Jorge Martin on Ducati MotoGP snub: ‘How they managed it wasn’t really good’
“I had to tell them quite a few things”
MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin believes the way Ducati ultimately snubbed him for a 2025 factory seat “wasn’t really good” but saw “no sense to start a fight” over it.
Martin had been given the nod by Ducati ahead of the Italian Grand Prix earlier this year to join its factory team in 2025, with the marque expecting Marc Marquez to take a works bike at Pramac.
When Marquez refused this, and faced with the threat of losing him to a rival factory, Ducati made a U-turn on its decision to promote Martin in favour of the eight-time world champion.
Martin subsequently signed a two-year factory deal with Aprilia, while Pramac eventually penned an agreement with Yamaha for 2025.
Speaking to motogp.com after winning the championship for Ducati and Pramac, Martin said of the episode: “I think after what happened we spoke because I had to tell them quite a few things.
“How they managed it wasn’t really good. There was no sense to start a fight because I will start a fight with the bike that I have, so it made no sense.
“The relationship with Gigi [Dall’Igna] and the technical staff was the same.
“Also with [Claudio] Domenicalli, we spoke in Sachsenring and I think we were quite clear, I was quite clear with them and they know what I think.
“The first thing I said was ‘Ok, now I can make history as the first independent rider to win a MotoGP championship’. So, I made history and I will be remembered for that.”
After Martin signed for Aprilia, it was widely thought Ducati would weaken its support for his title bid to stop the number one plate potentially being placed on an RS-GP in 2025.
While Ducati remained committed to supporting Pramac, Martin admits he and the team were “scared” initially.
“For sure I was scared, Paolo [Campinotti] was scared, everyone was scared, the media was scared,” he added.
“Everybody was thinking they would do something to make me lose this championship.
“But they didn’t, so chapeau to Ducati, hats off, and I’m really grateful to Ducati because they brought me to MotoGP and they made me world champion.”
