MotoGP champ leader Martín leaving Ducati

MotoGP world championship leader Jorge Martín will leave Ducati and join Italian rival Aprilia in 2025, the latter announced on Monday.

The 26-year-old has spent the entirety of his three-plus-season MotoGP career with Ducati, riding for the factory-supported Pramac team, and had been in discussions with the full factory Ducati Lenovo squad to partner two-time defending champion Pecco Bagnaia beginning next season. Instead, Martín has signed a two-year contract with Aprilia, winner of four grands prix since the start of the 2022 season.

Ducati Lenovo had been weighing up who to partner with Bagnaia: Martín, current teammate Enea Bastianini and six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Márquez. Sources say that Martín approached Aprilia on Sunday night after the Italian Grand Prix, and less than 24 hours later was in possession of a signed two-year contract.

“I cannot talk about the details but I can tell you that it was a very fast deal from last night to today,” Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola told the MotoGP website. “We signed at 17:30 and announced at 18:00 so it was a fast decision and move for us but I am super happy to have him onboard.”

Multiple reports emerged on Monday morning suggesting that Márquez had been selected to join Ducati Lenovo in 2025. In 2022, Martín was the favorite to join Bagnaia in the Bologna-based factory team for 2023 and 2024, only for Ducati to pass over the man from Madrid in favor of Bastianini.

Aprilia, based in Noale, less than 20 miles northwest of Venice, pounced at the opportunity to sign someone of Martín’s pedigree. Last season’s championship runner-up has earned six grand-prix victories and another twelve Saturday Sprint wins.

“[Signing Martín away from Ducati] is a nice reward for a company that pushes every year for growth, to increase performance, and to fight the top riders and manufacturers and we are really happy that we signed a rider like him,” Rivola said.

Martín will take the place of Aleix Espargaró in the Aprilia team, after the 34-year-old announced last month that he would retire at the end of the season. The identity of Martín’s teammate next year is also unknown, with current Aprilia rider Maverick Viñales out of contract at the end of the season.