Marquez ‘doesn’t feel guilty’ for Pramac/Ducati MotoGP split

Marc Marquez says he ‘doesn’t feel guilty’ about Pramac leaving Ducati for Yamaha for the 2025 MotoGP season because he feels “I didn’t do anything”.

On Friday afternoon at the Dutch Grand Prix, Pramac confirmed Autosport’s earlier reports that it would be ditching Ducati for Yamaha from 2025.

The move comes in the wake of Ducati’s decision to promote Marc Marquez to the factory team next year after the Spaniard refused a works bike at Pramac.

With Jorge Martin leaving for Aprilia, Ducati’s decision to promote Marquez was likely to lead to Pramac signing a deal with Yamaha.

But Marquez – who was sixth-fastest on Friday at Assen – believes his own future plans have had nothing to do with this.

“I don’t feel guilty about Pramac leaving Ducati, because I didn’t do anything,” he said.

“It is true that as a Ducati rider I would have liked them to continue, because it would be two more bikes on track, more information and it is an important team within Ducati.

“As a MotoGP fan I think it is good news. On the one hand, selfishly speaking, I prefer two more Ducati on track, but as a fan it was the normal step, that one of the Ducati teams would go with Yamaha, for the championship to have four Japanese bikes, two Italian bikes less on track.

“It opens more options to other manufacturers, sponsors…”

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo has been pushing the Japanese marque to find a new satellite team, having been without one since the end of 2022.

The 2021 world champion says he has spent the last few months persuading Pramac to make the switch and feels it will be “a big help” to Yamaha in 2025.

“I think one of the reasons that we signed also with Yamaha was this was something really important for us,” he said, referring to his own two-year extension with Yamaha.

“It’s a few months I’m pushing with the Pramac team that they have to come with us, and finally today it’s official.

“It’s going to be a big help for us in the future.

“Also last year they won the teams’ title, so that we have one of the most experienced teams in the paddock is really important.”