Jorge Martin and Ducati CEO address a future reunion
“We love Martin, we parted on a great note and who knows what will happen in two years.”
Only time will tell if Ducati lives to regret turning new MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin away from its factory team and into the arms of Aprilia.
But both parties appear open to a reunion in future, perhaps as soon as the next MotoGP contract cycle in two years.
“We love Martin, we parted on a great note and who knows what will happen in two years. His return to Ducati? Why not, he is a strong rider and we are looking for strong riders,” Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali told Sky during Tuesday night’s 'Campioni in Festa' celebration in Bologna.
"I can only thank Ducati. Maybe, in the future, we can get back together..." Motorsport.com quotes Martin as saying at the same event.
"Unfortunately we weren't able to put everything together to stay in Ducati [next year]. But it was nice, for sure. For me it would have been a dream, but we didn't succeed.
“For the future, I think Aprilia has potential. And even though I won the title, I think I can still do a lot [more] in this sport."
Asked what he will miss most about Ducati, the manufacturer that gave him his MotoGP break in 2020, the young Spaniard replied:
“Definitely the bike at the beginning, because I'll ride a different one. But with time I'll see what I'm missing.
“I'll take with me the experience of having fought with very strong riders like Pecco and also having learned a working method that can help me in the future.”
Martin was 11th fastest and 1.056s behind Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) on his Aprilia debut at last month’s Barcelona MotoGP Test.
Francesco Bagnaia and new factory Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez were third and fourth quickest at the test, with an early version of next year’s GP25.
Domenicali hailed the ‘crazy potential’ of the official team’s new rider pairing, with Bagnaia and Marquez boasting nine MotoGP titles, but admitted it might be tricky to manage.
"They are two mega champions, there will be a natural difficulty in managing such a complex team. They are like supersonic planes, difficult to drive but with unrivalled speed. The potential is crazy,” Domenicali told Sky.
