Метка: Marc Marquez

Marquez «gave up» and accepted podium defeat in MotoGP Italian GP

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Having finally cleared the factory Ducati of Enea Bastianini on lap 18 of 23 after hounding him for much of the day, Marquez was chasing after Pramac’s Jorge Martin for second as the Mugello race neared its conclusion.

But with two laps to the finish, Bastianini was able to retaliate and retake third position on the entry to Scarperia, dropping Marquez back down to fourth and outside the podium spots.

While Bastianini went on to overtake Martin with a brilliant pass at the final corner, Marquez lost touch with the leading trio and finished over two seconds behind them in fourth.

It marked the end of his three-race podium streak in 2024 and swelled his deficit to championship leader Martin to 35 points, with seven of the 20 rounds now complete.

Speaking of his Mugello result, the 31-year-old explained that he took too much life out of his tyres while chasing Bastianini for third and didn’t have anything left to put up a fight in the final laps of the race.

“I said to you that for me it doesn’t matter [where I finish]. We know what is our right position right now and we know that here Pecco was super strong,” he said of his result. “In fact he did an incredible weekend. 

“But one more time we were very close to ’24 bikes. We were fighting for the top and I was enjoying so super happy about the weekend overall.

“It’s true that in the race I was stuck behind Bastianini. I tried to overtake him but it was impossible. In the end it was possible but I already used a lot of rear tyre.

«But when I overtook him the pace was good and I was catching step by step Martin, tenth by tenth but on the last two laps Bastianini, you see, he had like a new rear tyre. 

“He was extremely fast on the last lap. I gave up. I said time to finish fourth and in three weeks time we will have another race.”

Marquez revealed that he received two warnings while going into the opening right-hander, which was enough for him to back off from the fight and consolidate fourth position behind the trio of GP24-equipped riders.

“The front temperature go up, the front pressure go up,» he said. «I tried to come back, I tried to open a gap and come back, just tried to see what was possible to do. You can see how I braked in Turn 1 with both tyres, both tyres were sliding. I said one time is okay, but two times not anymore.”

Marquez joined the satellite Gresini squad as a six-time MotoGP champion, with his records easily making him the most successful riders in the history of the premier class.

Asked how hard it was to concede defeat in the Italian GP given his past successes, Marquez said: “[It was] easy because I won a lot but I suffered a lot. 

“And the last four years I suffered much more than I won. So not it’s easy. 

“I try today and I save some moments but it was not possible. So for me fourth place here in Mugello is a good result.”

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Acosta does not expect Marquez to join KTM; Ducati «looks like a soap opera”

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The MotoGP silly season is in full swing heading into Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, with all eyes on the battle to fill the vacant factory seat at Ducati alongside Francesco Bagnaia.

During the week, current championship leader and Pramac rider Jorge Martin emerged as the favourite to replace Enea Bastianini in Ducati’s line-up for 2025, although no confirmation has been forthcoming from the squad.

Martin’s potential graduation to the works Ducati team has opened up a coveted seat at Pramac for Marc Marquez, but the Spaniard ruled out moving to the Italian squad next year — stressing he would like to either continue with Gresini on a 2025-spec bike or take the place currently occupied by Bastianini.

Marquez’s stance against moving from one satellite bike to another, albeit one that gets latest-spec machinery and factory support, has led to a complex battle within Ducati.

The situation is complicated further by the fact that Ducati is currently capable of only supplying four full-factory bikes, with Pramac set to be the only satellite team to get its hands on them if it agrees a new contract with the Italian marque. This means that, at present, there is no room for Marquez to get anything more recent than a year-old bike at Gresini in 2025.

This has opened up the possibility of the six-time MotoGP champion leaving the Ducati fold after just one season, with it being suggested that he has an offer from other manufacturers, including KTM.

However, Tech3 GasGas rider Acosta quashed these suggestions at Mugello, clarifying that he will team up with incumbent Brad Binder when he moves up to the Austrian marque’s factory team next year.

«Yes, I’ll be with Brad, he’s under contract until his twenties (2026),» he said.

When asked about rumours linking Marquez to riding a RC16 next year, Acosta likened the current state-of-affairs at Ducati to a television show.

«I don’t know, ask Pit [Beirer, KTM’s sporting director].» he said. «I don’t know if that’s out of the question. At the end of the day this Ducati thing looks like a soap opera, every weekend we have a different answer but nobody knows anything.”

