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Interesting comments from Ducati's sporting director regarding the rider market for 2025:

Ducati: Renewing Bagnaia's MotoGP contract not as easy as people may think

"The management of Pramac, which is our first satellite team, is changing. The global economic climate is forcing us to be very careful in the amounts we invest in racing. We are trying to return to more sustainable figures in terms of team management and rider salaries."
Click to expand...
Seems like Ducati are cutting back investment in satellite teams.

Obviously, to achieve this objective it will be essential that Bagnaia's future team-mate accepts conditions that are at least significantly lower than those of the current champion, who receives around seven million euros, plus an amount that varies depending on results.

The main candidates to get on the factory team Desmosedici are Enea Bastianini, its current owner, Jorge Martin, the 2023 runner-up, and Marc Marquez.

"Jorge has monstrous potential and a contract with Ducati. He can go wherever he wants, but he has always said that his goal is the official garage," Grassilli adds.

"Marc is very well liked by the brand, he has won so much and has a great charisma. For all these reasons he has to be taken into consideration. And in Enea's case, injuries prevented him from showing his potential last year.

"Our priority was to renew Pecco, for this second bike we are in no hurry."

Another priority for Grassilli will be sorting out Ducati's future with VR46, whose contract expires at the end of the season and has been repeatedly linked to a Yamaha switch in 2025.

"We are talking with VR46 and we would like to continue with them," he says.

"But it's not easy either because that agreement also has to fit into this new economic framework. We know they are talking to other constructors, as is normal, but we are in less of a hurry."
Click to expand...
 
Marquez is at that point in his career where being on a top team is more important that how much the team is paying him. Marquez's brand is probably more valuable then any other current rider right now, as long as he is riding well on a competitive team he will continue to have endorsement deals lining up. So he could take a smaller ($) deal from a team like Ducati, and end up making it more lucrative through his other ventures.
 
#22 said:
Interesting comments from Ducati's sporting director regarding the rider market for 2025:

Ducati: Renewing Bagnaia's MotoGP contract not as easy as people may think


Seems like Ducati are cutting back investment in satellite teams.
Click to expand...
That's pretty significant change in their approach, believe that will make a big difference on what happens in 2025. In preseason Salucci VR46 said they were ready to sign before the season started and that didn't happen. Wonder if that means the funding for development getting scaled back too.
 
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Hollywood said:
Marquez is at that point in his career where being on a top team is more important that how much the team is paying him. Marquez's brand is probably more valuable then any other current rider right now, as long as he is riding well on a competitive team he will continue to have endorsement deals lining up. So he could take a smaller ($) deal from a team like Ducati, and end up making it more lucrative through his other ventures.
Click to expand...
Marquez isn't wanting for money and he has never come off as someone who biggest motivation is money either. He could never work again and still be fine. I did find it interesting that 'he is very well liked by the brand... charisma... for all those reasons he has to be in consideration.'

www.crash.net

Revealed: The eye-watering money Marc Marquez will be paid in 2023

Marc Marquez is the highest-paid rider in MotoGP and 2023 will be another lucrative year - but he has already reportedly missed out on serious bonus money.
www.crash.net www.crash.net

According to this article he made 40m Euro in 2023, 'only' 12.5m coming from Honda the rest from endorsements. He will never get what he was getting from Honda at Ducati. The $ amount from the other ventures goes up when he is winning or even just being competitive. He had a lot of screen time last weekend.

I still maintain that Ducati hold all the cards. Is Jorge Martin competitive on another bike? Maybe, maybe not. Can they convince Martin to stay at Pramac on a current bike with full factory support rather than go to one of the Japanese factories, KTM (where he would likely be tech3) or Aprilia? Depends how much he wants to gamble on another manufacturer hitting out the park.
 
I'm sure MM93 will stay at Gresini and finish his career there. He won't race until his 36yo for sure. His body is totally ...... up already and he's gonna enjoy his life earlier rather than later. He's not welcome at Ducati factory and Dalligna is one of the few, if not the only one, in favor of him. So, forget MM93 on the factory Ducati. You guys can be sure about that. He also won't change bike again. Too late for that. He'll then get a factory spec Ducati from next year on thanks to good results from this year. Gresini is the right place for him cause he is the boss there and his family is there too (father and brother). He owns Gresini already. Nadia would suck his cock at anytime. Why change? He probably feel he won't be world champion again but he'd like to try for 3 years more and then quit.

You saw here first.
 
gui22a said:
He's not welcome at Ducati factory and Dalligna is one of the few, if not the only one, in favor of him.
Click to expand...
Was it revealed to you in a dream?

