Martin will get factory Ducati MotoGP seat if he wins championship in Valencia

In recent weeks, Martin’s title charge against Francesco Bagnaia has brought about rumours that he could be moved up to the factory Ducati squad in 2024 to replace Bastianini if he wins the championship.

This was confirmed as an option by Ducati during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, before Bastianini scored an emphatic first victory for the team in a 2023 season plagued by injury.

However, on the eve of the season finale, Autosport has learned that Martin will ride the factory team Ducati in Tuesday’s test as Bagnaia’s team-mate if he wins the championship on Sunday.

The contract renewal that the Spaniard signed last year with Ducati contains a clause that states he can be promoted if he wins the championship.

It follows the Italian manufacturer deciding to renege on its pact with Martin to move him to the factory team to give preference to Bastianini, who with four wins and third place in the 2022 standings for Gresini won the opportunity instead.

Similarly, Bastianini’s contract guaranteed the Italian only one year in the factory team.

It also stipulates that, depending on some parameters, Ducati can place Bastianini in another structure, which in this case would be Pramac alongside Franco Morbidelli.

At the beginning of November, a source close to Ducati indicated to Autosport that it had not considered the possibility of changing Martin for Bastianini.

However, when last year Martin had to cede for Bastianini’s move to the official team, a paragraph of the contract stated that Martin would automatically move to the official team if he won the world championship. This seemed unlikely a year ago, but is a real possibility heading into the final race of the year.

Ducati sources consulted on Saturday in Valencia pointed out that “the possibility exists”, even if it was not yet “stipulated in the contract” for 2018 Moto3 champion Martin.

He trails Bagnaia by 14 points after winning the sprint on Saturday, but Bagnaia only needs to finish fifth to guarantee his second crown.