ust when you think that this year’s MotoGP season has had it all, Jorge Martin’s news drops. The current championship leader has signed a multi-year contract with Aprilia, starting with the 2025 season.
The Ducati dilemma
There have been a lot of rumours in the past few days as to who will get the factory seat at Ducati. The main contenders were Martin and Marquez. When Ducati made its decision to drop Martin, the current race leader took matters into his own hands, which left Marquez with a wide door to the factory seat.
With Marquez’s performance with a 2023 spec Ducati, the Italian brand could not afford to lose him to competition as Marquez already announced that racing on a Pramac was “not an option”, Ducati had to make a choice.
Enter Aprilia
Aprilia, on its official social media account, stated that Jorge Marin will officially race for the brand starting in 2025. Martin will most likely join his new teammate Vinales next year, however, his decision is also pending for his ride next season.
“A path of unstoppable growth, Jorge is a building block to reach the goal we are all looking for with great hunger at Aprilia Racing,” said Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola. “Thanks to Dr Michele Colaninno for this opportunity, we spoke last night and without wasting any time we made the decision.”
Martin will replace Aleix Espargaro for the upcoming season after the Spaniard announced his retirement. Espargaro will become Honda’s test rider in 2025, as reported by Motorsport.com.
