2025 Silly Season

I think Pramac is waiting to see what MM93 does, he could end up on a Pramac machine next year, but only if its a GP25.

Curious what Yamaha is offering, is it a factory spec bike? is it last season's bike? is there factory support?

That screams to me that Marquez is who is getting the nod, but I'm trying to be impartial.

Interview here:
We have to consider all their history, not just 2024” - Dall’Igna on 2025 decision

Hollywood said:

I think Pramac is waiting to see what MM93 does, he could end up on a Pramac machine next year, but only if its a GP25.

Curious what Yamaha is offering, is it a factory spec bike? is it last season's bike? is there factory support?

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The rumor is that Yamaha is offering free bikes. Don't remember where that rumor was floated, but Pramac are apparently interested because they could just pocket the 2.5M Dorna payment, though there could be offsetting loss of sponsorship.

I think they are working on the dollars and cents. Personally, I think Marc is factory bike or bust. His remaining sponsors might be okay with him riding satellite for one season, but they expect factory PR machine, hospitality, and B2B, imo. Marc is willing to make many sacrifices to achieve his 7th premier class title, but I don't think he's quite ready to fly coach or dip into his savings.

Things will get interesting if Ducati shut him out of the factory team. They could be making a dollars and cents decision, too. If Marc is willing to ride a factory Ducati for a paltry sum, it would free up many millions for R&D.....with a new formula on the horizon. Martin will surely be looking for an outlandish pay increase.

mylexicon said:

Things will get interesting if Ducati shut him out of the factory team. They could be making a dollars and cents decision, too. If Marc is willing to ride a factory Ducati for a paltry sum, it would free up many millions for R&D.....with a new formula on the horizon. Martin will surely be looking for an outlandish pay increase.

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Marc has already made enough money to be comfortable and take said paltry sum, especially if it means winning. I read that Martin is on some extraordinary win bonus that meant he got paid more than Bagnaia last season.

#22 said:

That screams to me that Marquez is who is getting the nod, but I'm trying to be impartial.

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Enea is obviously Italian and if what Pecco says is true...that they get on....then he has that working for him but he needs to get some results. Feels like a long shot to me. Of the 2 Spaniards, Martin has been a bit of a loose cannon? Maybe it's due to translation and/or the press doing what the press does but Jorge doesn't come off the way I would think a factory would want. Marc seems to say all the right things and doesn't bash anybody. If he continues to get results and stays at the sharp end, I believe he will be in red. Something tells me the decision will not be made by Mugello.

PRS717 said:

Seems to me Martin would have to win the championship to get that seat and that might not even be enough if Marc is close

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It's irrelevant because Ducati plans to make the decision in Mugello at the latest, not enough time for Jorge to become a champion or even build a sizeable lead in the standings. I think they just don't like Jorge's behavior, he's too combative/vindictive and has never hidden his displeasure at not being promoted to the factory Ducati twice. Marc will or will not gel with Pecco as teammate, but at least he's known to not say bad words about the factory employing him. Also as threatened as Pecco might feel (or not) by Marc, I still get the impression he's more friendly with him than with Jorge, so it's a situation of factory and star rider not wanting Jorge (I emphasize, this is all just my gut feeling). Ducati also probably feel that Marc on a KTM/Aprilia will be a bigger threat than Jorge on those bikes, short term at least.

MichaelBolton said:

It's irrelevant because Ducati plans to make the decision in Mugello at the latest,

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Dammit. I thought my Ninja edit was quick enough. I realized after I posted but I'm not sure Mugello will be when this decision is made but then again, I know nothing.

Based on the info we have seen floating around it’s looking like Marc for factory Ducati. There’s probably stuff happening in the background we don’t know

Curious words from Marc:


Last question and answer translated:

Ducati has not yet made a decision about the second bike in the factory team, does this result bring you a little closer to getting it?

"Honestly in 2025 I don't care about the brand or the color, I want to have the latest evolution of the bike in the field, because if you want to fight for the world championship you have a better chance of succeeding."

Does this open up the possibility of Marc getting full factory support while on Gresini/Pramac and see Martin wearing red? we'll see.

Good to hear him say that. I was wondering if he was (as has been inferred) that he was overly concerned with being on the factory team, simply for the sake of being with the prime label team simply for the sake of status. I often wondered is this had been a consideration for his staying so long at Honda, despite what it was doing to his career. If he means what he says, then no reason to continually speculate whether he might go to KTM. He's gelled with the machine. As has been said before, it would make no sense at this stage to go next year and learn a new bike. Were he to win another championship, riding for a non-factory team, it would only be that much sweeter.

MichaelBolton said:

Does this open up the possibility of Marc getting full factory support while on Gresini/Pramac and see Martin wearing red? we'll see.

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It seems to me that he is keeping his options open. There are a lot of other potential deals that depend on what happens to Marquez.
On the Ducati end of the paddock:
Pramac's deal with Ducati is up at the end of the season, although there is an option for a 2 year extension.
Gresini has 1 more year on their deal with Ducati.
Marc will also want a multi year deal that will keep him on a factory bike.
Martin will also want a multi year deal on a factory bike
Aldeguer has a contract to ride a Ducati in 2025

Elsewhere in the paddock:
KTM do not seem happy with all their current riders, Binder has a contract for 2025, and Pedro has an option. They also have Red Bull money behind them.
Yamaha want a satellite team, and it seems they are now willing to front the costs for one.
Aprilia have a good bike, but are lacking consistent riders and a major sponsor.

