Francesco Guidotti explains why he gets ‘shivers’ thinking about Jorge Martin’s first MotoGP lap

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Jorge Martin took some time to get up to speed in MotoGP with Ducati, but since getting comfortable he has been almost unstoppable.

The Spaniard started with two solid seasons, finishing ninth in the standings in his rookie and sophomore campaigns.

Martin then began to kick on and claimed 12 wins on his way to a second-place finish in the championship, just 39 points behind Francesco Bagnaia in 2023.

2024 was the year he avenged that defeat by pipping his Italian rival to the crown by 10 points, despite winning eight fewer races on his Pramac bike (3-11).

Martin makes a move to Aprilia Racing for 2025 after Ducati snubbed him for a seat alongside Bagnaia and his talent should help them to improve.

Ducati opted for the services of six-time champion Marc Marquez instead, who is hunting a first triumph for six years.

Jorge Martin left Francesco Guidotti ‘speechless’ on his MotoGP debut

Marco Melandri heard Martin was told he’d get a factory Ducati seat before they had a change of heart and picked Marquez.

Now he has been left to defend his championship with an Aprilia team who aren’t renowned for their success of late.

READ MORE: Ex-Yamaha man names the Valentino Rossi quality Jorge Martin can bring to Aprilia in 2025 MotoGP season

Martin does have plenty of talent to help make up for it though. He even managed to leave ex-KTM manager Francesco Guidotti speechless on his first outing at Qatar in 2021 after very little testing.

“Martin I was completely speechless when I saw [him] do his first-ever lap in Qatar,” he said. “I get the shivers thinking about it because it was a [special] thing,” he said.

“You cannot explain it to yourself because you have to take into account that year at the 2021 winter tests had not been preceded by the two days of Valencia or Jerez as it was usually [due to Covid].”

Will anyone be able to catch Ducati in 2025?

Ducati’s GP25 is already an improvement over their previous machine according to comments from Bagnaia in November.

Their engine has improved further and the other manufacturers, who already faced a steep enough task to close them down, must now find even more.

If it wasn’t for KTM’s financial woes, their acquisition of Pedro Acosta would have the series on high alert.

READ MORE: Ducati chief Luigi Dall’Igna saw something ‘amazing’ in Marc Marquez’s data before snubbing Jorge Martin

Acosta is a raw prospect but there’s every chance he could spring a surprise and compete for a title alongside experienced teammate Brad Binder.

Aprilia could make a big jump from Martin alone, with his feedback and knowledge of a winning operation set to be of use to the Italian team.

It would be a fairytale underdog story if the Spaniard was able to retain his title, which isn’t a statement you hear every day regarding a man who ended 2024 on top form.