On Saturday, KTM announced that Acosta will be promoted to its main team in 2025 as part of a new contract, replacing four-time MotoGP race winner Jack Miller.

The 20-year-old was delighted to secure a move to the ‘orange team’ less than seven rounds into the season, having impressed his bosses with podiums in Portimao and Austin and further top results in sprints.

«As far as I’m concerned, I’m happy with the team they’ve given me this year, with everything they’re giving me and with making the step to the official team to wear orange again,»  he said.

«I’m happy, yesterday they showed me the photo of when I signed my first contract to go to Moto3 in 2020, in Valencia, and I look like a child. 

“Look at how hard it took me to get there and how quickly we’ve gotten here to where we are now. 

“It’s the return home, dressing in orange again, was one of the goals of the year if everything went the way we wanted and wanted. 

“Happy to take all my team there and to see all the support they are giving us to be closer to the first. I think all their effort and mine is paying off.»

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Marc Marquez “was looking for” current MotoGP rider market buzz

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The six-time MotoGP world champion had been in the running for the factory team Ducati seat alongside Francesco Bagnaia for 2025.

However, despite his recent run of podiums just six rounds into his time on the 2023-spec Ducati at Gresini, it appears the Italian manufacturer will promote last year’s championship runner-up and current points leader Jorge Martin.

Marquez noted on Thursday ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello that moving to Pramac is “not an option”, and that staying with Ducati hinges on having a works bike at Gresini or being promoted to the factory team.

However, Pramac boss Gino Borsoi insisted on Friday his team will be the only Ducati satellite structure with works bikes in 2025.

With an offer on the table from KTM, Marquez appears to be at a crossroads in what he does in 2025.

It marks the second year in succession that Marquez has been involved in intense rider market speculation but admits this is something he was hoping for.

“No, I mean I was looking for this,” Marquez, who was fifth in Mugello practice, said when asked if he was hoping for an easier rider market situation for 2025.

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“For that reason, I chose a one-year contract with Gresini last year because when I did that move, I believed in myself, I believed in my potential.

“Then if you show your potential and you are fast, then you will have options. Luckily for me, I have different options.

“But of course, I have some priorities, and the people who need to know about this, they know how I will feel comfortable and they know my priorities.”

Championship leader Martin believes Pramac is “the best team in the world” right now, having won the teams’ title in 2023, finished runner-up in the riders’ standings with the Spaniard and continuing to prove this with his current form.

Amid Marquez’s shunning of a move to Pramac, Martin feels he does not need to vindicate the team.

“There is nothing more to say, last year it was the best team in the world, first in the team classification,” Martin said.

“With that, everything is said. Right now, it is the best team in MotoGP.”

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Pramac insists it will have factory Ducati MotoGP bikes amid Marquez shun

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On Thursday ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, reports emerged that Ducati has decided to promote Jorge Martin to its factory team for 2025.

While initially it looked like it lead to Marquez moving to Pramac to take a factory bike, the six-time MotoGP world champion complicated the situation by stating the team is “not an option for him”.

Marquez later acknowledged that his plans to stay at Ducati were either remaining at Gresini on a factory bike or stepping up to the factory team.

Pramac has a contract for 2025/2026 that guarantees it exclusive works support from Ducati, should it wish to execute that option.

And Borsoi, speaking to DAZN, has moved to shut down the possibility of that deal being altered to allow Gresini to have a factory bike for Marquez in 2025.

“We have a lot of respect for an eight-time world champion, I can only say that Pramac is a great team, we are a great family and every year we do even better work,” Borsoi said.

“In 2023 we made history and won the team championship, the first time we had done so as a privateer, we were fighting for the world championship and this year Jorge Martin is leading the championship and we have a new opportunity every time we go out on the track to be a better team.

“We have the two official Ducati and next year we will continue the same.”

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

It is not clear if Pramac has moved to activate its contract for 2025/2026 with Ducati or if this is merely posturing in a bid to force Marquez’s hand.

Pramac also has an offer from Yamaha to become its satellite team from 2025. Should that come to pass, it would open the door for Gresini to have factory machinery in 2025.

Ducati is yet to comment on the situation with its satellite teams for 2025 or on Marquez’s remarks from Thursday.