Point is, not everyone will get what they want, someone will have to compromise.

I can’t picture any reason why I Pramac would not option to stay with Ducati again. While it’s true that not everybody will get what they want, I don’t foresee Marquez having to compromise very much. He is clearly a hot property in so many ways.

Keshav said:

I can’t picture any reason why I Pramac would not option to stay with Ducati again. While it’s true that not everybody will get what they want, I don’t foresee Marquez having to compromise very much. He is clearly a hot property in so many ways.

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One compromise: If Marquez stays at Gresini and gets a factory bike, he would only be able to get a 1 year deal, because Gresini's contract with Ducati only runs through 2025. A 1 year deal is not ideal, but he would have a lot of bargaining power, might even get his brother a new deal out of it. Of course Gresisni could extend their own deal with Ducati, but does Marc really want to stay at Gresini?

Another compromise: Marc signs with another manufacture, KTM could afford to pay him what ever he wants, and Acosta has demonstrated that the bike is capeable. Surely KTM will have an offer to pitch

Hollywood said:

One compromise: If Marquez stays at Gresini and gets a factory bike, he would only be able to get a 1 year deal, because Gresini's contract with Ducati only runs through 2025. A 1 year deal is not ideal, but he would have a lot of bargaining power, might even get his brother a new deal out of it. Of course Gresisni could extend their own deal with Ducati, but does Marc really want to stay at Gresini?

Another compromise: Marc signs with another manufacture, KTM could afford to pay him what ever he wants, and Acosta has demonstrated that the bike is capeable. Surely KTM will have an offer to pitch

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How about Ducati sign MM to replace the Beast, expecting Martin to jump ship to another manufacturer, thinking this will hobble Martin and make it easier for the factory team to keep winning the championship with either Pecco or MM another year or two. From the looks of things so far if they can get Martin off a Ducati and he struggles elsewhere I have a feeling that MM could win it all next year if he stays healthy and keeps riding like he is. MM is a very aggressive rider, he seems to be able to stay upright on the Ducati while doing his thing now, I am thinking we ain't seen nothing yet.

I believe MotoGP now is more about money and the business end of it, sponsorship money, growing revenue from the spectator end of it, leveraging the riders to make it interesting to the crowds so they keep on spending big bucks for everything from ticket sales to souvenirs. The popularity of MM is salivating indeed when it comes to making money on all sides, the fact that he could win it all again with some assistance has to be enticing indeed for the powers that be.

MotoGP has what MM needs now, fame and glory as the GOAT solidified, MM has what MotorGP needs now, a real money maker !!!

Keshav said:

I can’t picture any reason why I Pramac would not option to stay with Ducati again. While it’s true that not everybody will get what they want, I don’t foresee Marquez having to compromise very much. He is clearly a hot property in so many ways.

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Me neither but with a new formula coming up and the potential of only having one current spec bike, they may dip their toes into the water to see what else is out there.

p4p1 said:

Me neither but with a new formula coming up and the potential of only having one current spec bike, they may dip their toes into the water to see what else is out there.

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Yamaha are reputedly offering bikes for free to a prospective satellite team, might be attractive commercially particularly if the new formula brings less Ducati dominance.

As I understand it MM could be contracted by Ducati and ride for a satellite team, as Aguerter will be doing next year.

michaelm said:

Yamaha are reputedly offering bikes for free to a prospective satellite team, might be attractive commercially particularly if the new formula brings less Ducati dominance.

As I understand it MM could be contracted by Ducati and ride for a satellite team, as Aguerter will be doing next year.

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I don't think MM is too worried about what colours he races in, just his standing within the manufacturer. It sounds like he just wants to be on equal footing to the other title contenders.

Hollywood said:

It seems to me that he is keeping his options open. There are a lot of other potential deals that depend on what happens to Marquez.
On the Ducati end of the paddock:
Pramac's deal with Ducati is up at the end of the season, although there is an option for a 2 year extension.
Gresini has 1 more year on their deal with Ducati.
Marc will also want a multi year deal that will keep him on a factory bike.
Martin will also want a multi year deal on a factory bike
Aldeguer has a contract to ride a Ducati in 2025

Elsewhere in the paddock:
KTM do not seem happy with all their current riders, Binder has a contract for 2025, and Pedro has an option. They also have Red Bull money behind them.
Yamaha want a satellite team, and it seems they are now willing to front the costs for one.
Aprilia have a good bike, but are lacking consistent riders and a major sponsor.

Point is, not everyone will get what they want, someone will have to compromise.

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There is always get out clauses in contracts and if KTM decide they want a new lineup that Red Bull money lets them do whatever they want.

If MM gets a 2 year Ducati contract then they could put MM at Gresini for 2025 and if Gresini moves to Yamaha in 2026 move MM to another team, however that would mean that there would have to be at least 1 other Ducati rider on a single year deal

A potential solution to the Factory Ducati seat is to offer then a single year contract for the factory seat but a 2 year contract for the Pramac seat on the latest bike regardless of team

p4p1 said:

There is always get out clauses in contracts and if KTM decide they want a new lineup that Red Bull money lets them do whatever they want.

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If things do not improve soon for Binder and Miller, I would not be surprised at all if KTM said Auf Wiedersehen to both riders. I would also not be surprised if KTM did not already have an offer for Marquez and Martin.