‘You’re not going there’ - Jorge Martin makes Ducati MotoGP contract revelation

Jorge Martin claims he “had already signed the contract” to move to Ducati’s factory MotoGP team in 2023 because being told “we want another rider”.

The Spaniard made his MotoGP debut on Ducati machinery in 2021 with the Pramac squad and won the 2024 world title with the outfit on the Italian brand’s bike.

Jorge Martin had been in the running to join the factory Ducati team in 2025, and was even given the nod ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, before it made a U-turn after Marc Marquez publicly declared he would not accept a works bike at Pramac.

Martin ultimately signed a two-year deal with Aprilia for 2025, moving to the Noale brand as the reigning world champion.

“Contracts mean nothing…they play games with us riders”

In a new episode of the Gypsy Tales podcast, Martin has revealed that he originally had a deal to join the factory Ducati team for the 2023 season.

This was the seat that ultimately went to Enea Bastianini, who won four races in 2022 on 2021-spec Ducati with Gresini and was third in the standings.

“In 2022, I had already signed the contract for 2023 to be a factory rider, and at a certain point they told me, ‘You’re not going there; we don’t want you; we want another rider’, he said.

“Then we signed another contract, and I accepted the situation because I was happy with the Pramac team I was on.

“I had a factory bike, so, all things considered, the situation wasn’t that different.

“The following year, I was in the running for the title.

“In the final races, I was very close to victory, and they wanted me back on the factory team, but they already had a contract with another rider.

“Contracts mean nothing to the big manufacturers; they play games with us riders.”

It emerged during the 2023 Valencia weekend that Martin had a condition to step up to the Ducati factory team for 2024 if he’d won the world title.

Pecco Bagnaia ultimately scored his second world championship, with Ducati keeping Bastianini in place for the second season of his contract.

Martin’s move to Aprilia proved disastrous in 2025, as numerous injuries were followed by a contract dispute between both parties, as the former tried to exercise a release clause.

He eventually committed to the second year of his Aprilia deal.

Martin is now set to join Yamaha next season.