Ducati has chosen to revolutionize its rider roster next season, losing the chance to continue with the young rider line.
The Borgo Panigale company could count on three extraordinary talents, in addition to the champion Pecco Bagnaia, or Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini and Marco Bezzecchi. The latter was able to reach third place in the 2023 ranking behind the duelists for the crown, Martin and Bagnaia. Nobody would have bet on the possibility that Ducati could lose, in one fell swoop, its growth direction to make room for Marc Marquez.
The Spaniard is a living industry and the opportunity for him to win a world championship with Ducati could have significant monetary implications for the coffers of the Emilian brand, but if there were to be disagreements with Bagnaia there would be a double problem. Aprilia has grabbed Martin and Bezzecchi, while KTM has formed a top team with Acosta, Binder, Bastianini and Vinales. If the competition, on a technical level, it will be closer, there will be fun to be had next year.
Furthermore, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer has also lost its usual customer team. Bagnaia is a fixed point, as also demonstrated in Assen. After almost 20 years, Pramac, however, has decided not to renew the contract to tie itself to Yamaha. The Japanese company has high expectations from a collaboration that could become explosive. Quartararo asked for technical reassurances on the M1 and in Pramac they know how to work to excel.
Pramac’s controversy with Ducati
Even the best love stories can come to an end. “We have arrived at this situation due to a series of circumstances. The team has grown a lot in recent years and we have received many advances, but we have never taken them into consideration, remaining very faithful to the project – confessed the great Pramac boss – Unfortunately, with these latest choices that Ducati has made, we seem to perceive that they have changed priorities. They married another project: they took Cristiano Ronaldo, giving up the team“.
The comment, released in an interview with Motorsport.com, is an obvious reference to Marc Marquez’s move from the Gresini Racing team to the factory team. Juventus signed the Portuguese from Real Madrid thinking they could overcome the other technical shortcomings, but the Old Lady still failed to lift the Big Ears Cup.
“The project that Ducati is doing now is different from what we believed in. There was a lack of perspective, because for better or worse you work to reach a goal. The choice not to take Martin, who is leading the World Championship and has already won several races, is a choice that we do not agree with. It is also objective that they took Cristiano Ronaldo from MotoGP, but Cristiano Ronaldo leads to consequences“, concluded the great Pramac boss.
