The 2023 season ended with a series of disappointments for Prima Pramac Racing, which overshadowed the outstanding results achieved by Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco. Paolo Campinoti’s team won the team title in Qatar, an unprecedented achievement for an independent team in the MotoGP era, but Martin’s difficult race that day overshadowed this performance and was not even celebrated.
A week later, the Spaniard re-entered the title fight by dominating the Valencia Sprint, but the main event soon became complicated, with a first mistake costing him several positions and a second leading to a tangle with Marc Marquez. Martin’s season ended frustratingly with a crash and, although Gino Borsoi would have liked his rider to fight to the finish with Pecco Bagnaia, winner of the last race and the title, he remains proud of his results this year.
“We finished in a way that we didn’t like very much, because it would have been nice to see Jorge fight with Pecco until the last corner and maybe get a podium,” commented the Pramac team manager on the official championship website. “The final result wouldn’t have changed, but with a podium, or if he had finished the race fighting with Pecco, it would have been a great ending to the story of this season.”
“But as I told my staff, we have to be happy, really happy with what we have achieved this season. We have achieved an incredible result, the team is world champion. What more can I say? We will have to start again with the same mentality, we are strong, we are an incredible team.”
“The year 2023 was one of incredible achievements for our team,” Borsoi underlined. “We have to be satisfied with this, regardless of what happened in Valencia. We were able to play for the title until the last race, which is an incredible thing for a team that is not an official one. We won some races and placed two drivers in the top 5 of the World Championship. Another incredible result for a private team. We were just one step away from winning the drivers’ title.”
“We knew it was difficult, because when you deal with a manufacturer it’s incredibly difficult. But, as I said, we have to be satisfied. We have an excellent family and an excellent team.”
Jorge Martín and Gino Borsoi
After Martin’s first win in 2021, Pramac had a winless season in 2022, but this year the team has swept up the honours. The Madrid-born driver took four poles, nine victories in the Sprints and four in the main events, while Zarco won a Grand Prix. Together, the two have achieved 14 podiums in 2023.
These results were made possible by the fact that Pramac has a quasi-official team status with Ducati. The Italian manufacturer has maintained top-level support even when Martin has become a real threat to Bagnaia in the championship, something Borsoi is pleased about.
“I would like to thank Ducati because they really helped us get to this point. It was a very fair fight between us. They gave us all the tools, all the innovations, they never gave up because they had faith in us. I think everyone they should know and believe me when I say it, because no other brand can do something like this. So I would like to thank Ducati because if we fought for the title until the last race it is also thanks to them.”
Pramac hopes to continue progressing next season. The team saw Johann Zarco leave for the LCR team Honda and has already welcomed Franco Morbidelli. “We are ready to bring Franky to good positions”, promised Borsoi, who is particularly happy to be able to confirm Jorge Martin, with the certainty that he will be even stronger next year.
“Honestly, I am happy because Jorge will stay with us next season too and what we have learned with Jorge and the team is that it is very important to stay calm and be even stronger. I think that next year the riders dressed in red will have big problems with us, because we will be much stronger this season!”.
“We’ll try again in 2024”, insisted a more determined Gino Borsoi than ever: “It’s 1-0 for Ducati against us, but next season it could be 1-1!”.
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