2025 Silly Season

MdubSTYLIE said:

Well that escalated quickly

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Expect the Marquez announcement shortly. I'm not surprised given he is buddies with Aleix.

Wow. So now Pecco is likely to get his 3rd championship and Marc will have to wait until next year for equal footing as far as equipment goes? What happens with Enea? Pramac?

Well, seems like my wish of getting real news soon was granted, no one expected it to be this quick. I'm excited actually, Aprilia IMO have missed that extra bit of talent to see where their bike lies in terms of strength, and Jorge gets to prove if he's the real deal or if his career was boosted by a really good bike. I don't rule out a Jorge-Enea pairing given the Noale manufacturer also wants an Italian on the team and Maverick has been coy about his future (Honda big bucks, here I come), with Bezzecchi as the Plan B (or C, if keeping Maverick is a priority). As for Ducati, let's hope this is the real Prost-Senna moment the sport has been waiting since the failed Marc-Lorenzo pairing of 2019. Marc-Pecco won't be exactly the most harmonious pairing on the grid, to Pecco's disappointment, but I think the rest of the world will enjoy the battle, injuries notwithstanding. Also lets see if Pramac now make the jump to Yamaha or not.

Absolutely incredible development in the last few days. I wonder how much of it was because of Marc's ruthlessness and how much because of Ducati's clumsy handling of the affair (banking the entire strategy on Marc signing for Pramac was daft).

Sounds to me as if Ducati hesitated when Marc said Pramac was not an option, and delayed what ever deal they were going to announce with Martin. So Martin, who hasn't always been treated well by Ducati, signed with Aprilia which may even be a more lucrative deal.

This gives Marc some bargaining power, especially when it comes to the sponsorship issues, and lets not forget KTM still have an offer on the table.

MichaelBolton said:

Absolutely incredible development in the last few days. I wonder how much of it was because of Marc's ruthlessness and how much because of Ducati's clumsy handling of the affair (banking the entire strategy on Marc signing for Pramac was daft).

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Feels to me as if Marc played Ducati like a Stradivarius.

I’d almost like to see a Marquez/ Acosta pairing with KTM and keep Ducati Italian with Bastianini.

Guys, could you imagine 15 years ago the idea of a rider ditching Honda for the Ducati?

It's insane how far we have come where everyone wants to be on the Ducati Desmosedici and the RCV is a distant memory.

Hollywood said:

Sounds to me as if Ducati hesitated when Marc said Pramac was not an option, and delayed what ever deal they were going to announce with Martin. So Martin, who hasn't always been treated well by Ducati, signed with Aprilia which may even be a more lucrative deal.

This gives Marc some bargaining power, especially when it comes to the sponsorship issues, and lets not forget KTM still have an offer on the table.

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Yes we could be reading this in reverse, and the first domino to fall was actually Martin losing patience with Ducati not making a final decision and signing with Aprilia. At least he will know he is Aprilia’s preferred option to win.

This seems so rushed. 4 days ago he said the first talk with Ducati went well. Since the day he had two race days and a test day yesterday. Today he announces Aprilia. There is a good possibility he will regret making such a fast decision. Pramac and ktm must have also been on the table. Why chose so fast? Was this really the best choice for his future? I think no.

michaelm said:

Yes we could be reading this in reverse, and the first domino to fall was actually Martin losing patience with Ducati not making a final decision and signing with Aprilia. At least he will know he is Aprilia’s preferred option to win.

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Martin was first to make a move? On X there was info that Martin got phone call last night. Maybe too low salary and he went for Aprilia money.

MdubSTYLIE said:

This seems so rushed. 4 days ago he said the first talk with Ducati went well. Since the day he had two race days and a test day yesterday. Today he announces Aprilia. There is a good possibility he will regret making such a fast decision. Pramac and ktm must have also been on the table. Why chose so fast? Was this really the best choice for his future? I think no.

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Well I think we're going to find out how fast Jorge Martin really is and whether his mouth can keep up with it.

My guess is if he doesn't win the title this year, he's likely not going to get another chance.

Was it the best choice? Probably not, but I get the feeling he didn't have a choice in the matter. I think Gigi won out at the end of the day which is good.

MichaelBolton said:

Well, seems like my wish of getting real news soon was granted, no one expected it to be this quick. I'm excited actually, Aprilia IMO have missed that extra bit of talent to see wherei their bike lies in terms of strength, and Jorge gets to prove if he's the real deal or if his career was boosted by a really good bike. I don't rule out a Jorge-Enea pairing given the Noale manufacturer also wants an Italian on the team and Maverick has been coy about his future (Honda big bucks, here I come), with Bezzecchi as the Plan B (or C, if keeping Maverick is a priority). As for Ducati, let's hope this is the real Prost-Senna moment the sport has been waiting since the failed Marc-Lorenzo pairing of 2019. Marc-Pecco won't be exactly the most harmonious pairing on the grid, to Pecco's disappointment, but I think the rest of the world will enjoy the battle, injuries notwithstanding. Also lets see if Pramac now make the jump to Yamaha or not.

Absolutely incredible development in the last few days. I wonder how much of it was because of Marc's ruthlessness and how much because of Ducati's clumsy handling of the affair (banking the entire strategy on Marc signing for Pramac was daft).

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I will await confirmation, but perhaps we may not see Valentino hanging around the Ducati Corse pits much next season.

michaelm said:

I will await confirmation, but perhaps we may not see Valentino hanging around the Ducati Corse pits much next season.

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Something I would welcome.