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What is Marc Marquez’s next move in the Ducati MotoGP saga?

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Early Thursday morning, it emerged that Ducati had finally decided to choose Jorge Martin to join Francesco Bagnaia in the official Borgo Panigale team from next season.

As the hours went by, Marquez’s discourse hardened. At first, the multi-champion was asked about the news in question, and he was disoriented: «This is not the information I have,» he replied in one of the many interviews he gave in the morning, followed by many others in the afternoon.

Logically, and because of the contractual commitments with the Italian manufacturer, the most convenient operation would be for the #93 to join Pramac, which is deciding on whether or not to renew its contract with Ducati for the next two years to field factory machinery.

But this is a move Marquez has shut the door on, saying on Thursday «Pramac is not an option for me».

«I’m not going to change from one satellite team to another,» he noted. «Last year I switched from Honda to Gresini, and I’m feeling very good here. It was a very delicate situation in my sporting career but now I’m competitive and I’m having fun.»

As such, Marquez has not ruled out the possibility of leaving Ducati altogether, with an offer from the Pierer Mobility Group (KTM/GasGas) on the table.

«I don’t want to have to adapt to a bike again, but I don’t rule it out,» he said.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

«I’m lucky that in those three scenarios, I would feel comfortable, although I have my priorities.»

Having lost the possibility of wearing factory Ducati red, the next item on his list of priorities is to remain at Gresini but with a works bike, the same one that Martin and Bagnaia will be riding.

To have this option, Pramac would have to not execute the renewal option with Ducati on the table, to presumably sign with Yamaha, or give up one of those two official prototypes, stay with only one, and ‘cede’ the other to Gresini.

«I have already told the people who need to know about this how I would feel comfortable,» said Marquez.

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Gresini, factory team only options to stay at Ducati fold in MotoGP 2025

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Marquez’s future had been of much speculation in recent months, as Ducati evaluates him for a possible promotion to the works team alongside Francesco Bagnaia on the back of his impressive adaptation to the Desmosedici at Gresini.

However, championship leader Jorge Martin’s current form with Pramac, combined with his stance that he will not settle for anything less than the factory seat currently occupied by Enea Bastianini, has made him the new favourite for the seat.

Marquez had revealed during last week’s Catalan Grand Prix that his priority for 2025 was getting the latest-spec bike, suggesting that the team with which he would race next year is of less importance.

But speaking ahead of Ducati’s home event at Mugello, Marquez categorically ruled out moving up to Pramac, which receives factory support and the newest machinery from the Italian marque.

Asked if his only options for staying at Ducati are now a move up to the factory team or staying at Gresini, the Spaniard replied: “Yes.”

Pressed further as to why he is no longer interested in a move to Pramac, which is currently negotiating a new contract with Ducati for 2025-26 amid poaching offers from Yamaha, Marquez explained: “I will not move from one satellite team to another one.

“As I said in Montmelo, my situation changed a bit. Last year I was looking to try to enjoy, try to get that feedback again, that confidence, find a way to be competitive again.

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“Now, step by step, I’m more and more competitive.

“If you want to fight for a championship, it’s possible to do it with the 23 bike like this year. But if you want to fight for a championship, if you have more facilities like it’s a factory team, you need to try to have.

“Why? Because it would be easier to fight with the top guys, which are super fast everywhere.”

With the chances of getting that coveted factory seat at Ducati now diminishing, Marquez’s best shot of staying with the Italian marque could be Gresini. However, the team’s deal with Ducati only allows for year-old bikes.

Deadline looming

Marquez said he has a self-imposed deadline regarding his future, as he needs to know where he is racing in 2025 in order to negotiate contracts with his personal sponsors.

“I cannot say the deadline but I have a deadline because one thing is here on the race track but another thing is personal sponsors all these things,” he said. “You need to know, because as you need to know big brands are closing the budgets in the next months for the next two years.

“I don’t like to have a deadline but I need to, I’m forced to have a deadline because if not, if you choose one team or another one, what strategy, some of my main sponsors cannot work well with that team.”

Asked if he wants to have certainty by the German GP in early July, he replied: “Hope so”.

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“It’s not an option for me”

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This comes following reports this morning, first from Gazzetta dello Sport, that Ducati has decided to promote Jorge Martin to its factory team seat for 2025.

