The soap opera that kept the market afloat finally seems to be over MotoGP in the last weeks. With an announcement via social media, Aprilia has made the purchase of Jorge Martín official. With this market movement, the Marc Márquez-Ducati Lenovo Team duo now appears to be made for next season.
A crazy weekend in Mugello for the market
Mugello was an incredible weekend on the track, but above all for the various managers in defining the future of their protégés next season. It all started on Thursday when La Gazzetta dello Sport reported how Jorge Martin was practically certain of the official Ducati saddle in 2025. This, as far as we have learned, is what Ducati itself said to the current championship leader after the Catalunya Grand Prix at Montmeló. It is the major Italian sports newspaper itself that has been proven wrong in the last few hours, when many have begun to cast Marc Márquez as the favorite for the official Borgo Panigale saddle. Martín, once the path of the internal team was closed for the third time in as many seasons, has finally decided to change scenery. The #89 himself had repeated it several times during the season: he would not have remained in Prima Pramac Racing under any conditions, so the path to another manufacturer was now clear. The 2018 Moto3 world champion will therefore replace his friend/mentor Aleix Espargaró who, on the eve of Mugello, had “recommended” one of Enea Bastianini or Marco Bezzecchi to the Noale leaders.
Aprilia has no more excuses: now we have to win
The RS-GP has now been very competitive for three seasons, as demonstrated by the victories achieved by Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales from 2022 onwards. Many, including fans and professionals, have often said that the only thing the Venetian manufacturer lacked was a top-class driver. Now, with Jorge Martín, there is no other path than to aim for the drivers’ title. Martín competed for the championship with Francesco Bagnaia already in 2023, while this year he took another important step in terms of consistency of results. It is natural that, if Aprilia is competitive on all tracks, Jorge Martín will rightfully have the expectation of finally becoming MotoGP World Champion.
Massimo Rivola welcomes Martín
The press release from Aprilia Racing promptly confirmed the news previously disclosed via a post on the various social platforms. Massimo Rivola himself presents Jorge Martín, who will form part of Noale’s official lineup starting from 2025. The contract should be for two years, therefore until the end of 2026.
An unstoppable path of growth, Jorge is a step towards achieving the goal we are all eagerly seeking in Aprilia Racing. Thanks to Doctor Michele Colaninno for this opportunity, we spoke last night and without wasting time we decided.
All that’s missing is Marc Márquez’s official appearance in Red
Jorge Martín o Marc Márquez: these were the two names on the coveted Borgo Panigale list. One would certainly have left Ducati in the event of rejection by the Bolognese manufacturer. Márquez, over the weekend at Mugello, seemed the calmer of the two vying for the most coveted seat in MotoGP. In fact, it will be the 31-year-old from Cervera who will be promoted to the internal Ducati team, thus joining Francesco Bagnaia. The eight-time world champion only needed seven races (plus as many Sprints, ed) on the Desmosedici GP23 to convince the company’s top management to put him on an official bike for next season. The move to Red was a desirable thing for the #93, which already on Thursday had warmly refused to be parked in Prima Pramac Racing, however being equipped with an official bike. The announcement from Ducati is expected, even if it now represents only a formality.
Valentino Aggio
Read also: MotoGP | Italian GP: report cards for the protagonists of Mugello
