Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin had an absolutely torrid time during his MotoGP world title defence this season, but the Spaniard is adamant he could have put up a much better battle if he had remained on Ducati machinery.
As well as the championship battle he was locked in during the 2024 premier class campaign, Jorge Martin was also going head-to-head with Marc Marquez for a seat at the factory Ducati team alongside Francesco Bagnaia.
Marquez proved to be the winner of that contest, despite Martin being on course to win the title.
With Pramac moving to Yamaha machinery for 2025, the Spaniard opted to take a gamble and don his well-earned #1 plate on an Aprilia alongside Marco Bezzecchi.
However, injury issues plagued Martin’s campaign well before tyres had even touched the floor at the season-opener, and Martin was looking at a lengthy stay on the sidelines.
More injuries ensued, and the season was written off, thus cementing his 2025 season as the worst title defence in MotoGP history.
Could Jorge Martin have challenged Marc Marquez in 2025 if he stayed on a Ducati bike?
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Jorge Martin is adamant that he could have fought Marc Marquez for the title if he were on a Ducati bike
Luigi Dall’Igna ended up choosing Marquez over Martin due to his desire to see what the Ant of Cervera could achieve on factory-spec Ducati machinery.
Marquez left no room for misinterpretation with his sheer dominance in the recently concluded season, but Martin is absolutely adamant that he could have put up a stern challenge if he had stuck with the Italian constructor’s prototypes.
In an interview with Motorsport Espana, Martin was asked whether his year of injury nightmares and contract sagas would have been very different if he had continued to receive support from Borgo Panigale.
The Spaniard answered, “We’ll never know. But looking at Alex Marquez’s season and comparing this year’s race times to those of 2024, I think I could have fought for it.
“Obviously, I would have given 100%, and I think that 100% would have been enough for me to fight, not to beat Marc, because that’s impossible to know now, maybe we’ll know later.
“What Marc has done this year is extraordinary. But I consider myself strong, and I think that keeping the same bike for another year and with more experience, I could have definitely fought. But that’s something we’ll never know.”
Neil Hodgson believes Martin will be eyeing a seat at Ducati if the upcoming 2026 MotoGP season doesn’t get off to a good start for the Scorze-based team.
He’s contracted to Aprilia until the end of 2026, and stunned the MotoGP paddock in May when he announced his intention to void his contract at the team and look for a seat elsewhere.
Martin backed down from the dispute in the end, and Aprilia displayed what he could be capable of next season through Bezzecchi’s impressive end to the season.
- READ MORE: Jorge Martin attracts Marc Marquez comparison that could lead to 2026 Aprilia MotoGP title charge
Jorge Martin had a few scary accidents this year. Can he bounce back?
Jorge Martin has recently revealed his annoyance at Aprilia winning races whilst he was injured
Due to the various injuries that Martin sustained throughout the 2025 season, he missed a total of 15 Grands Prix.
During that time, Bezzecchi was getting comfortable on the new spec of the Aprilia bike after moving to the team from VR46 over the winter break.
The Italian rider was able to take his maiden win in Aprilia colours at the British Grand Prix, and Martin recently revealed that he didn’t like it one bit.
The victory came at a point in time when Martin had expressed his wishes to depart from the team due to the performance of the bike, and so seeing his supposedly inferior teammate snatch a win rubbed him the wrong way.
However, Martin now sees how much of a positive the win was for the team, especially when considering that Bezzecchi was able to add another two Grand Prix victories to his name before the season’s end.
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