Marc Márquez will get on the most coveted motorcycle in 2025 paddock of MotoGP. This has been confirmed by the official Ducati team, the factory that sets the pace in the premier category of motorcycling in recent years, which seals the signing of the Spaniard for the next two seasons. The Bologna brand will bring together the eight-time Spanish world champion with the three-time Italian champion Pecco Bagnaia, current defender of the crown and second in the table in 2024. The announcement of this authentic Dream Teamwhich generates both excitement and concern in the ranks of the Borgo Panigale constructor, now triggers the rest of the movements in a confused pilot market, which had been speculating for months about the complicated decision of the Italians.
After plucking the daisy with a lot of suspense and deciding, in the first instance, for Jorge Martín, current leader of the championship, Márquez’s mistake in Mugello caught the Ducati Corse leaders by surprise and immediately made them back off. Gigi Dall’Igna, guru of the factory and a true lover of the virtues of Catalan, acknowledged to EL PAÍS in Montmeló, two weeks ago, that an ideal outcome to this soap opera in the offices was “impossible.” The company’s CEO, Claudio Domenicali, said more of the same from the Italian track: “Not screwing up is almost impossible, but we are trying.”
They both sensed that their plan A, dressing Martín in red and Márquez in Pramac purple with the full support of the factory, was probably a chimera. The eight-time champion, in fact, when he found out about the factory’s roadmap, he was quick to publicly and categorically dismiss that possibility, threatening to leave for another brand. Immediately, Ducati’s leaders withdrew the agreed offer from the Madrid native, who, fed up, decided to break off the negotiations and accelerate his arrival at Aprilia, an agreement announced this Monday by surprise, just 30 minutes after it was signed, in a decision that It was taken overnight.
Márquez, who after leaving Honda has recovered his best version and once again feels capable of fighting for the title thanks to the Ducati GP23 that made Bagnaia a two-time MotoGP champion last year, had offers from both Aprilia and KTM on the table. Although they were “comfortable” scenarios, feasible, he preferred to continue his fleeting adaptation to the reference bike on the grid. “I don’t feel like having to adapt to a motorcycle again, but I don’t rule it out,” he said before the Mugello event, where he finished tying up his new destiny with a textbook success and another commendable performance in his seventh race with the Desmosedici.
Third in the World Championship standings, 35 points behind leader Martín and 18 behind his future teammate on the factory team, Márquez no longer hides that his goal is to become world champion again. At Gresini, a modest client structure of the factory, he has rediscovered the enthusiasm for racing and the desire to see himself as a winner both on and off the tracks, and no one rules out that he could fight with the brand’s current leaders. At Ducati they will now have to manage the commotion inside the chicken coop until the end of the campaign, when there are still 13 events and 26 scoring races left.
A few months ago, no one could imagine that Márquez would end up in red next to the current defender of the crown, but the 93 has overcome the reluctance due to his character and bad reputation as a difficult teammate, claiming his undeniable talent on the track for marketing reasons. which also justify his landing in the factory team. Dall’Igna, who has already worked behind the scenes to ensure his presence in the satellite squad led by Nadia Padovani, wants to know how far Ducati can go with the help of one of the best drivers in the history of motorcycling.
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