MotoGP | Martin, jab at Marc: “Happy with a title with Pramac”

One of the great protagonists of the 2024 MotoGP season is undoubtedly Jorge Martin, not only because he leads the general classification. From a market perspective he is an important player, because he is a contender for the official saddle for next year. On the eve of the Italian Grand Prix, the rumor arose that the Spaniard would be Pecco Bagnaia’s teammate in 2025, however nothing has yet been confirmed and even the protagonists remain confidential.

“The press always speculates,” Martin explained in his usual Thursday press conference. “We have to deal with this information, but our job is to drive, I’m 100% focused on the race weekend. Then on Monday or Tuesday we will have time to talk. It will certainly be an important weekend, it’s my team’s home race and also Ducati’s.”

“We also want to improve the results of Montmelo, which was not an easy weekend. Despite this, I was able to improve a lot from Saturday to Sunday. I was very close to winning, but Pecco was super and did better than me. But I’m very focused on this weekend, last year I finished in second position, so I hope to close the gap to Pecco in this race”, Martin tried to divert, although in vain.

Although the championship leader tried to bring the conversation back to the track, it was inevitable to talk about the market and the future. He and Marc Marquez are the main contenders for the place in the official team (with Enea Bastianini certainly out of the factory lineup), but the eight-time world champion has closed the door on Pramac.

“This is very subjective,” said Martin in reference to Marc’s categorical “no” to Pramac. “In the end you have to stay where you feel comfortable, where you think you can be a better rider. He will have his reasons. I am very happy to be where I am, since I debuted I have been with Loto and they have given everything for me. I would be very happy to win the world championship with Pramac, regardless of what Marc said.”

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Despite this statement, the desire to take the step forward and move to the official team is great: “They give me what I need, my team gives me their best and Ducati too, otherwise I wouldn’t have the contract I have. I have a factory contract with Ducati and I’m happy, they trust me. I want to go to the factory team to see if I can be even better, not because I don’t have what I need here. For this reason and because a brand always wants to win with its official team.”

At the moment, Martin is the favorite to win this title, but we are still at the seventh round of the season still to be played. Despite the 39 point advantage over the second, Bagnaia, the championship is still long: “The championship is very long and the top three are all on the same level, more or less. I hope the title fight continues almost to the end. There have been other riders capable of winning, but then the ones who will really fight will be those who maintain consistency. The three of us are strong and consistent on every track.”