Ducati had already outlined this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix as the place to make its decision, though said earlier this week that it wouldn’t make an announcement.

Over the last few rounds it has become clear that the battle for the seat alongside double world champion Francesco Bagnaia was between Martin and Marquez.

While championship leader Martin has only strengthened his claims this year after finishing runner-up in the standings in 2023, Marquez’s form on the Gresini-run GP23 has complicated Ducati’s decision.

Martin has insisted that his future at Ducati hinged on a factory team seat, but Marquez’s speed in 2024 after just six rounds coupled with his marketing might made the former possibility far from certain.

With Martin nearing signing the deal to be promoted to the factory team, the next move for Ducati is convincing Marquez to take a factory bike at Pramac for 2025.

However, speaking to DAZN, Marquez has ruled out this possibility: «Ducati has not told me that I am not the chosen one.

“I am doing my best on the track, because then I will have more options.

«Pramac is a good team, but it is not an option for me, because it is not.

“I am a man with clear ideas. What I want is the latest version of the motorcycle, and if possible, with an official team.

“If you have the official motorcycle you have more support, and if on top of that you do it with an official team, then still more.”

Marquez had initially made it clear that joining Pramac was not his preferred choice, but had appeared to soften to this idea in recent weeks, given it would still mean having a factory bike.

Marquez is thought to have received a tempting offer from the Pierer Mobility Group (KTM/GasGas) for 2025, but it remains unclear at this stage if the six-time MotoGP world champion really would walk away from Ducati to try to adapt to a second new bike in as many years.

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The Ducati MotoGP number sequence Marc Marquez could extend at Mugello

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At the Spanish Grand Prix this year, Marc Marquez scored his first grand prix podium aboard the Gresini-run 2023-spec Ducati he ditched the factory Honda for.

As the Italian GP approaches, a sequence of win milestones throughout Ducati’s history corresponding to rider numbers could be added to by Marquez.

Back at the second round of the current MotoGP campaign in Portugal, Martin – carrying the #89 on his Pramac-run bike – scored Ducati’s 89th grand prix win.

That continued a coincidental sequence that began in 2009 with Casey Stoner.

Stoner, the 2007 world champion and Ducati’s first in MotoGP, scored the Italian marque’s 27th win – the #27 doing so on his home turf at Phillip Island in Australia.

In 2022, Francesco Bagnaia won the Italian GP. At the time carrying #63, the number he switched to for his MotoGP debut in 2019 having run #42 (in use by Alex Rins) in Moto2 the year before, Bagnaia’s Mugello triumph was the 63rd for Ducati.

At last weekend’s Catalan GP, Bagnaia tallied up Ducati’s 92nd grand prix win, meaning the 93rd – the number Marquez carried on the front of his Gresini Ducati – is in reach for the Italian manufacturer at Mugello this week.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Marquez came from 14th on the grid at Barcelona to finish second in the sprint and third in the grand prix, marking the first time since 2019 that he has scored three successive Sunday rostrums.

On the prospect of continuing Ducati’s win number sequence at Mugello, Marquez said: «Mugello, will be not the best circuit to get the victory especially because I imagine Pecco will be super-fast on those long corners.

«It’s one of his strong points. No stress, no panic. I’m enjoying, I’m happy and this is the most important thing for me.

«It will arrive in the second half of the season that I will be more prepared on the bike, but it’s true that [with] the 2024 bike they will have more under control.

«We will see what happens but for me already it’s a pleasure to fight with these two guys every race.»

How long it took each Ducati race winner to score victory on the bike

Loris Capirossi: 2003 Catalan GP, six races
Troy Bayliss: 2006 Valencia GP, 33 races
Casey Stoner: 2007 Qatar GP, one race
Andrea Dovizioso: 2016 Malaysian GP, 71 races
Andrea Iannone: 2016 Austrian GP, 61 races
Jorge Lorenzo: 2018 Italian GP, 24 races
Danilo Petrucci: 2019 Italian GP, 74 races
Jack Miller: 2021 Spanish GP, 55 races
Francesco Bagnaia: 2021 Aragon GP, 42 races
Jorge Martin: 2021 Styrian GP, six races
Enea Bastianini: 2022 Qatar GP, 19 races
Marco Bezzecchi: 2023 Argentina GP, 22 races
Johann Zarco: 2023 Australian GP, 68 races
Fabio Di Giannantonio: 2023 Qatar GP, 39 races

Watch: Magic Mugello’s iconic moments! | 2024 #ItalianGP



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The cases Marquez and Martin are making for a Ducati MotoGP ride

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Let’s be upfront about it and admit that the story is slightly altered. While it is true that the first part of the equation must be cleared up by Ducati, the problem will not be completely solved until the chosen rider signs the contract.

