Jorge Martin: “Beating Marc Marquez or Pecco Bagnaia increases my value”

Jorge Martin knows that “life is not fair” as Ducati’s big rider decision looms.

Pramac’s Martin, Gresini’s Marc Marquez and factory Ducati rider Enea Bastianini are in the hat for the 2025 official bike.

Results-wise Martin is leading the MotoGP standings after five rounds, having beaten his rivals twice at Le Mans.

He insisted that Marquez’s return to the front, since quitting Honda, is welcome.

Martin was quoted by AS: “It's good for everyone.

“For MotoGP it is good to have someone like Marc fighting and it is good for me, because having the challenge of beating someone like Marquez or Pecco increases my value a lot.

“Maybe there are people who had doubts last year, because I was only one rider, but now there are more and continuing to win makes me stronger.

"You have to vindicate yourself and think about it to see how to be stronger each time, because it is not easy."

Martin said about Marquez: “I would love to one day share a box with the greatest, along with Valentino, in history.

“Being able to fight with him is something special.

“I already get the itch to be able to fight him, but being a partner would be brutal.

“When you are with him on the track, it is difficult to put the wheel in because you know that the next time he will be back.”

This weekend’s Catalunya MotoGP is the last chance to impress before Mugello, where Ducati should finalise their 2025 MotoGP rider line-up.

“Life is not fair, that's for starters, and I don't think it's a matter of justice,” Martin said.

“It is from what I have demonstrated and from following the path of the Ducati academy.

“From coming from Moto2 to Ducati, from being in a satellite team for four years and closing that cycle in a perfect way.

“From having been in Pramac, and fighting to win, to moving to the official team and ending up winning.

“It would be the perfect way to end Ducati, but it doesn't depend on me but on X people and we'll see what happens.”

He added: “I don't know the exact date (of the decision), but I know it will be soon.

“We can't give much more time. I would like to have it closed now, because I want that peace of mind and to be able to run with a clean mind and only thinking about running and not about whether they value me or not.

“I hope to close it as soon as possible and I hope it goes the way I want, which is to finish in the red and to fight to win next year, but right now no one knows what is going to happen. Everything is possible.”

Jorge Martin in-form heading to Barcelona

Martin is 38 points ahead of Bagnaia, and 40 ahead of Marquez and Bastianini heading into Barcelona.

At Le Mans, he won the sprint and the grand prix.

“I have already seen the race three or four times, and the pride of being there on the podium, first, with the Spanish flag and having Marquez and Pecco at my side, who have been among the greatest in the MotoGP era... well, I can't say much more.

“That gives me much greater value. Competing with strong rivals makes the competition more complicated and has much more value.

“Last year my weak point or my failure was the start of the season.

“So, what I have done now has been to concentrate one hundred percent and understand the bike, to be strong at the start of the season and build up the points base.

“I know that at the end of the year I am very competitive and I want to reach the middle in a good position, with good points, to be strong at the end of the year.”