RiderTua.com – During his home race at Jerez, Marc Marquez gave several interesting clues about his future plans in MotoGP. Ahead of the Spanish GP, the newcomer to the Gresini team revealed, “My target is to have a factory bike 100 percent next year.”
Marquez currently rides a 1-year-old Desmosedici GP23, so his desire to upgrade to the latest factory bike for 2025 is not surprising. This is also in accordance with rumors that Gresini has the opportunity to get a new bike, at least for one of its racers if the Pramac team moves to Yamaha.
Marc Marquez: I want a bike as well as a factory team next year
Alternatively, if Pramac, which is currently Ducati’s official satellite team, renews its agreement with the Borgo Panigale manufacturer, Marc Marquez can still get a factory bike by moving to Paolo Campinoti’s team in 2025.
However, when asked about this prospect, last weekend Marquez revealed the biggest thing about his future plans. In front of the Spanish media, Baby Alien said that he was not only targeting the factory bike but also the factory team.
“Pramac is a great team that has factory bikes and has shown the ability to compete for the World Championship, but it is not a factory team. It is a good satellite team, but it is not a factory team,” he stressed.
Marquez has no contractual commitments for next year and said teasingly ‘I don’t have just one option’. He admits that the Ducati is still the most complete bike on the starting grid and he understands it better.
Judging from his words, Marquez’s number one target is definitely Ducati’s official seat with Pecco Bagnaia. A deal that would meet all the criteria in terms of factory bike, factory team, and still use the most complete bike in the form of the Desmosedici.
Staying at Ducati also means that Marquez can bring his Gresini crew chief Frankie Carchedi with him to the official team and can build on his 1 year of experience on the Desmosedici. But Jorge Martin has previously confirmed that he will look for another team if he is not promoted to the factory Ducati team next season and Pecco Bagnaia’s current teammate Enea Bastianini, is also above Marquez in the standings while such a move is not guaranteed.
So where will Marc Marquez go if he wants a factory team? Considering the situation of the Japanese teams, Honda or Yamaha, which are not competitive, they are not included in the criteria. What makes sense is KTM and Aprilia as potential backup plans for Marquez if he leaves Ducati.
At Aprilia, all rider options are still open, neither Maverick Vinales nor Aleix Espargaro have been confirmed after the end of this season. Now the RS-GP has proven to be a winner in the hands of both riders, but at 34 Aleix Espargaro is currently the oldest rider on the grid and admits he may be considering the option of becoming a test rider.
KTM looks more complicated for Marc Marquez except for Red Bull’s personal sponsorship relationship, with Brad Binder contracted until 2026 and rookie sensation Pedro Acosta assumed to join him next season, in a possible KTM-GASGAS seat swap with Jack Miller.
Could KTM move Brad Binder to the Tech3 team to make way for Marquez? This will be a big surprise. But Pit Beirer’s words when announcing his contract extension last season made it clear that they expected the South African rider to remain at KTM.
One thing that Aprilia and KTM can currently offer Marquez compared to Ducati is the opportunity to make history as their first MotoGP champion. Marquez insists that now is the time to start talking for 2025, aware that the ‘door’ could start to close if he waits too long.
On the other hand, the biggest ‘result’ Marquez can offer is that his results and speed on the Ducati are improving with every lap. “It is clear that negotiations are starting around the Jerez GP, Le Mans and Mugello. At the moment we have to be patient and I think I still have time to continue moving forward on the track,” said the 6-time MotoGP World Champion.
As a reminder, Ducati is automatically ready to promote Martin to the factory team this year, if he manages to win the 2023 world title at the final Valencia race. It is true that Martin (like Bastianini) is still under contract with Ducati Corse, but it underlines that Ducati’s world champion will almost certainly be welcomed to the factory team.
After trailing the leaders at the COTA GP and Jerez sprint, Marquez finished just 0.372 seconds behind race winner Pecco Bagnaia after a tense final battle at the Spanish GP. Marquez’s last victory in MotoGP came at Misano in 2021, his 59th and final with Repsol Honda. He is currently 6th in the world championship 32 points behind Martin, with 37 points available in each race weekend.
