Claim that Ducati concern over “risk” led to Marc Marquez alliance

Ducati’s concern about “risk” led to their link-up with Marc Marquez, it has been suggested.

Marquez swapped Honda for Gresini Ducati a year ago and excelled in 2024 on a year-old machine, mounting a title challenge which only fell away in the final rounds.

But he did enough to earn a call-up to the official Ducati team this year, giving him the best machinery on the grid.

The casualty of the manufacturer's decision was Jorge Martin, who won the MotoGP title on a Ducati but has now joined Aprilia.

“I wasn't surprised,” Wayne Gardner told Motosan about the decision to pick Marquez instead of Martin.

“To be honest, if it had been me, I probably would have stayed with Jorge.

“But hey, Marc is a very talented rider, there is no doubt. They are both Spanish riders, right?

“I think what Ducati did was remove Marquez from the competition.

“It is better to have him working with them than against them.

“They know how good Marc is. He seems to have improved a lot since he joined Ducati.

“Ducati obviously has the best bike on the grid, and it has been that way for many years.

“And Marc has been coping with the Honda, that's why he had so many crashes.

“He still has quite a few crashes, but now it has a little more consistency, and I guess that's because the bike is much better.

“But from Ducati's point of view, they cannot risk having Marquez on a rival team.

“It is better to put him on their team, and then they know that they are going to win with Pecco or with Marquez next year.

“So they had to make a decision, and that's how it happened.

“And now Martin is going to Aprilia; I think it’s going to be incredible with that bike.

“I think that will make the championship even more interesting, to be honest.”

Marquez put Ducati in a difficult position when, last summer, they were considering their 2025 line-up.

He made it clear that Pramac, even on a factory-spec bike, was not an option.

It caused Ducati to U-turn from their original plan to reward Martin.

Martin signed for Aprilia as a result, then completed a dream season to end as MotoGP champion.

He could now run the #1 on an Aprilia in 2025.