Now or never! This is how Jorge Martín’s season in MotoGP will be, with the second-place rider once again attempting a true attack on the world title in a year that will mark his farewell from Pramac Racing. The official Ducati team is the goal (again), but #89 has already said that if it doesn’t happen, he should head elsewhere.
2024 will be Martín’s fourth season in the premier class and the first in which he starts as (probably) the biggest outsider to the number one title contender, Francesco Bagnaia, after finishing second in 2023 and threatening the title, even taking the fight to the last race of the year in Valencia.
The Spaniard finished ninth in 2021 and 2022, but in 2023 he showed precisely the potential that has long been recognized, with 13 victories (including Sprint races and long races), but also showed an impetuosity on the track that resulted in some unexpected crashes: he did not finish four races – the same number as Bagnaia.
The fight for the factory seat is not new, and last year the choice of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer ended up falling on Enea Bastianini, an Italian rider fulfilling his first year in the main team, and plagued by an injury that kept him out of many races, which left some resentment for Martín who even said: ‘I don’t know what else I can do to show that I deserve a place in the factory team’.
It is certain that Ducati’s choice fell on a homegrown man, for the second consecutive time, which has already led Martín to state that in 2025 he wants to be mandatory in a factory team, and certainly there will be no shortage of candidates: At Aprilia all the contracted riders – Aleix Espargaró, Maverick Viñales, Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernández (both from the satellite Trackhouse Racing, but directly contracted by Aprilia), Jack Miller (KTM), Joan Mir (Repsol Honda), Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins (Yamaha), Enea Bastianini and Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati), with the latter already working on renewing with the manufacturer.
The current season, about to start, thus emerges as a decisive and almost final opportunity for Jorge Martín to attack the title since, by leaving Pramac Racing – which has a Desmosedici GP24, the most updated and probably most competitive version on the grid – it may be the ultimate chance for the near future to reach the world championship… and try to secure a spot in the factory team since, in the current state of competition, they do not seem to have the arguments to fight for the world championship.
Therefore, Martín’s season can be summed up as: trying to win the title and secure a place in the factory team, or not winning the title and leaving the Ducati universe and moving to another manufacturer that, presumably, will not have the same arguments as the current world champion.