But you know he's going to be winding Pecco up over this, and even further in the off-season.

MdubSTYLIE said:

There is a good possibility he will regret making such a fast decision. Pramac and ktm must have also been on the table. Why chose so fast? Was this really the best choice for his future? I think no.

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Maybe it was a fast decision because he was told by Ducati that a decision was made, and he wasn't to be on the factory Ducati. KTM? I can see them demoting Binder for Marc, but not for Jorge. And as for accepting a seat on GasGas or Pramac (whether Ducati or Yamaha), he's been firm in his intentions of being a factory rider no matter where. I see the Aprilia signing as damage limitation and a piece of relative good news for him, at some points I thought he was gonna waste his talent by signing for Honda or Yamaha if he couldn't get to wear the Ducati red leathers.

JPSLotus said:

Well I think we're going to find out how fast Jorge Martin really is and whether his mouth can keep up with it.

My guess is if he doesn't win the title this year, he's likely not going to get another chance.

Was it the best choice? Probably not, but I get the feeling he didn't have a choice in the matter. I think Gigi won out at the end of the day which is good.

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Totally agree. He will have a learning year next year. Then in the final season of the current bikes he will have to compete against Ducati and a well adapted Acosta. Martin is cooked.

MichaelBolton said:

Maybe it was a fast decision because he was told by Ducati that a decision was made, and he wasn't to be on the factory Ducati. KTM? I can see them demoting Binder for Marc, but not for Jorge. And as for accepting a seat on GasGas or Pramac (whether Ducati or Yamaha), he's been firm in his intentions of being a factory rider no matter where. I see the Aprilia signing as damage limitation and a relative good news for him, at some points I thought he was gonna waste his talent by signing for Honda or Yamaha if he couldn't get to wear the Ducati red leathers.

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The talk is KTM is going to have 4 factory bikes next year. Maybe Aprilia was the choice but why make the decision so fast?

MdubSTYLIE said:

Totally agree. He will have a learning year next year. Then in the final season of the current bikes he will have to compete against Ducati and a well adapted Acosta. Martin is cooked.

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I don't see him adapting as quickly as Marc did to the Ducati. But maybe I'll be wrong on it. I'd love to see a major shootout next season. He certainly has the motivation now, but is the RS-GP up to the task? I think losing Aleix to Honda as a test rider is going to hurt them big time IMO.

michaelm said:

Yes we could be reading this in reverse, and the first domino to fall was actually Martin losing patience with Ducati not making a final decision and signing with Aprilia. At least he will know he is Aprilia’s preferred option to win.

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I thought along this line when Ducati said they wouldn't announce at Mugello. What more did Martin have to show them? If they wanted him, they would have said so and proudly, I would think. Maybe Aleix had some influence? Maybe Aprilia is a better atmosphere compared to what seems like a cutthroat existence at Ducati? Even if Mav stays, Jorge will be the number one rider, I would think.

MdubSTYLIE said:

The talk is KTM is going to have 4 factory bikes next year. Maybe Aprilia was the choice but why make the decision so fast?

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KTM has always had current-spec bikes for their satellite team, meaning the same bikes the factory riders ride. By "being a factory rider", it's obvious that Jorge has always aimed to be on the top team, garnering the engineerers' attention, commanding a better salary, dictating the direction the bike should follow and enjoying all the extra prestige. The appeal of being a full, official factory rider is there for everyone on the grid, as shown by him not being entirely pleased to remain in Pramac for another season despite not suffering mechanical disadvantages.

JPSLotus said:

I think losing Aleix to Honda as a test rider is going to hurt them big time IMO.

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Agreed, even if I don't rate Aleix as a rider as much, but he's a hard worker and knows a thing or two about developing bikes. Savadori alone is not enough IMO, and I don't see Maverick as the developer type. Now Jorge has to undertake that extra role he didn't have in Pramac, that of being the main captain of the bike's development, it will be a new role so let's see how he handles it. I believe there are riders who can be very fast but not be suited to steering the development of a bike (Quartararo comes to my mind, maybe even Marc). But Aprilia have good engineers and their aero program is top notch, so they might not need much input from their riders, just that they ride fast.

So as a reminder (bold is confirmed). Taken from my other thread.

Lenovo Ducati
Francesco Bagnaia
TBC (Almost certainly Marc Marquez)

Red Bull KTM
Brad Binder
Pedro Acosta

Aprilia Racing
Jorge Martin
Maverick Vinales

Repsol Honda
Luca Marini
TBC

Monster Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Alex Rins

Gas Gas
TBC (Jack Miller?)
TBC

Pramac Ducati/Yamaha
TBC
TBC

VR46 Ducati
Marco Bezzechi
Diggia

Gresini Ducati
Alex Marquez
TBC (Almost certain Marc is leaving)

RNF Aprilia
TBC
TBC

LCR Honda
Johann Zarco
Takaagi Nakagami?

3rd KTM Team (Husqvarna?)
?
?

For me the main takeaways are:

Where will Marc Marquez be for 2025? - Likely Factory Ducati
Will Jorge Martin be promoted to the factory Ducati team? If not, where will he go? Signed for Aprilia
Will Fabio Quartararo leave Yamaha? No
Will any seats be free at Aprilia? Aleix has said this contract would be his last, but I have my doubts. Yes, he retired and Jorge Martin replaced him. Maverick may leave too
Will KTM and Yamaha get a 3rd/2nd team respectively? KTM No, Yamaha looking more likely now that Marquez is not going to Pramac.