Ducati reportedly has plans to retain Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin in MotoGP next season.
Ducati is not willing to lose two of MotoGP’s top racers at the moment: Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez. The two racers continue to be in MotoGP rumors because they both want to become factory racers in MotoGP 2025.
Ducati has a plan so that Marquez and Martin don’t leave. According to Sky Sport Italia’s report, Ducati will do everything they can to find a solution to retain Marquez and Martin.
For the last two seasons, Martin himself has been reported to be adamant about wanting to become an official Ducati racer. Marquez also has a desire that is not much different. The 30 year old racer wants to return to the factory team after finding his best performance at Gresini Racing.
Knowing that two of its racers both wanted to be factory racers, Ducati had an option: make Jorge Martin an official racer, then Marquez moved to Pramac to get a factory motorbike.
Marquez will replace Martin at Pramac. This season Martin also got a motorbike with factory specifications, the same as that of Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati.
Ducati’s plan threatens Enea Bastianini’s position as the current official Ducati racer. If Bastianini’s performance does not improve, the 26 year old racer will be replaced by Martin.
The report also stated that Ducati initially wanted to decide on this plan at the 2024 Italian MotoGP at the Mugello Circuit, this weekend. However, both Marquez and Martin had to wait longer because Ducati delayed the decision.
It is claimed that Ducati’s opportunity to retain Martin and Marquez is wide open after The Baby Alien softens. Initially Marquez wanted to be a factory racer, but now the racer born in Cervera is willing to be placed in any team as long as he gets a factory motorbike.
If he chooses Martin, Marquez has a big opportunity to join Aprilia, which previously lost Fabio Quartararo because he decided to stay at Yamaha.
If he joins Aprilia, Marc Marquez will be a replacement for Aleix Espargaro, who will most likely retire.
The only stumbling block for Ducati is Pramac’s own wishes. Pramac was linked with a move to Yamaha. Currently Pramac is a satellite team that gets motorbikes with factory specifications.
If Pramac leaves for Yamaha in MotoGP 2025, this will thwart Ducati’s big plans.