Is the 2025 Ducati factory bike slipping away from Marc Marquez?
“There is nothing left to prove. I think everything is clear for Ducati"
The three adversaries in the hunt for the 2025 factory Ducati bike know that this weekend in Le Mans is a crucial moment.
Enea Bastianini, who is currently in possession of the coveted red machine, Gresini’s Marc Marquez and Pramac’s Jorge Martin are under consideration.
Martin won the sprint race on Saturday at the French MotoGP and will start Sunday’s grand prix from pole position.
The words spoken on Saturday are perhaps telling that the riders themselves understand Martin is leading the way to get the nod from Ducati bosses.
“For now the best signal is being given by Martin, he's going very fast,” confessed Marquez, who turned 13th on the grid to a P2 finish, to Sky.
Martin said: “There is nothing left to prove.
“I think everything is clear for Ducati too, and we hope that everything goes as we want."
Bastianini’s veteran manager Carlo Pernat, an influential voice in Ducati’s ear, appeared to concede that his rider could lose his spot.
"There is still hope for Enea, also because nothing has been announced yet,” Pernat said on Saturday.
“But it is clear that for the future we need a good race, we need to finish in the top places.”
Bastianini was fourth in Saturday’s sprint race. The irony for him is that his second season as a factory rider - and, to be fair, his first season without a terrible injury - is going very well.
Bastianini is second in the MotoGP standings, a point ahead of his teammate and reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia.
Bagnaia crashed and did not finish the sprint in Le Mans.
Martin leads the championship, 28 points in front of Bastianini, before Sunday's grand prix in France.
Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna suggested that the decision over Bagnaia’s 2025 teammate will be finalised this month, by the Mugello round.
His comment about “history” playing a part in his decision-making was widely interpreted as a boost for Marquez, the eight-time world champion.
But, on-track, Martin is making it clear that he is the man in form.
Time is running out for Marquez or Bastianini to make their point in a race…
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
