2025 Silly Season

#22 · Dec 16, 2023

Slow news day story, but the boss of Ducati has stated the obvious in that Marquez is a candidate for the factory team in 2025.

Ducati drop clue over Marquez’s factory future - but there’s a huge money hurdle

The money issue seems silly to me. Marquez has already proved he doesn't want megabucks otherwise he'd have stayed at Honda. He probably gets paid well enough by his personal sponsors alone.

One interesting catch might be that he is a red bull athlete and Ducati are sponsored by Monster.

That said Lorenzo ended a long association with Monster when he joined HRC in 2019.

mikesbytes · Dec 16, 2023

#22 said:
Slow news day story, but the boss of Ducati has stated the obvious in that Marquez is a candidate for the factory team in 2025.

Ducati drop clue over Marquez’s factory future - but there’s a huge money hurdle

The money issue seems silly to me. Marquez has already proved he doesn't want megabucks otherwise he'd have stayed at Honda. He probably gets paid well enough by his personal sponsors alone.

One interesting catch might be that he is a red bull athlete and Ducati are sponsored by Monster.

That said Lorenzo ended a long association with Monster when he joined HRC in 2019.

Ducati would possibly need to compete with KTM on the finance side

michaelm · Dec 16, 2023

#22 said:
Slow news day story, but the boss of Ducati has stated the obvious in that Marquez is a candidate for the factory team in 2025.

Ducati drop clue over Marquez’s factory future - but there’s a huge money hurdle

The money issue seems silly to me. Marquez has already proved he doesn't want megabucks otherwise he'd have stayed at Honda. He probably gets paid well enough by his personal sponsors alone.

One interesting catch might be that he is a red bull athlete and Ducati are sponsored by Monster.

That said Lorenzo ended a long association with Monster when he joined HRC in 2019.

Yes, I don’t think he will go to an uncompetitive bike for more money, he has just left such a bike.despite being on the highest salary in gp bike racing history. Like Rossi in his pomp he can garner his own sponsorship and bring sponsorship with him as well. He is also probably more popular than some think, like Verstappen in F1 who is hated by Hamilton fans MM is said to have plenty of fans younger than those who were Rossi fans in Rossi’s pomp and is probably attractive to energy drink purveyors etc.

It is a two edged sword for Ducati imo, MM may be unpopular in Italy but having the GOAT rider as he would likely be if he proceeded to the factory Ducati team being associated with Ducati would probably not be unattractive to Ducati, particularly since Rossi’s tenure with them was troubled. He also might not hurt bike sales outside of Italy, with Ducati seeming to be more an international luxury band like high end watches than a purveyor of motorbikes these days.

He might like to further screw with Rossi and win a title for a third marque which Valentino obviously never did to further exceed him if he does manage a Ducati title. He will be looking closely had how competitive Acosta is I would imagine.

All that said his odds for winning the title next season on a year old satellite bike against fast young riders some of whom are near a decade younger look absurd even for me as as an MM fan, unless there is inside knowledge he had another second in lap time left in him at the Valencia test.

michaelm · Dec 16, 2023

michaelm said:
Yes, I don’t think he will go to an uncompetitive bike for more money, he has just left such a bike.despite being on the highest salary in gp bike racing history. Like Rossi in his pomp he can garner his own sponsorship and bring sponsorship with him as well. He is also probably more popular than some think, like Verstappen in F1 who is hated by Hamilton fans MM is said to have plenty of fans younger than those who were Rossi fans in Rossi’s pomp and is probably attractive to energy drink purveyors etc.

It is a two edged sword for Ducati imo, MM may be unpopular in Italy but having the GOAT rider as he would likely be if he proceeded to the factory Ducati team being associated with Ducati would probably not be unattractive to Ducati, particularly since Rossi’s tenure with them was troubled. He also might not hurt bike sales outside of Italy, with Ducati seeming to be more an international luxury band like high end watches than a purveyor of motorbikes these days.

He might like to further screw with Rossi and win a title for a third marque which Valentino obviously never did to further exceed him if he does manage a Ducati title. He will be looking closely had how competitive Acosta is I would imagine.

