Jorge Martin: “Now, surely, Ducati are biting their nails…”

Jorge Martin has suggested that Ducati will be nervous as he steps onto a rival bike in 2025.

Martin has already tested the Aprilia, who he will join next season, at the postseason Barcelona test.

He was effectively forced to exit Ducati when they overlooked him in favour of Marc Marquez for their 2025 official garage, alongside Pecco Bagnaia.

Martin overcame that snub to win the MotoGP championship and could now take the #1 plate to Ducati’s Italian rivals.

“Honestly, for me, the key point of the championship was not there,” he told Marca about Ducati’s decision to ignore him for their factory team.

“Yes, obviously, for the press, for the contractual issue, there was a mess and it was a before and after in my history with Ducati, that's clear.

“But, for me, on a sporting level, a turning point could have been Germany, when I fell leading with a lot of advantage.

“I think that might be the turning point for me to make the switch and say, 'So far, I'm not going to fail anymore.' That did motivate me.

“Whether they catch me or not, you can't control it.

“In the end, I saw that I didn't have to prove anything and I gave my one hundred percent, just as I had done until that moment and I managed to take this title.”

Martin references Ducati: “Now, surely, they are biting their nails, but, in the end, it is not with me that you have to talk about it…”

Martin insists his focus narrowed after Ducati’s big call to pick Marquez for 2025.

That decision also coincided with Martin’s team, Pramac, also opting to leave Ducati and become a Yamaha satellite team next year.

“It made us unite more,” Martin said about his own squad.

“Also, I took that opportunity to make the team a unit, to bring them all together and tell them: 'Guys, this has happened...'

“This year, in the end, I have also taken things more as an opportunity and not as a threat.

“You say to yourself: 'Okay, it is what it is, what opportunity do we have ahead of us? Well, a satellite team of 10-12 guys can beat a factory of 200. So let's work, no one is going to give us anything and we're going for it'.

“And, in the end, thanks to that, surely, I was able to be world champion.”

Martin is widely tipped to face a tough title defence in 2025 when he rides for the factory Aprilia team.

Aprilia did enable Maverick Vinales to become the only non-Ducati grand prix winner of this season.

But overall the factory-spec Ducati is by far MotoGP’s best bike, and it will be in Bagnaia’s and Marquez’s hands next year.