The biggest hurdle for Marc in regards to aspiring to the factory Ducati is the sponsorship. I'm sure he won't want to break his lucrative and long-lasting ties with Red Bull. The only way I see Marc in red leathers the next season is if Ducati ditches the Monster exclusivity deal, replaced by Estrella Galicia or some other Marc-friendly sponsor. I doubt he wants to go back to Honda, they won't be competitive so soon. If I were to predict Marc's short term future, I think it will involve another 2 years in a satellite team, with a bike up to spec... KTM/Marc makes sense but there's the rumor of Acosta becoming a free-agent if he doesn't get promoted to the factory KTM, which complicates things. Marc can end up either at GasGas, Pramac, or Gresini with a bigger involvement from Ducati and more sponsorships if he signs for two years. There's also the added possibility of KTM grabbing a third team too.
 
gui22a said:
I'm sure MM93 will stay at Gresini and finish his career there. He won't race until his 36yo for sure. His body is totally ...... up already and he's gonna enjoy his life earlier rather than later. He's not welcome at Ducati factory and Dalligna is one of the few, if not the only one, in favor of him. So, forget MM93 on the factory Ducati. You guys can be sure about that. He also won't change bike again. Too late for that. He'll then get a factory spec Ducati from next year on thanks to good results from this year. Gresini is the right place for him cause he is the boss there and his family is there too (father and brother). He owns Gresini already. Nadia would suck his cock at anytime. Why change? He probably feel he won't be world champion again but he'd like to try for 3 years more and then quit.

You saw here first.
Click to expand...
The article posted above you does say that the company likes him. I'm not sure where you are getting your information from.
But why do Ducati have reason to dislike him? Given how Gigi turned Ducati around, I would say his opinion is the most important one in the room.
 
MichaelBolton said:
Was it revealed to you in a dream?

The biggest hurdle for Marc in regards to aspiring to the factory Ducati is the sponsorship. I'm sure he won't want to break his lucrative and long-lasting ties with Red Bull. The only way I see Marc in red leathers the next season is if Ducati ditches the Monster exclusivity deal, replaced by Estrella Galicia or some other Marc-friendly sponsor. I doubt he wants to go back to Honda, they won't be competitive so soon. If I were to predict Marc's short term future, I think it will involve another 2 years in a satellite team, with a bike up to spec... KTM/Marc makes sense but there's the rumor of Acosta becoming a free-agent if he doesn't get promoted to the factory KTM, which complicates things. Marc can end up either at GasGas, Pramac, or Gresini with a bigger involvement from Ducati and more sponsorships if he signs for two years. There's also the added possibility of KTM grabbing a third team too.
Click to expand...
Good point about the flavoured water sponsorship wars. Which teams have Red Bull?
 
MichaelBolton said:
Was it revealed to you in a dream?

The biggest hurdle for Marc in regards to aspiring to the factory Ducati is the sponsorship. I'm sure he won't want to break his lucrative and long-lasting ties with Red Bull. The only way I see Marc in red leathers the next season is if Ducati ditches the Monster exclusivity deal, replaced by Estrella Galicia or some other Marc-friendly sponsor. I doubt he wants to go back to Honda, they won't be competitive so soon. If I were to predict Marc's short term future, I think it will involve another 2 years in a satellite team, with a bike up to spec... KTM/Marc makes sense but there's the rumor of Acosta becoming a free-agent if he doesn't get promoted to the factory KTM, which complicates things. Marc can end up either at GasGas, Pramac, or Gresini with a bigger involvement from Ducati and more sponsorships if he signs for two years. There's also the added possibility of KTM grabbing a third team too.
Click to expand...
I don't think Ducati and Monster have a long lasting relationship do they?

Marquez I think is playing his chances down but he has an enormous amount of self belief. He will have marked circuits where he wants to finish. It doesn't mean he will get what he wants but I believe in his mind it would look something like this.
Qatar: Top 5
Portimao: Top 5
COTA: Win
Jerez: Win/Podium
France: Podium/Top 5
Mugello: Top 5
Kazakhstan: Podium
Assen: Podium
Sachsenring: Win
Silverstone: Podium
Red Bull Ring: Win
Aragon: Win
Misano: Podium
India: Podium
Indonesia: Win
Japan: Win
Phillip Island: Win
Thailand: Podium
Malaysia: Top 5
Valencia: Podium

8 wins + 9 Podiums. Unlikely at this stage that he will be able to achieve all of those but I believe that is what his thinking will be based on his history their and the layout. He spent a lot of time behind Martin and Pecco at Qatar which could have only been helpful. And you best believe his brother absolutely will be riding shotgun if required.

One thought I did have watching the race and after reading the comments is how far ahead everyone a prime Casey Stoner would be on that Ducati. Casey was a genius with the rear end of a bike, he would piss it in during this era of Ducati's IMO.
 
Barbedwirebikerr said:
Monster. Yamaha, Ducati.

Red bull KTM. Also formally Honda until Marc left.

