Theories floated about how Ducati will cope with Marc Marquez championship bid

Ducati’s stance on this year’s MotoGP title battle - involving Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez - was debated on the Crash MotoGP podcast.

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The dominant manufacturer in the premier class caused a sensation this week by picking Marquez for their 2025 factory team.

It had seemed, days earlier, that Martin was set to be appointed until Marquez rejected Ducati’s idea of riding for Pramac.

MotoGP returns in two weeks at Assen with the futures of its biggest stars finally settled.

But Ducati will now face questions about how their deal with four of their riders in the current championship battle, knowing Martin and Enea Bastianini will leave at the end of the year.

Podcast host Jordan Moreland asked: “Does this change the dynamic for Ducati not giving [Martin] support?

“Does it change the relationship with Marquez?

“Now, he’s probably pressing Ducati to say ‘I want upgrades on this ‘23 to make it the latest spec’.”

Peter McLaren reported: “All of those questions now come into the mix.

“If Martin has a bad weekend, or if he’s struggling, people will be saying ‘is he getting all the help that maybe he should be getting? Given that, if he wins, he takes the #1 to a rival Italian factory’.

“Let’s not forget that. It’s not just another factory. It’s another Italian factory!

“At the same time you’ve got Marquez saying ‘come on guys, help me out, support me, I am your factory rider next year, if I win or Pecco wins it stays within Ducati next year’.

“All of those things… it will be a really tough balancing act for Ducati to make sure everybody is treated as well as they can be.”

Pramac’s Martin is leading the MotoGP standings after seven rounds.

He is 18 points ahead of Pecco Bagnaia, the factory Ducati rider and reigning champion.

Martin is 35 points clear of third-placed Gresini rider Marquez.

Fourth-placed Enea Bastianini is 54 points off the top.