Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin managed to scrape by in his quest for a maiden MotoGP title in 2024, beating Francesco Bagnaia by just 10 points.
The ex-Pramac rider was impressively consistent and limited mistakes compared to his key rival, which is what helped him to build enough of an advantage that Bagnaia could never recover from.
Martin finished eight of the last 11 races in second position, pleased with the runner-up trophy in pursuit of the ultimate goal.
He even won eight fewer races (three) than Bagnaia managed, with one victory in the last 15 races of the season compared to two in the first five.
The Spaniard did enough to claim a maiden crown though and will take a lot of confidence from winning a first riders’ championship into 2025.
A move to Aprilia, away from the dominant Ducati bike will pose challenges, but his recent learnings should help him form a stronger title defence.
Jorge Martin ‘didn’t want to race anymore’ after having MotoGP doubts
While his 2024 campaign was impressive, a Ducati engineer was stunned by Martin’s crucial mistake at the German Grand Prix.
He slid into the gravel on lap 28, allowing Bagnaia to cruise to victory. It was a slight crack in his armoury starting to appear.
READ MORE: Aprilia manager shares what he’ll ‘never forget’ about Jorge Martin’s first test
Speaking in MotoGP’s There Can Only Be One documentary, he revealed how he contemplated retirement before winning the title.
“I didn’t want to race anymore. I had a lot of fears that appeared, I don’t know why they appeared. Maybe I will never be as fast as I was last year or I will never win again. I will never win this championship,” he said.
“I saw I had some big margin in terms of the mental side. When you fight for a world championship in MotoGP everything is different. I understood I could work on that.”
How Jorge Martin reacted calmly to Ducati race seat snub for 2025
Martin privately reacted calmly to Ducati’s snub for 2025 after they decided to sign six-time champion Marc Marquez instead of him.
Recent form would suggest that signing the reigning champion would be a good idea, but they saw something in his fellow countryman after he took three race victories on a one-year-old Gresini bike.
Marquez’s ‘beastly pull’ earned him the Ducati factory ride and it means that Martin will no longer race for a manufacturer who won 90% (36/40) of the races on offer last year.
It sets up an explosive pairing at Ducati with Bagnaia and Marquez set to battle for the championship with each other.
It’s unlikely that Martin will be able to get involved unless Aprilia makes a sudden advance through the field – a shame considering the talents he has showcased over the last few seasons.
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