Aprilia don't have an energy drink sponsor.
Click to expand...
How does Marc fit in at Ducati with his Redbull sponsorship?
p4p1 said:
I don't think Ducati and Monster have a long lasting relationship do they?

Marquez I think is playing his chances down but he has an enormous amount of self belief. He will have marked circuits where he wants to finish. It doesn't mean he will get what he wants but I believe in his mind it would look something like this.
Qatar: Top 5
Portimao: Top 5
COTA: Win
Jerez: Win/Podium
France: Podium/Top 5
Mugello: Top 5
Kazakhstan: Podium
Assen: Podium
Sachsenring: Win
Silverstone: Podium
Red Bull Ring: Win
Aragon: Win
Misano: Podium
India: Podium
Indonesia: Win
Japan: Win
Phillip Island: Win
Thailand: Podium
Malaysia: Top 5
Valencia: Podium

8 wins + 9 Podiums. Unlikely at this stage that he will be able to achieve all of those but I believe that is what his thinking will be based on his history their and the layout. He spent a lot of time behind Martin and Pecco at Qatar which could have only been helpful. And you best believe his brother absolutely will be riding shotgun if required.

One thought I did have watching the race and after reading the comments is how far ahead everyone a prime Casey Stoner would be on that Ducati. Casey was a genius with the rear end of a bike, he would piss it in during this era of Ducati's IMO.
Click to expand...
Brilliant analysis, you must of put quite a bit of work into that, but where's the DNF's? :)
 
mikesbytes said:
How does Marc fit in at Ducati with his Redbull sponsorship?

Brilliant analysis, you must of put quite a bit of work into that, but where's the DNF's? :)
Click to expand...
I don't think Marquez is planning to have DNF's. As I said this is what I think his list will look like. I would be beyond shocked if he didn't have a DNF.
 
mikesbytes said:
How does Marc fit in at Ducati with his Redbull sponsorship?
Click to expand...
Another reason I think, if anything, a Pramac ride is more likely. No drinks brands on the bikes, though Martin and Morbidelli have Red Bull and Monster on their helmets respectively. The Pramac bikes are factory bikes and the team has proved they can fight for titles.
 
p4p1 said:
The article posted above you does say that the company likes him. I'm not sure where you are getting your information from.
But why do Ducati have reason to dislike him? Given how Gigi turned Ducati around, I would say his opinion is the most important one in the room.
Click to expand...
I read in Italian media/sport journalists/insiders.

"But why do Ducati have reason to dislike him?"

Man, Italians... those are such emotional guys. It has all to do with VR and how MM93 has developed into an arch rival during all this time.
 
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p4p1 said:
I don't think Ducati and Monster have a long lasting relationship do they?
Click to expand...
Since 2023, when Suzuki dropped out of the game. But we don't know the terms of that deal, it's just a minor sponsorship after all so it might not be that complicated to replace.
gui22a said:
Man, Italians... those are such emotional guys. It has all to do with VR and how MM93 has developed into an arch rival during all this time.
Click to expand...
Ducati itself doesn't owe a lot of loyalty to Valentino, I expect the average Ducati exec to be have more sense than the Valeban.
 
MichaelBolton said:
Ducati itself doesn't owe a lot of loyalty to Valentino, I expect the average Ducati exec to be have more sense than the Valeban.
Click to expand...
Italians are proud of their thing and their people. They saw what MM did not only an attack to VR but a disrespect with Italian people/country. Don't ask me why. I have Italian blood inside my veins and I know how things work there. Half of my grandparents came from Italian escaping from the 2nd war. I'm half Italian half Portuguese. But I lived inside an Italian family my whole life and I know how damn emotional they are. They don't need much of a reason to be pissed off with somebody.

Some insiders think the last exodus of Ducati engineers had to do with MM arrival.
 
Frankly, you're delusional.

These aren't rabid fans who still believe Rossi's BS. These are intelligent business people, who put MONEY over everything else. The recent exodus of Ducati personel is perfectly normal for such a dominant manufacturer. Red Bull F1 have lost probably half a dozen of their top engineers to rival teams in the last yr.
They get offered a lot of money to bring their expertise to another team. That's the only reason.
 
#22 said:
Frankly, you're delusional.

These aren't rabid fans who still believe Rossi's BS. These are intelligent business people, who put MONEY over everything else. The recent exodus of Ducati personel is perfectly normal for such a dominant manufacturer. Red Bull F1 have lost probably half a dozen of their top engineers to rival teams in the last yr.
They get offered a lot of money to bring their expertise to another team. That's the only reason.
Click to expand...
So if you say, it's said.

That's it.
 
Italians always babble about loyalties and then their favorite football players are constantly switching places between archrival clubs

gui22a said:
Some insiders think the last exodus of Ducati engineers had to do with MM arrival.
Click to expand...
Funniest bit I've read on this place in a while. "Yeah bro let me upend my career because my employers signed a rider I don't like!".
 

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