During the first half of last season, Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini fought over the place that Jack Miller would have left vacant in the official Ducati garage to return to KTM. The two raced with different bikes, a situation which somehow penalized the Spaniard who had a less advanced prototype than the Romagnolo. But Enea’s results, two victories in the first four races, have greatly complicated Martin’s aspirations to become Pecco Bagnaia’s teammate in 2023.
On the eve of the San Marino Grand Prix, Bestia’s promotion was made official, a circumstance that thus left the Madrid rider in Pramac. When the world championship concluded in Valencia, the numbers proved the Borgo Panigale manufacturer right, as the #23 finished third in the general standings, while his rival finished fifth.
Martin’s contract binds him directly to Ducati and expires at the end of 2023, but the rider can unilaterally release himself at the end of this year. To prevent this from happening, Ducati’s top management thought of generating the best situation around him: he could go down in history as world champion of a private team and would be the first to win after Valentino Rossi in 2001. Just like the Doctor in that Occasion, Martin will have a Desmosedici identical to that of Bagnaia and Bastianini and will have the same treatment by the company, at least this is what the Ducati offices assure.
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I think Jorge will be one of the riders who will fight for this title. Last year he raced with a bike that initially needed more development than we thought. Furthermore, the introduction of Sprint Races will benefit its explosiveness,” Ciabatti said speaking to Motorsport.com.
The Ducati Sporting Director doesn’t waver even a bit when asked about Martin’s real options to win his second title, his first in MotoGP. “Martin will have all the necessary support from Ducati to be world champion with Pramac. If Ducati wanted to prevent this from happening, it wouldn’t give them the same material as the factory teams, with exactly the same technical support”, continued Ciabatti, who goes a little further. “Jorge has the same chances as Enea. This I can confirm 100%. Last year, Pecco fought for the title but we never intervened and I think this was very clear ”, he explained.
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