‘Nobody in this room’ thought Ducati would let Jorge Martin win
Jorge Martin thanks Ducati after MotoGP title triumph.
When Jorge Martin signed for Aprilia after Mugello, in response to Marc Marquez sealing the factory Ducati MotoGP seat next season, many suspected it would hurt - if not sink - his MotoGP title challenge.
Instead, Ducati honoured its pledge, supporting the Pramac rider fully until the end of the season, where he beat the factory’s reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia by ten points.
“The key was Ducati. I mean, even if they didn't want me for next year, they let me fight with all the same tools,” Martin said.
“I think Gigi Dall’Igna believed in me a lot since I signed in Moto2. Then circumstances in life can change, and... that's why I never arrived to that [factory Ducati] team. But this is life.
“The key was that they let me [fight equally] - I'm so grateful to [Ducati CEO] Claudio Domenicali because nobody in this [press conference] room, I think, thought that they would let me [win].
“They let me fight, and I'm so grateful to them.”
2024 wasn’t the first time Martin was overlooked by Ducati, having previously lost out to Enea Bastianini for the Official ride at the end of 2022.
“2021 was awesome,” Martin said of his rookie season when he overcame serious injuries to win his first premier-class grand prix.
“Everything was like, ‘Martin is the future, the rising star’. Then 2022 was quite tough in terms of the professional side. The bike wasn't working perfectly, with that engine. I was struggling.
“Ducati also had a lot of pressure, and they had to make that choice [to sign Bastianini for 2023].”
Instead, Martin remained at Pramac, with continued factory support.
The Spaniard went on to fight Bagnaia for the title until the final round of last season, then made history as the first non-factory rider to win the ‘MotoGP’ crown this year.
“I didn't want to prove them [Ducati] wrong at any time, I just looked at myself and for my team. I think thanks to that [Bastianini] decision, I won with Pramac,” he said.
“Maybe in the factory team, it would have happened like with Enea maybe… I don't know. Maybe it wasn't my place. Life is like this and I'm happy that I won it with Pramac.
“It's the best place that I could win and they deserve it more than me.”
Martin was eleventh quickest (+1.056s) on his Aprilia debut at the Barcelona MotoGP Test, while Pramac is starting a new era with Yamaha next year.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
