New timeline on delayed Ducati decision over Marc Marquez’s future
Marc Marquez, Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini must wait even longer
Ducati will not confirm their 2025 MotoGP rider line-up at Mugello this weekend.
The date of the Italian MotoGP has been widely circulated as the deadline for the Italy-based manufacturer’s massive call over who will partner Pecco Bagnaia next season.
His current teammate Enea Bastianini, Gresini’s Marc Marquez and Pramac’s Jorge Martin are in the hat for the coveted red bike.
But they will now be forced to wait even longer to learn their fate.
“We have never said that we are going to announce it at Mugello,” a Ducati spokesperson told Motorsport.
“What we have always said is that, from Mugello onwards, we will begin to outline what the decision is.”
Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna said: “The decision will come soon, but then contracts are always complicated and negotiations can take longer than expected.
“We will need time to apply the idea, make it a reality and then communicate it to the public.”
Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali told Sky Italia: "They are all top-level riders, but we are confident that we will be able to find the right balance.”
The Italian MotoGP this weekend is the seventh round of the 2024 season.
Afterwards, there is a three-week break until Assen.
Ducati’s monumental decision has the entire MotoGP paddock waiting on its outcome.
Bastianini’s first year as a factory rider was wrecked by injury and has put him on the back foot this season.
In-form Martin was denied the championship at the final round last year, and as a result missed out on the automatic promotion to the factory team that the title would have brought.
Martin leads the MotoGP championship after six rounds heading into Mugello.
He has claimed he will quit Ducati if he doesn’t wear red in 2025.
Ducati have welcomed the high-profile Marquez into their ranks this year, at an independent team.
But Marquez insists he was a factory-spec bike next year, not the year-old version which he currently rides.
The knock-on effect of this rider decision also impacts Pramac, as a team.
They are considering whether to stay with Ducati next year or go to Yamaha.
As a result, Gresini and VR46 are also affected as Ducati’s other satellite teams.
Other key movements in the rider market are also awaiting Ducati’s decision, to discover which riders or which bikes will become available in 2025.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