Of the three who started the race for that second factory Ducati, Enea Bastianini has been left behind, a circumstance that places Martin and Marquez in the two corners of the ring. The results slightly favour the former, who, in turn, cannot compete with the latter in terms of impact and media coverage. Apart from these two concepts, it is very difficult to assess which of the two is more competitive because the circumstances surrounding them are too far apart at all levels.

Martin has built his lead in the standings on speed and consistency, the two most desirable elements for any title contender. In the six rounds on the calendar so far, the Pramac rider has two wins (Portimao and Le Mans), and a total of four podiums, combined with three more victories (Qatar, Jerez and Le Mans), and two podiums (Portimao and Austin) in those two sprint races. A huge success considering the level of competition on the grid at the moment, with an efficiency rate of 70%.

Of the 222 total points that have been up for grabs so far, the Spaniard has been able to take 155, a figure that implies an average of 26 points per grand prix, out of a possible 37. The average for Bagnaia, who is second in the standings with 39 fewer points, is 19 points per event, practically the same as Marquez, who has only two fewer points than the reigning champion.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

This picture should put Martin in pole position to join the Ducati team in 2025. However, the Bologna-based brand cannot overlook Marquez’s impressive performances in the last few races. In such a decisive stage, the #93 rider has pulled two comebacks out of his sleeve that prove that, on one of the Italian manufacturer’s bikes, he is very close to his best version.

Only with outstanding riding would one be able to come from 13th and 14th positions, at Le Mans and Barcelona respectively, to finish on the podium in a frenzy. Martin has been riding a Ducati for four years, compared to six grands prix for Marquez, who also has a bike which, on paper, offers a lower performance than his opponent.

Marquez’s opulence in all its dimensions, both on and off the track, is his best asset to convince the bosses of the Bologna-based company. Gigi [Dall’Igna] is very keen to know what Marc is capable of doing with the latest generation Ducati, agrees several voices from the red team’s garage.

In the same garage, there is the certainty that a Marquez victory at Mugello this weekend would complicate in a rather decisive way Martin’s continuity at Ducati, given that he himself has made it clear that he only contemplates staying with the Borgo Panigale company if it is in factory overalls. An understandable scenario if we take into account that the marque already preferred Bastianini over Martin the last time it had to choose.

His departure would be even more logical considering that the announcement would be made with him as the championship leader, given the 39-point cushion he has at the top of the championship. With that statement from Martin in mind, the key is to know what is of most value to Ducati, and what it is willing to lose.

On the assumption that Ducati’s intention is to retain both Spaniards, there seems to be only one formula that would allow it. That would be to place Martin in the factory team and persuade Marquez to join one of the satellite squads with, of course, the latest evolution of the Desmosedici.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

At Barcelona last weekend, the two protagonists who have the rider market stuck again showcased their strategies. Martin, for his part, made it clear that next year he will race «with a factory team». Motorsport.com understands that the Pramac rider has an offer from Pierer Mobility (KTM) on the table, and has given Ducati until Mugello to convince him. If he does not get an answer in the next few days, or if the proposal he receives does not satisfy him, he will actively negotiate with the Austrian group.

Marquez, for his part, insisted that he has a plan in his head that is working out the way he wants it to. The six-time MotoGP world champion is much more subtle than his opponent and prefers not to close any doors. Like Martin, KTM is also ready to recruit him should he opt to leave Ducati.

Marquez wants to return to a factory team because it ensures he will have the resources and equipment required to challenge for the title. That is not to say, however, that he is not contemplating the possibility of accepting to race with a satellite team should Ducati opt to pick his compatriot.

What seems clear is that, with the lion’s share of the budget earmarked for riders’ salaries already allocated to Bagnaia, his next team-mate may not so much be the rider of choice, but the one who is most willing to give up the most to get the job.

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