All that said his odds for winning the title next season on a year old satellite bike against fast young riders some of whom are near a decade younger look absurd even for me as as an MM fan, unless there is inside knowledge he had another second in lap time left in him at the Valencia test.

at how competitive

misfit · Dec 17, 2023

I think it's more about glory for both rather than the money primarily. Both MM and Ducati would benefit competitively with him on a factory bike. Since it's a factory time, MM will understandably expect a higher retainer, but I doubt this will be his primary motivation to join if the offer was made.

warthog1 · Dec 17, 2023

Barbedwirebikerr said:
On a different note, I'll be bunkering in for cyclone Jasper tomorrow evening, as by all reports it's making a pretty good beeline to my location. Thankfully, at moment looks to be just a cat 2 system, so nothing too extreme.

Hope you are going ok with the flooding up there?

Barbedwirebikerr · Dec 20, 2023

warthog1 said:
Hope you are going ok with the flooding up there?

Cheers mate. Pretty hectic all around but I'm ok. Others have fared much worse around me.

warthog1 · Dec 20, 2023

Barbedwirebikerr said:
Cheers mate. Pretty hectic all around but I'm ok. Others have fared much worse around me.

Glad you are ok but still not good that others aren't.

#22 · Dec 22, 2023

#22 said:
Where will Marc Marquez be for 2025?
Will Jorge Martin be promoted to the factory Ducati team? If not, where will he go?
Will Fabio Quartararo leave Yamaha?
Will any seats be free at Aprilia? Aleix has said this contract would be his last, but I have my doubts.
Will KTM and Yamaha get a 3rd/2nd team respectively?

Ding ding ding ding ding

Aleix: I don’t think 2024 is my last year in MotoGP

After saying in March, that 2024 would likely be his last yr. I swear to god if Aprilia .... up a chance to sign Marquez or Quartararo or Martin (for example) to keep this clown, then they deserve any .... they get.

#22 · Dec 22, 2023

Going to be a high stakes year at Ducati. Both factory riders are out of contract and while it's obviously Bastiannini under pressure, apparently it is not 100% certain Bagnaia will be retained too.
You have Martin, Bastiannini and potentially Marquez as an option for the factory in 25.

Barbedwirebikerr · Dec 22, 2023

B

#22 said:
Going to be a high stakes year at Ducati. Both factory riders are out of contract and while it's obviously Bastiannini under pressure, apparently it is not 100% certain Bagnaia will be retained too.
You have Martin, Bastiannini and potentially Marquez as an option for the factory in 25.

Bagnaia has just done two on the trot. He is safe as.

DavidSim · Dec 22, 2023

Barbedwirebikerr said:
Bagnaia has just done two on the trot. He is safe as.

I think Pecco has learned to go fast when he has too.

mikesbytes · Dec 22, 2023

#22 said:
Ding ding ding ding ding

Aleix: I don’t think 2024 is my last year in MotoGP

After saying in March, that 2024 would likely be his last yr. I swear to god if Aprilia .... up a chance to sign Marquez or Quartararo or Martin (for example) to keep this clown, then they deserve any .... they get.

I'm with you, M Marquez, Quartararo and Martin are better than both Aleix Esparargo and Vinales. The current Aprilia riders are able to get good results at circuit's that suit the Aprilia but at the tracks that the Aprilia isn't as strong is where we would see M Marquez/Quartararo/Martin preform better

surendhar · Dec 22, 2023

mikesbytes said:
I'm with you, M Marquez, Quartararo and Martin are better than both Aleix Esparargo and Vinales. The current Aprilia riders are able to get good results at circuit's that suit the Aprilia but at the tracks that the Aprilia isn't as strong is where we would see M Marquez/Quartararo/Martin preform better

Mate, I would consider it even a insult to compare MM, FQ & JM (to an extent) with either Aleix or Mav. They are miles above the current Aprilia riders.

