Jorge Martin actually already had one and a half feet in the garage of the Ducati factory team. But in 2025, Marc Marquez will be driving there. The current MotoGP world championship leader immediately had an alternative ready in Aprilia. Before Assen, Martin recalled a turbulent contract tangle in Mugello.
Jorge Martin frustrated with Ducati: Tried for four years!
“It was certainly an eventful weekend in Mugello. I arrived with a certain idea, but some information changed over the course of the weekend. When the race was over, I understood that nothing was actually clear and I had to make a decision,” said the Pramac rider. He was actually supposed to get the Ducati factory seat. But Marc Marquez did not want to go to Pramac and threatened to leave the factory. There, Claudio Domenicali and Gigi Dall’Igna decided not to lose the superstar and gave him the factory seat after all.
For Martin, this was a bitter development: “Sometimes things in life don’t go the way you want them to. It was frustrating that – after trying for four years – I wasn’t the best option for Ducati.” And so Aprilia came into play, as well as their outgoing rider Aleix Espargaro. “I couldn’t be happier. My best friend, and the leader in the championship, will ride my bike next year,” said the Catalan, delighted about his successor in Noale.
Five long hours in Aleix Espargaro’s MotoGP motorhome
“It wasn’t clear at the beginning. He had some doubts and another very good option was on the table. He came to my motorhome and after the race [in Mugello] we talked for five hours,” Espargaro reported again about the decisive moments.
“He asked a lot of technical things, but he was also very disappointed with Ducati. So it was also about the human side of the team. He saw how happy I am here. I really enjoyed my time at Aprilia, so it was easy to convince him. On Monday morning I went to Massimo [Rivola] and told him: prepare the contract, he is convinced,” the future Honda test driver continues.
Martin tells Ducati: Now drive where they really want me!
However, his friend Martin does not see it quite like that. “He had no influence on it. I will not make such an important decision in my life because of someone else,” he said in reference to Espargaro. However, it is clear that the conversation took place with him: “Of course I wanted information and to understand where I was going.” Nevertheless, the World Cup leader stresses that he was not lulled into a false sense of security by a friend: “He helped me with the contract because we have the same manager, but the decision was 100% mine.”
“It was very quick. They already had my contract and we have the same manager. It was quite easy to adjust a few things,” Espargaro confirms the contract story. That explains, but of course does not explain why Martin signed. The Spaniard did not miss the opportunity to give Ducati another piece of advice: “I think I will be much happier next year and my dream of being a factory rider will come true. I feel that I am going to a place where they really want me and will give 100% for me. That is very important to me.”
At Aprilia, Martin will form a rider pairing with Marco Bezzecchi. You can read what Massimo Rivola says about his new top duo here: