Revealed: Ducati masterplan to keep Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin
Reports in Italy suggest Ducati have a Plan A - but will it work?
Ducati reportedly have a plan to keep Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin.
The 2025 MotoGP rider line-up hinges on the big decision of who will team with Pecco Bagnaia.
Enea Bastianini is under pressure to keep his place from Gresini and Pramac’s star men.
Ducati will “do everything they can” to find a solution to retain Marquez and Martin next year, Sky Italia report.
Knowing that both riders demand a factory-spec bike, the dominant manufacturer in MotoGP has its preferred plan in place.
Martin would get the step up into the factory team, replacing Bastianini, while Marquez would be moved from Gresini to Pramac.
Marquez would, essentially, replaced Martin at Pramac where he would upgrade to factory machinery, from the year-old bike he currently rides with Gresini.
This plan would result in losing Bastianini, the report states.
However, Ducati no longer intend to formalise their decision by Mugello this weekend.
It was previously thought that the big rider decision would be confirmed by the Italian MotoGP but now Marquez, Martin and Bastianini must wait longer to hear.
Championship leader Martin has regularly threatened to quit Ducati altogether unless he is promoted to wear red in 2025. He has already missed out twice, in each of the past two years.
Marquez left Honda for Ducati in a seismic move this year but, after six rounds, has already made it clear that he wants to improve his machinery from year-old to factory-spec in 2025.
Pramac are the only Ducati independent team who benefit from factory-spec bikes.
This masterplan for Ducati to keep Martin and Marquez would, of course, require the riders to agree.
Marquez, in recent weeks, has appeared to soften his stance about wanting a move into the factory team, and instead seems content with a factory bike in any environment.
The plan would also require Pramac to opt to remain as a Ducati satellite team.
Pramac have an option to quit and join Yamaha in 2025 which, if they take up, would scupper Ducati's rider plans.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