JFM01 · Dec 27, 2023

mikesbytes said:
I'm with you, M Marquez, Quartararo and Martin are better than both Aleix Esparargo and Vinales. The current Aprilia riders are able to get good results at circuit's that suit the Aprilia but at the tracks that the Aprilia isn't as strong is where we would see M Marquez/Quartararo/Martin preform better

They certainly are better riders but I can absolutely understand why Aleix isn't willing to retire yet. 2022 and 23 were by far the best seasons of his career and he is finally getting rewarded for the work he and the team put into their bike since 2017.
If any of the three aforementioned riders are willing to join Aprilia they'd be stupid to reject any of them though.

p4p1 · Dec 27, 2023

Is there a chance that Gresini could get a full factory bike and Marquez top rider status from Ducati? Allowing them to keep both Pecco and Jorge.

mikesbytes · Dec 28, 2023

p4p1 said:
Is there a chance that Gresini could get a full factory bike and Marquez top rider status from Ducati? Allowing them to keep both Pecco and Jorge.

Ducati has changed in the past who gets which bikes. Could boil down to money and Marquez attracts it

#22 · Jan 2, 2024

I have linked the article on another topic here (Regarding Ciabatti moving to Ducati;s MX division):

Paolo Ciabatti abandons Ducati Corse

Regarding the rider market, there were some comments in that article:

Recently Ciabatti acknowledged in a conversation with Motorsport.com that Ducati was indeed considering Marquez as a valid option as Bagnaia or Martin for one of the two factory team bikes for 2025: "We are obviously thinking of Marc as a possible factory rider for then."

The competition for those two places is expected to be one of the fiercest in recent times. In addition to obvious candidates Bagnaia and Martin, a two-time world champion and the current runner-up respectively, we will also have to keep an eye on the recovery capacity of Enea Bastianini, after a year in which injuries did not allow him to show his best performance.

On paper, another of those who should compete for one of the two red Desmosedici is Marco Bezzecchi, while waiting to know the direction taken by VR46, and if it decides to renew its agreement with Ducati or change bike supplier. To this competition we must now add a figure as relevant as Marquez, who over the past few months has had run-ins with several of his new brand mates. It is not surprising that some of them may even feel betrayed by the arrival of the Spaniard.

The more I think about it, the less hopeful I am, for Bastiannini. Despite his one off in Malaysia, of which it is uncertain how much we can attribute to him running basically an illegal front tyre pressure, he hasn't seemed to do much. The 2024 bike is apparently better under braking, which is where his strength lies, but short of him challenging for the title, I cannot see him being on the factory bike in 2025, as much as it pains me to say.

That said, I fully expect 2 Pramac seats to be available next yr. Martin is getting more and more vocal with regards to his feeling of 'being on the outside' with Ducati. I don;t think Bezzechi is a realistic option for the factory team, given he turned down the Pramac ride. He seems fully invested in the VR46 Clique'. Aleix Espargaro has clout within Aprilia and is best mates with Martin. So it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that he ends up in Aprilia as a replacement for Vinales.

Pramac could then be Bastiannini/Quartararo for 2025?

All pure speculation of course, but then there are 6 weeks to go until testing. So, what else are we gonna do?!

MichaelBolton · Jan 2, 2024

#22 said:
Pramac could then be Bastiannini/Quartararo for 2025?

Bestia will go back to Gresini (I'm supposing it's a one year stopgap for Marc regardless of what happens). I could see Quartararo chasing that Pramac like crazy if he wants to win. Aprilia has the bike but not the money, KTM isn't interested and they said they won't sign more Yamaha riders after the Zarco fiasco, Honda has the money but not the bike, Yamaha will likewise throw everything they can to keep him... in fact, they're hiring Ducati engineers now:

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1...or-ducati-engineers-bid-keep-fabio-quartararo
A bit too late to the party imo, they're not gonna sort out the bike in half a season unless they fix the electronics which has been Yamaha's weakest part since the spec ECU was introduced.

PRS717 · Jan 2, 2024

#22 said:
Pramac could then be Bastiannini/Quartararo for 2025?

I could get on board with this. My preference would be for Yamaha to get their .... together but I'm afraid that's not happening in 2024. If Marc is in the thick of it and getting podiums/wins, Fabio will jump to the dark side faster than you can say "screw your inline 4."

2025 Silly Season

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