Jorge Martin

After making history as the first 'MotoGP' champion from an Independent team, Jorge Martin switches from Pramac Ducati to the official Aprilia team for 2025.

Jorge Martin - Route to MotoGP

Jorge Martin won the Red Bull Rookies title, at his third attempt, in 2014, clearing the way for a grand prix seat alongside a certain Francesco Bagnaia at Mahindra the following season.

Martin took his first podium with the Aspar run Mahindra team in 2016, then his first victory after switching to Gresini and Honda for 2017.

Martin won the 2018 Moto3 world title with seven race wins for Gresini before stepping up to Moto2 with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team.

The Spaniard celebrated podiums on the KTM chassis in his rookie year, then two wins with a Kalex frame in 2020.

However, Ducati successfully tempted Martin away from KTM with the offer of a factory-backed MotoGP seat at Pramac for 2021.

Martin promptly became the first-ever satellite Ducati MotoGP race winner during his rookie season in the premier class.

Pramac Ducati (2021 - 2024)

Martin made an instant impression on MotoGP when he blasted from 14th on the grid to 4th at the start of his very first premier-class race in Qatar.

Although he dropped to 15th by the finish, Martin proved he's a quick learner by not only snatching a shock pole position the following week but leading for much of the race on his way to a debut podium.

But his stunning progress came to a punishing halt with a huge accident and multiple fractures next time at Portimao, forcing him out of four races.

A shadow of his former self physically in the initial comeback events, Martin even withdrew from the Assen race, just before the summer break, at only half-distance.

The Qatar success seemed a long time ago, but the young Spaniard took advantage of vital healing time during the summer break to make another giant leap forward, returning with pole position and a historic victory in Austria.

Winning in the MotoGP era as a rookie put Martin alongside such illustrious names as Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa. But the others achieved their wins with factory teams, while Martin's was not only the first by a rookie satellite rider, but first by anyone at a satellite Ducati team.

Two further podiums helped Martin climb from 18th (after Assen) to ninth in the final 2021 standings.

Martin's progress stalled slightly during his second year in MotoGP, repeating his ninth in the world championship with four podiums, but no victory.

The young Spaniard's speed was once again not in question, taking five pole positions, but five non-scores in the opening seven rounds shook his confidence.

The mid-season battle with Bastianini to take over Jack Miller's seat heaped further pressure on Martin and, having ultimately lost out, he remained at Pramac for 2023.

But Ducati’s decision to overlook Martin for a place in the factory team came back to haunt them as the young Spaniard fought factory star Francesco Bagnaia for the title until the final race.

Martin had outscored Bagnaia for eight races in a row between Catalunya and Indonesia to take the world championship lead. But just 24 hours later it was back in Bagnaia’s hands after the Spaniard went sliding down the asphalt.

The following Phillip Island tyre gamble was another setback, but Martin kept confidence in his speed advantage - barely changing his bike set-up - to pile the pressure again on Bagnaia.

Within seven points after the Lusail Sprint, Martin looked on the verge of returning to the top of the table. Instead, he was picked off by his opponents in the GP, shaking his head at the apparent lack of rear grip on the way to a bitter tenth place.

Riding with a nothing-to-lose attitude at the Valencia finale, Martin romped to a ninth Sprint win of the season but still went into the GP decider 14 points behind. His race, and title hopes, then ended in the gravel after 6 laps.

Martin later admitted the title loss had been mentally traumatising but the young Spaniard returned stronger, plugging the gaps in last year's consistency and carrying the pressure of being top of the standings for much of 2024.

Crediting a mental coach for new inner calmness, Martin only won three Grands Prix in his championship year but held his nerve in critical end-of-season moments, when Bagnaia ultimately cracked.

But Martin’s heroics still weren’t enough to seal promotion to the factory Ducati team. 

Ducati’s home Mugello round was the deciding point for the 2025 factory ride alongside Bagnaia. Martin was all smiles on Thursday as reports emerged that he had been picked to partner Pecco but by Sunday evening all the signs pointed to Marc Marquez getting the ride.

Martin responded swiftly and signed for Aprilia at the Monday test. Ducati, to its credit, continued to support the #89's world championship challenge even when it became clear that Bagnaia's chances were slipping away.