martin, immediately after celebrating his title win on the podium. “Emotions are high, I’ve cried a lot! Now I just want to celebrate with my team, family and friends.

“It's been a long journey. My career wasn't easy. For sure, I had good opportunities but I think I built them. I worked quite hard. I made a lot of sacrifices. Last season I had the opportunity, but I think I wasn't prepared to sign [complete the deal] let's say. But this year I felt it was my year.

“Thanks to Pramac, thanks to Ducati for giving me the opportunity to have an amazing bike these four years and giving me the opportunity to fight until the end with an amazing Pecco.”

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