MotoGP Lineup 2025.
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Joined Mar 2016
2K Posts | 2K+
FNQ
If Jorge wins title this year, surely he'll swap purple for red with bestia for 2024.
If Martin runs a solid season n xt year he will very highly ranked and will be able to choose which factory he rides for, out of them all.
That can all be addressed by mounting a few more faulty rear tires on the unchosen ones !
Much like Rossi, the sponsors would probably prefer to have MM as the man they can flash around with promotions. But on merit, it's hard to go past Martin. If I was Martin though, I would be wary of leaving Ducati without having a championship to my name. You've got MM on a full factory bike next year, regardless of the team he is on, then you have Pedro Acosta who may be a generational talent waiting in the wings.
Sure, Martin should get the ride imo as well, and as has been said MM might prefer Gresini as long as he has a factory bike.
It was just an interesting wrinkle I hadn’t thought of, that the sponsors of the factory team who are probably paying large amounts of cash to be sponsors would want a factory team rider to win.
I do think a deal can be worked out to keep Marquez in the factory on a satellite team. Martin (rightly) wants some faith shown in him from Ducati, though MM coming into the fold has thrown a spanner in the works for him. Marquez just wants to be on equal terms and on the best bike.
I do think Ducati can keep both of them and regardless of Martin's comments I wouldn't be surprised to see him stay at Pramac with significant wages subsidised by Ducati. I'm not saying that is what is happening but I don't think his position of factory team or bust is non-negotiable. He knows his worth no doubt but he also knows that Pecco was signed as the 2x defending world champion and MM is a 6x world champion and the most marketable rider currently.
Sure, but I think what Hodgson meant was that the sponsors of the Ducati factory team are probably paying considerably more for the privilege than whoever sponsors Gresini and Pramac, and MM riding a GP25 with full support might well win the title or at least that is the opinion of many on this forum including me, but wouldn’t be doing so with him and his bike bearing Monster Energy livery or subliminal Marlboro livery or whatever. (EDIT Didn’t read your post properly. Martin might be prepared to stay at Pramac I guess for the right money, he has reputedly been paid well anyway because of all the win bonuses. Hodgson was more talking about MM at Pramac, and I could see his point about that situation).
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Joined Mar 2016
2K Posts | 2K+
FNQ
It's a good point. Again why MM may well get the ride over Martin. I can understand why sponsors may get frustrated at that but it is also no different to the championship going to a rival manufacturer. Depending on what contracts say to the riders and the teams who get the full factory supported bikes, pissing off a sponsor may be a lot cheaper than purposely sabotaging a rider late in the season. Obviously there is a lot of politics at play in commercial agreements and this is just another aspect of that.
I don't think that Monster have been with Ducati long enough that, their energy drink sponsor couldn't change without much issue. Interesting none the less.
Joined Mar 2024
63 Posts | 145+
Wisconsin
Read this morning Ducati is saying they will NOT announce their 2025 line up at Mugello. Doesn't sound promising for Martin. Are they waiting for him to jump so they don't have to push him? Somehow I don't think signing him would be particularly complex, unless it's about money or they're trying to work out all the Marquez particulars, sponsors, etc at the same time.
I have to say as an MM fan that Martin deserves the ride, and that they should have been able to decide this before now. The theory that the Ducati factory team sponsors don’t want to see MM win the title on a Ducati not sponsored by them is the best theory I have seen for why they might not give Martin the ride. As others have said another angle might be Audi being keen on Marquez who with a Ducati title would be match one of the other contenders for the best ever for titles won being associated with their brand, I doubt Martin good as he is will win 7 premier class titles.
Ducati also hardly have a reputation for fairness, might see Martin’s performances as being more a reflection of the quality of their bike rather than his quality as a rider, in which case they are misjudging him imo, and also might be peeved by his public utterances and near ultimatums, and have history for that kind of thing as well.
Purely on merit at this point in time it should be Martin. If either of them wins title this year their relative merit might be different and clearer, but Ducati will have to decide far before then.
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Joined Sep 2015
733 Posts | 1K+
Office cubicle
Whatever happens, seems like you won't be able to refer to Honda as Repsol Honda anymore. The partnership will be over by the end of the year:
I wonder if Repsol could become a minor sponsor of whatever team Marc signs with. Repsol Gresini?
I wonder if Repsol could become a minor sponsor of whatever team Marc signs with. Repsol Gresini?
Joined Aug 2013
902 Posts | 509+
USA
Sounds to me as if someone turned a Ducati offer down.
the riders sponsors do complicate things, for example I would not expect MM99 to give up his sponsors for another satellite bike even if it is a factory bike.
Aprilia were looking for a title sponsor, wonder if Resol would be interested, there have been rumors that they have a major title sponsor lined up. The team did just announce they were ready to make serious offers to Marquez or Martin.
I think this is a great post. I would just add every time Marc shows up in Parc Ferme, Gigi seems very pleased to see him there.
Joined Mar 2023
1K Posts | 1K+
Australia
If Martin wins the world championship this year and goes to Aprilia then that would bring a lot of sponsorship $$$ that way.
I'm going to guess the problem with the signing is MM's personal sponsors
I'm going to guess the problem with the signing is MM's personal sponsors
There is a few conflicts.
Red bull is likely the biggest hurdle but by no means impossible to overcome.
I am inclined to go with the opposite theory, which is Neil Hodgson’s I believe, that it is the Ducati Factory team sponsors that are problematic. MM might well be happy to stay at Gresini with a fully supported full factory bike, and Martin clearly deserves the factory ride at this point in time, but if someone as high profile as MM is riding competitively for a satellite Ducati team, particularly if he wins the title, how much bang for the considerable bucks they are doubtless paying in sponsorship to Ducati Corse they are getting comes into question, while MM’s sponsors who are mostly competitors would be garnering considerable attention, probably more than would be garnered by the actual factory riders.
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