In this way, the Italian team confirms the information that Motorsport.com had reported on Monday, in which it was clarified that the manufacturer from Borgo Panigale had changed its mind, deciding to focus on the Catalan to the detriment of Jorge Martin. Hours after the news broke, Aprilia made the hiring of the World Championship leader official, in the first step of the operation which was definitively closed the following day.
Marc Marquez, in this way, has had the green light to follow a path that will lead him to wear red at the age of 32 and with eight world titles, six of which in MotoGP, in his palmares. With only seven races aboard the Ducati, which in his case is also the model from the previous year (2023), the Team Gresini rider is third in the general classification, 35 points behind leader Martin.
“First of all, I want to thank both Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin for all the work they have done with us over the last few years and I wish them the best for the future. This season they are truly showing that they have reached an incredible level and we are sure that they will fight to the world title until the end. Deciding on Bagnaia’s new teammate in the Ducati Lenovo Team was not easy as we had a list of really strong riders to choose from,” said Gigi Dall’Igna, general director of Ducati Corse.
“Finally, our choice fell on an indisputable talent like Marc Marquez. In just a few races, he managed to adapt perfectly to our Desmosedici GP and his innate ambition pushes him to continually grow. In the garage we will have two riders who together reach adding 11 world titles and being able to count on their experience and maturity will also be invaluable for our growth”, he added.
The eight-time world champion did not hide his satisfaction at having achieved what was his primary objective: “I am very happy to be able to wear the red color of the official Ducati team in MotoGP next season. Practically from the first contact with I enjoyed riding the Desmosedici GP and I immediately adapted well. From that moment I understood that my goal was to continue on this path, continue to grow and join the team where Francesco Bagnaia became World Champion for two years. in a row.”
“I am truly happy to be able to take this big step starting from 2025 and grateful for the trust that Ducati has placed in me. Finally, I want to thank Nadia, Carlo, Michele and the whole Gresini Racing family for opening the door of their team to me in a delicate moment in my career. Now we will continue to have fun and give our all in what remains of the current season, which is my priority at the moment”, concluded Marc.
This maneuver is a clear example of the authority that Marquez has in the championship, since in just four days he managed to change the minds of the top management of the Bolognese company. At first, their plan to keep him and Martin was to promote the latter to the official team and to insert the Cervera rider into Prima Pramac Racing with a factory bike.
However, the Italian managers gave in to the order that the Catalan rider gave them last Thursday, when he was more categorical than usual: “Pramac is not an option for me”. Faced with this frankness and the threat of signing for KTM or Aprilia, the Ducati leaders feared losing the main attraction of a competition whose popularity is growing rapidly, partly thanks to the good performances of the #93 rider once he got on the bike. a Desmosedici GP.
Although details of the deal between the two parties were agreed at Mugello last weekend, the announcement was delayed due to various legal obstacles.
After an eleven-year period as the face of Honda, with which he won six titles out of a possible seven between 2013 and 2019, Marquez has decided to end his stint with the brand with the golden wing and give up the last year remaining in his contract (2024), driven by the ordeal he had been experiencing since that 2020 Jerez GP in which he broke his arm. Then came four operations and a lot of confusion due to the lack of competitiveness of a very critical prototype, which led it to suffer countless accidents.
A third of the season was enough for the multiple champion to exploit his speed, his influence and his image multiplier effect to convince Claudio Domenicali and Gigi Dall’Igna, CEO and General Manager of Ducati respectively, the figures who make the most decisions important in Borgo Panigale.
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