Has Martin given Ducati another reason to bet everything on Bagnaia in MotoGP?

“If anyone thinks that a factory is going to allow a satellite team rider to win the world championship, they don’t have a clue where they are,” a former rider and current team manager of a MotoGP told this writer on the condition of anonymity.

And that was before Jorge Martin found out that Ducati had picked Marc Marquez over him for the second factory seat for 2025, prompting him to switch to Aprilia.

“They will never let him take the #1 to another factory, let alone an Italian one,” added people who have been a part of the grand prix paddock for a number of years.

However, despite all these arguments, no one has ever been able to say – and much less prove – that Ducati has not given Martin the same weapons as the rest of its factory riders. All related parties have maintained that nothing would change and that Martin would continue to receive the Italian manufacturer’s full support until the last race.

Prior to last weekend’s German GP, Martin had shown that he is a solid rider who committed a few mistakes, such as the crash from the lead of the Jerez race and the tumble from lower down the order in the Misano sprint. However, these errors did not cost him the championship lead or weaken his position as a potential title contender.

But after the Sachsenring blunder, things are quite different. Far from consolidating what was once a healthy 39-point lead, Martin has now dropped behind Bagnaia in the championship standings.

While the 10-point deficit Martin now faces to Bagnaia may not sound a lot, especially when you consider that there are still 11 rounds to run in 2024 and a total of 370 points on offer, it’s clear that the tide has very much shifted in the MotoGP title battle.

It’s clear that the Spaniard has not been able to manage the pressure of fighting for the crown, especially in the wake of Bagnaia’s improved form that has seen the Italian rack up four consecutive grand prix victories and two sprint successes in Mugello and Assen.

In fact, out of a maximum of 136 points that were available since his crash in the Barcelona sprint, Bagnaia has scored 131 points to overhaul Martin and claim the championship lead going into the summer break – dealing an important blow to his rival on a psychological level.

Ducati already has a champion

One may think that with Bagnaia being Italian, having a factory contract until 2026 and with two…