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2024 silly season!

Looking at Digi's results;

1. He did badly in the first 13 races taking him up to and including Indonesia.
2. Then he did 3 medium races with one good result, a 3rd in Australia.
3. Then he did 2 bad results for the next 2 rounds.
4. And now he's done a fantastic result.

One can speculate on how the timing lead to his contractual demise, based on the number's above, here's some speculation;
1. No other team interested in Digi, existing team looking for a replacement
2. M Marquez is signed to Gresini, closing the door on Digi, gets a look by Honda due to recent results but overall results of the year make Honda continue to look
3. Good results are short lived putting a cap on VR46 interest who decide to go for rookie to grow.
4. Nothing to loose go for it, fantastic result but way too late, perhaps someone will say mmm.... we could do with another test rider
LOL, I bet there's enough holes in that to drive a mac truck thru

So where for Digi?
- MotoGP test rider
- Moto2
- WSBK
- BSB
- Retirement
Do a one year contract doing whatever he can, then look to come back to MotoGP in 2025, I'll bet there will be more opportunities at that time.

I worked a major part of my career at one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world, a lot of the senior people advised that the company was the best first and third place to work. Perhaps Digi needs to take time to do something else and ponder how lucky he had it, then hopefully he will come back stronger than ever and get with the program for good !

I can think of a number of current MotoGP competitors who are doing a lot worse than Digi, I'd swap them for him in a heartbeat if I could !
 
Read some wild rumor that Ducati might prevent VR46 from signing Aldeguer because they want him on Pramac for 2025. In that case perhaps VR46 could sign DiGia for one year and see how he pans out, but the whole thing sounds unlikely and AFAIK Ducati doesn't force rider signings on VR46 nor Gresini (as evidenced by the Marc signing). It is wild that we're still going with rumors so late in the season, the silly season has been really silly this year.
 
Yup. Thanks to this obsession everyone has with signing children.
There has been a shift across generations. Previously, one would have to be 30 or near to be co
Read some wild rumor that Ducati might prevent VR46 from signing Aldeguer because they want him on Pramac for 2025. In that case perhaps VR46 could sign DiGia for one year and see how he pans out, but the whole thing sounds unlikely and AFAIK Ducati doesn't force rider signings on VR46 nor Gresini (as evidenced by the Marc signing). It is wild that we're still going with rumors so late in the season, the silly season has been really silly this year.
We are 7 days from 2024 testing and HRC do not have a second rider. Crazy times.
 
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So if Martin is runner up does he get the seat next to Pecco next year at the expense of the Beast ?

If Martin does not win it all it certainly makes things easier for the Ducati factory, however it is certainly a very tough decision indeed !

If it was up to me Martin would replace Bastianini next year on the factory team, have at me !
 
If it was up to me Martin would replace Bastianini next year on the factory team, have at me !

I'm on the fence. I went into this season hoping Bastianini was going to shine but that got squelched right out of the gate. It's no secret he wasn't coming to grips with the GP23 and part of me wants him to have another go next year. That said, I've come to like Martin and he's been crushing it so if he gets that seat I have to say he's earned it. But those 2 mistakes are looming quite large.
 
I'm not really keen on the of late disregard to contracts.

Zarco just didn't want to try at KTM.

Vinales was fired, and if not was about to be.

Marc is just not following through with his contract.

Ducati maybe also not going through with their contract.

A man's only as good as his word....... Well, used to be.
 
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I'm not really keen on the of late disregard to contracts.

Zarco just didn't want to try at KTM.

Vinales was fired, and if not was about to be.

Marc is just not following through with his contract.

Ducati maybe also not going through with their contract.

A man's only as good as his word....... Well, used to be.

I am ok with it because a team will fire a rider midcontract with no repercussions. So why can't a rider if the team isn't holding up to there end?
 
Probably depends on the terms of the contract and the lawyers involved. A lot to speculate about.
 
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The rumor mill hasn’t halted, now there’s talk that Pramac is after Aldeguer by getting him to stay in Moto2 for 2024, giving him a factory bike in 2025. Now if this was successful then VR46 would have to look elsewhere to fill the 2024 seat giving Digi another probably final opportunity to stay
 
Aldeguer shouldn’t be coming to moto gp next year imho.
it should be only the top 2 riders in moto 2 that get the opportunity to move up and bottom 2 in moto gp make way for them. Like promotion and relegation. If only 1 rider in top 2 gets an offer only 1 in moto gp goes. Serve your time and earn your place.
 
Mick Doohan would have been excluded, as would Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz. Fark that. Yes different times but man they could all ride and thankfully they got the opportunity.
 
A promotion-relegation system similar to soccer isn't workable in motorsports imo. Two many factors have to be taken into account to judge a rider's performance, not just the final championship standings.
 
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Maybe this is why Marini is bailing out...


Valentino Rossi has reportedly agreed to take VR46 to Yamaha.

The MotoGP legend struck a deal with the Japanese manufacturer to bring his team under their banner, Speedweek report.

The deal is a two-year contract covering 2025 and 2026, and was agreed last week in Qatar.
Next year, VR46 will remain as a Ducati satellite team for the final year of their contract with the Italian brand.
But the longer term future for Rossi’s squad has been speculated upon all season.
Earlier this year, he became a brand ambassador for Yamaha - the team which remains synonymous with his greatest successes.


Yamaha, both this season and in 2024, are the only manufacturer to run just two bikes on the MotoGP grid.
They have been actively seeking a way to also run a satellite team, and VR46 now appear to fit the bill.
VR46 have also struck a three-year deal with Indonesian oil company Pertamina Lubricants to become their title sponsor, beginning next season.

This will carry them through their reported two-year alliance with Yamaha.

One VR46 rider could even receive a factory-spec bike in 2025 while under the Yamaha umbrella, the report states.

That creates an interesting scenario for Marco Bezzecchi, in particular.

Although currently the VR46’s year-old Ducatis are more competitive than the Yamaha run by Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli.

VR46 challenged for the MotoGP championship via Bezzecchi this season and will hope for another productive year in their current home in 2024 before this mooted significant change.

It has been rumored since long but I've never thought it would actually happen with how uncompetitive the Yamaha is looking right now.
 

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