Jorge Martin Reveals Cancelled Ducati Contract

MotoGP, Sportrik Media - Jorge Martin has revealed that he signed a contract to join the factory Ducati team for the 2023 MotoGP season before the decision was reversed and the seat was awarded to another rider. Martin said the change occurred during 2022, when he was completing his second season with Pramac Racing.

Martin entered MotoGP with Pramac and Ducati in 2021. His speed during the opening phase of his premier-class career placed him among the candidates for promotion to the manufacturer’s works operation. However, according to his account on the Gypsy Tales podcast, the agreement he had already signed for 2023 was never implemented by Ducati.

“In 2022, I had already signed the contract for 2023 to be a factory rider, and at a certain point they told me, ‘You’re not going there; we don’t want you; we want another rider’,” Martin said.

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The position was ultimately awarded to Enea Bastianini, who won four races with Gresini during the 2022 campaign and finished third in the championship. Bastianini achieved those results on a 2021-specification Ducati, but his performance across the season placed him ahead in the manufacturer’s internal contest to partner Francesco Bagnaia.

Martin subsequently signed another agreement and remained with Pramac. He accepted the outcome because he continued to receive factory-specification machinery, limiting the technical difference between his satellite-team position and a place inside the Ducati Lenovo operation. Access to the latest engine, aerodynamic equipment and development parts still gave him the tools required to compete at the front.

“Then we signed another contract, and I accepted the situation because I was happy with the Pramac team I was on. I had a factory bike, so, all things considered, the situation wasn’t that different,” Martin said.

As reported by Crash.net, Martin returned to title contention in 2023 and again moved close to securing a factory promotion for the following season. A condition emerged during the Valencia weekend under which Martin could step into the works team for 2024 if he won the world championship. However, Francesco Bagnaia retained the title, while Ducati kept Bastianini for the second year of his contract.

A similar situation developed ahead of the 2025 season. Martin was in contention for the factory Ducati seat and was reportedly given a positive indication before the Italian Grand Prix. The direction changed after Marc Marquez publicly stated that he would not accept factory machinery if it required him to remain at Pramac.

Ducati subsequently selected Marquez for its factory team, while Martin signed a two-year agreement with Aprilia beginning in 2025. That move followed Martin’s 2024 MotoGP world championship success with Pramac, which made him the first independent-team rider of the modern era to secure the premier-class title.

“The following year, I was in the running for the title. In the final races, I was very close to victory, and they wanted me back on the factory team, but they already had a contract with another rider,” Martin said.

Martin used the experience to question the practical value of a rider contract when a manufacturer can still alter the direction of its line-up. His comments did not provide detailed information regarding the clauses, conditions or legal mechanism contained within the reported 2023 agreement. The revelation therefore remains Martin’s account of Ducati’s decision-making process rather than an official confirmation from the manufacturer.

“Contracts mean nothing to the big manufacturers; they play games with us riders,” he said.

Martin’s move to Aprilia in 2025 was subsequently disrupted by a series of injuries and a contractual dispute after he attempted to activate a release clause. He eventually committed to the second year of the deal. The supplied report also states that Martin is set to join Yamaha for the following season, although his immediate focus remains completing his current programme and rebuilding his performance ahead of the next round at Brno.