Motorsport.com announced exclusively this Monday at noon that Jorge Martín had grown tired of waiting for Ducati and his jump to the official team, so this morning he decided to accept Aprilia’s offer to race there for the next two seasons.
After receiving denials from Ducati throughout the weekend, Martín decided to take control of his future and execute the offer he had on the table from Aprilia, which will make a significant financial effort to take him to one of the great stars of the championship.
“Only Jorge Martín could be the ideal rider to guarantee continuity after the retirement announcement of Aleix Espargaró, who has always been a friend and mentor of Martín. Martín has signed a multi-year contract with Aprilia Racing starting in 2025, and the team and “The entire Piaggio Group welcomes the rider who best represents their desire to establish themselves at the top of MotoGP.”
“A path of unstoppable growth, Jorge is a building block to achieve the goal that we are all looking for with great hunger at Aprilia Racing. Thanks to Dr. Michele Colaninno for this opportunity, we spoke last night and without wasting time we decided”, added Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola.
Following Aprilia’s announcement, it is expected in the next few hours that Ducati will announce that the rider chosen to be Pecco Bagnaia’s partner in the official team is Marc Márquez, as reported by Motorsport.com and not denied by any of the parties involved.
Between the Barcelona and Mugello races, Ducati informed Martín that he was chosen to be Pecco Bagnaia’s partner in the official Ducati team in 2025. On the eve of the Italian Grand Prix, a senior factory executive welcomed the rider and they shook handsthanking Jorge for his patience and perseverance over the last few years until he got here.
In Borgo Panigale they were convinced that, with this maneuver, they could convince Marc Márquez to race in Pramac, with the same material and support as the official drivers.
But everything took a radical turn on Thursday when the news spread in Italy and Márquez closed the door to Ducati’s wishes: “Pramac is not an option for me,” he settled the issue with an extremely serious face.
This reaction was not what was expected by Ducati bosses who maintained contact with the pilot during the weekend to look for alternatives. Marc told them that either he was going to the official team or he was going to another factory. At Ducati they panicked when they saw that they were losing the most media-worthy rider in the paddock, bowing to their demands: in 2025 he will be Bagnaia’s partner, leaving the handshake with Martín void.
After Márquez’s harsh reaction on Thursday, Martín tried to maintain contact with those responsible for Ducati, who delayed him by calling them this week, so he decided to leave the orbit of the Italian house, after four seasons, and become an Aprilia rider. .
