Ducati’s concern about “danger” led to their link-up with Marc Marquez, it has been instructed.
Marquez swapped Honda for Gresini Ducati a 12 months in the past and excelled in 2024 on a year-old machine, mounting a title problem which solely fell away within the ultimate rounds.
However he did sufficient to earn a call-up to the official Ducati group this 12 months, giving him the very best equipment on the grid.
The casualty of the producer’s determination was Jorge Martin, who received the MotoGP title on a Ducati however has now joined Aprilia.
“I wasn’t shocked,” Wayne Gardner informed Motosan concerning the determination to select Marquez as a substitute of Martin.
“To be trustworthy, if it had been me, I in all probability would have stayed with Jorge.
“However hey, Marc is a really gifted rider, there isn’t any doubt. They’re each Spanish riders, proper?
“I feel what Ducati did was take away Marquez from the competitors.
“It’s higher to have him working with them than towards them.
“They know the way good Marc is. He appears to have improved loads since he joined Ducati.
“Ducati clearly has the very best bike on the grid, and it has been that method for a few years.
“And Marc has been dealing with the Honda, that is why he had so many crashes.
“He nonetheless has fairly a couple of crashes, however now it has slightly extra consistency, and I assume that is as a result of the bike is a lot better.
“However from Ducati’s perspective, they can not danger having Marquez on a rival group.
“It’s higher to place him on their group, after which they know that they’re going to win with Pecco or with Marquez subsequent 12 months.
“In order that they needed to decide, and that is the way it occurred.
“And now Martin goes to Aprilia; I feel it’s going to be unbelievable with that bike.
“I feel that may make the championship much more fascinating, to be trustworthy.”
Marquez put Ducati in a tough place when, final summer season, they had been contemplating their 2025 line-up.
He made it clear that Pramac, even on a factory-spec bike, was not an possibility.
It triggered Ducati to U-turn from their unique plan to reward Martin.
Martin signed for Aprilia because of this, then accomplished a dream season to finish as MotoGP champion.
He may now run the #1 on an Aprilia in 2025.
