- Joined
- Apr 6, 2015
- Messages
- 6,291
- Location
- NJ
I don't know for certain how true it is, but I saw it mentioned somewhere awhile back that the Pramac contract entitles them to one current spec Ducati.
2025 Silly Season
- Thread starter mikesbytes
- Start date
Help Support MotoGP Forum:
I don't know for certain how true it is, but I saw it mentioned somewhere awhile back that the Pramac contract entitles them to one current spec Ducati.
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2015
- Messages
- 6,291
- Location
- NJ
Sounds like it's going to be either Gresini or KTM.
Wonder if Gresini can land that GP25 or not now.
Maybe we'll have a Red Bull Repsol Gresini Ducati next season.
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2015
- Messages
- 735
- Location
- Office cubicle
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
- Messages
- 905
- Location
- USA
If Pramac is not an option and switching to Yamaha, that leaves 6 Ducatis... If Marc stays at Gresini then I would assume that his bother stays as well, VR46 seems keen on keeping an all Italian rider line up, and the remaining factory seat would likely end up going to Martin. Where are they going to put Aldeguer?
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2015
- Messages
- 735
- Location
- Office cubicle
VR46 already wanted to sign Aldeguer in the previous season. I suppose DiGia could go even though he's performing decently, or Ducati could just tell Alex to pack his things and leave Gresini, which won't please Marc in the slightest.
- Joined
- May 13, 2009
- Messages
- 6,313
- Location
- Shovel's Club
Marc to VR46 to ride the new redbull repsol harley davidson gp1. You heard it here first.
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2015
- Messages
- 6,291
- Location
- NJ
Finally Harley Davidson will do something of value!
Those are good reasons. I guess he has evaluated the Gresini set up and thinks he could win the title there with Carchefi as crew chief and a GP25. Pramac and Ducati do seem to have provided enough support for Martin to win a title last year and to be doing the same this year, but we will see I guess.
I do think he is pushing things if he makes Alex also getting a ride on the same team a condition of employment at teams other than Gresini, not that Alex is terrible, but even MM can’t have everything.
Except Pramac might have a have a contract for 2 factory bikes, and Ducati might want to keep a team which has both been with them a long time and shown themselves to be capable of mounting a serious title challenge, the latter probably also why Yamaha are keen.
Sounds like Gigi would have MM ahead of both Bagnaia and Martin if he had the choice, and apart from being in agreement with both of us he has a better record for making the right calls than Ducati management do. I guess Ducati have to think of signing riders in the future though, and Martin could hardly have done more to deserve the factory ride, and even Bastianini is a high quality rider who hasn’t done too much wrong except for getting injured.
My only question is around, right now, Martin is leading the championship and has a hand lead but one bad weekend and that could disolve very quickly. What if during the middle of the season, when we get to some of MM's strongest tracks, he ends up creating a decent lead in the championship with roughly 1/3 to go? Then do Ducati have egg on their face choosing Martin over Marquez?
I know Marc just wants full factory support and input into the bike but if he was to do the unlikely and win this years championship (and as he himself know one crash can change everything), and then next year goes into the season as the favourite on a satellite bike, how does that look for Ducati? It seems to me their best option is to have their second team run as a factory team in Ducati red, the same way Red Bull KTM and Tech3 do it.
Yes, they would like pretty silly as has been said if he won the title on a GP23 then went to KTM. Him winning a title for Gresini next year wouldn’t be ideal for them either though, as we have been discussing the big money sponsors of the factory team might well start asking what they are getting for their money. If he won on a KTM it could be attributed to him rather than the bike.
Given Gigi’s apparent attitude I think we can be fairly sure he is outriding the GP23. And even attributing the COTA dnf to rider error he could easily have another 20 odd points from the sprint race crash due to water under the track and the 4th he was going to get at Portimao if Bagnaia hadn’t taken him out. He recently hasn’t looked to be in rider error mode overly, if he could stay in front of Aleix last race on worn soft tyres he can probably ride around most problems as was his previous wont, and I can see him riding relentlessly while he has some chance at the title.
Last edited:
The more I think about it though, the word deserved is subjective and can also change on a dime. As my post above shows, we can say that Martin is more deserving of the ride right now because of his lead in the championship, but we must also consider MM lost a potential 1st place and 4th place through no fault of his own. If he had those 38 points he would be just 3 points down while riding on a year old bike in a satellite team.
Being somewhat cut throat and admittedly bias. If I was Ducati and MM was also factory team or I will go elsewhere, I would be offering the contract to Marquez, but offer Martin a full factory supported contract with a decent pay bump that he can take or leave.
My reasoning (without bringing sponsorship issues) is that Marquez is going to be a threat on the KTM or the Aprilia. If he is a threat on the KTM then you can bet your ass that he will bring Acosta a long with him and they will form a super team, that by 2027 (MM will be 34 and Pedro in his prime) could lead to a dry period for Ducati. We don't know if Martin will be the same threat as Marquez albeit for longer due to his age. Though Martin himself at 26 isn't exactly young either.
For the future, Ducati have Aldeguer who may or may not come on to be world championship material but if he doesn't reach the heights they want him to they could throw a shitload of money at Acosta, who may or may not be a world champion at that stage.
The jury is still out on Martin when the real pressure is on. We know how MM responds to it and we know how Pecco responds to it. But last year, when the pressure for the championship was really on, he faltered big time.
I do think Ducati hold all the cards, and don't need to be in a rush to make their decision. Martin may want respect and status but above all else he wants to win. Ducati give him his best chance for that. If I was them, I wouldn't be making a decision until around Austria. That gives them a much clearer picture of what both MM and JM are looking like and if in the meantime they lose Martin to another manufacturer, they still have Pecco, MM, Bastia to take on him and whoever he signs for.
I'm just not convinced Ducati, if they can get MM on the factory team, despite all the personal sponsor stuff should make the move until things are clearer. It's not just about winning the championship either, if Pecco wins again, strong possibility and MM finishes second with JM 3rd, they would have egg on their face again.
Having said all of that though, if there is a realistic option to give MM everything he wants in a satellite team, while keeping the factory sponsors happy meaning I can keep Martin as well, then that is the win-win option. Personally I would lock up MM first, even if that option is on a satellite bike. That way it can be spun that we signed MM first because he was the priority (keeps MM happy and feeling valued), we signed MM first to the satellite because we always wanted JM on the factory team but had to negotiate with our factory sponsors who were pushing for MM, or something along those lines.
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2020
- Messages
- 147
- Location
- Germany
The best solution would be to sack bestia and prosecco and sign MM and JM for the factory team. Prosecco with Aldeguer to gresini if Pramac leaves for Yamaha. Pecco had his time and could squeeze two titles out of it, but thats it, now there is too many good riders in form of martin who is set to win it this year and for next year it will be either marc or pedro or martin but not prosecco. Now is the perfect time to sack him! He gave ducati what he could and thats that
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2023
- Messages
- 1,113
- Location
- Australia
If Ducati needs to provide Pramac with 2025 bikes for both riders to retain them, they could solve the MM issue by providing a 5th set of GP25’s to Gresini for MM to ride. It’s it’s just a case of money
- Joined
- May 8, 2024
- Messages
- 532
- Location
- Home
Just out of interest, who would Ducati Corse want to get rid of the rider who has won half of all Grand Prix's so far this season?
No chance they would try to unload Bagnaia. I wouldn’t say that is set in stone forever though, cf Casey Stoner.
