MotoGP | Ducati: because the biggest challenge of 2024 is not on the track

Pre-season testing at Sepang and Lusail suggested that the season which kicks off on Sunday in Qatar could be a continuation of the previous one, which saw Bagnaia take his second consecutive MotoGP crown. If this were to be confirmed with one of the Desmosedici GP riders on the throne, the Bolognese manufacturer would celebrate its third consecutive title and the fourth in its history after having dominated every aspect of the competition.

Bagnaia faces the start of the championship with the renewal signed and in the best moment of his career. Jorge Martin, for his part, is aware that this will almost certainly be his last season with the Prima Pramac Racing suit. Both, together with Enea Bastianini and Franco Morbidelli, will be able to enjoy the leap in quality that the GP24 represents compared to the previous model, which will be driven by Marc and Alex Marquez, and by the VR46 pair.

Ducati hopes to use this lineup to once again make a difference on the track, especially considering that the Japanese manufacturers, Yamaha and Honda, are lagging behind and the Aprilia and KTM bikes are not yet consistent enough in all conditions and on all circuits. This should also allow Ducati to address one of its biggest company-wide challenges: reducing spending on rider salaries.

“The global economic climate is not very stable at the moment, due to the ongoing wars and conflicts. And what Ducati doesn't want to do is commit to paying figures that in one or two years will be difficult to sustain,” he told Motorsport .com a senior Ducati official. “You have to keep in mind that we sell 60,000 motorcycles a year and this puts us on a different level than, for example, Yamaha and Honda,” he added.

Naturally, Bagnaia's renewal satisfies the wishes of both parties. His last job was in February 2022, before becoming MotoGP world champion for the first time. His status has changed a lot since then, as have his emoluments. Although the structure and figures of that contract were very similar to those of the agreements with Bastianini and Martin, the performance bonuses now place him at a higher level than them.

“It's true that the basic amounts of Pecco, Enea and Jorge were equal. But the two titles had an important impact on what he receives. What Ducati does is financially reward those who finish the World Championship in the top three, and this is also reflected in an increase for the following season”, Albert Valera, Martin's manager, told the writer of this article.

Motorsport.com understands that Bagnaia's contract extension announced on Monday includes a base salary of around seven million euros. To this figure must be added another, variable, depending on the results obtained, which could allow him to exceed ten million euros in total, in the event that he manages to confirm himself as champion again.

These values, although obviously very relevant, have nothing to do with those paid five or six years ago, in the pre-Pandemic era. The 25 million euros that Ducati paid Jorge Lorenzo for the two years in which the Majorcan was present (2017 and 2018) are now a distant memory. The departure of Andrea Dovizioso (2021) and the arrival in his place of Bagnaia, promoted by Pramac Racing, has reduced the sum intended to pay the salaries of the brand's riders by more than 50%.

Ducati wants to reduce the wage bill

Now Ducati wants to replicate that plan, and that's why it's virtually impossible to see Martin defending the colors of Paolo Campinoti's team beyond this season. The Spaniard, who as runner-up in the World Championship also benefited from the generosity of the brand that pays him, is the best personification of this intention to reduce investments in riders.

“Martin's case was unique, because he played for promotion to the official team with Enea. Each of the two would have deserved it, and for this reason Ducati had the same conditions. Now it's all over”, says someone coming out of the garage Ducati.

Martin already knows that 2024 will be his last year at Pramac. “The idea has always been that this satellite team would serve as a platform for younger riders, to prepare them for the jump into the factory structure. But for this to happen, salaries have to be in line with this. Ducati cannot pay a base of two million euros to a rider from the satellite team,” he said.

Fermin Aldeguer best represents the idea that Ducati intends to implement for this breeding ground of future official riders, and he has already committed to 2025, when he will debut in the premier class astride a Desmosedici GP with Pramac colours. The agreement with the Spaniard provides for a salary not exceeding 300,000 euros, supplemented by a sum that will vary based on the results obtained.

Having the best prototype on the grid gives Ducati a privileged position. Not only with the rookies, who choose to sacrifice the economic variable for the chance to ride the best bike on the grid. But also with stars of the caliber of Marc Marquez.