Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez returned to the top of the MotoGP pecking order in 2025 with the factory Ducati team, but Pramac boss Paolo Campinoti has recently revealed how the move was never meant to happen in the first place.
After Marc Marquez proved that he hadn’t lost an ounce of his talent during his injury nightmare at the start of the current decade, it became clear that he was on the hunt for another world title to add to his tally.
Jorge Martin’s world championship-winning pace in the 2024 campaign marked him as the main candidate for a seat alongside his championship rival that year, Francesco Bagnaia, in the following year.
In the end, Marquez was signed by Ducati over Martin, with Luigi Dall’Igna citing two ‘quality’ reasons for the change in tune.
However, Pramac’s Paolo Campinoti has shed some more light on the situation that saw Marquez take the first step towards his seventh premier class championship.
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Paolo Campinoti details how Marc Marquez forced Ducati move after refusing to ride for Pramac
During an interview with Moto.it at Pramac’s 2026 MotoGP launch, Campinoti was asked about how close the Italian satellite team really were to securing the Ant of Cervera’s signature for the 2025 season.
Campinoti said, “It was possible. He refused, and Ducati basically went back on their word. They said that if Marquez didn’t accept, Martin would still go to the factory team, and that Marquez was out.
“However, what they said in Barcelona wasn’t respected, and Martin basically made the hasty decision there to sign with Aprilia immediately because it had created a human rift on his part, more than a professional one.”
It was already common knowledge that Martin departed for Aprilia to pursue a factory ride, but Ducati’s backdown from an already agreed deal is an intriguing revelation from Campinoti.
Dall’Igna’s admiration for Marquez is also very common knowledge. In fact, the Italian’s favour towards his new star rider was present during the 2025 campaign, and it is one of the leading factors in the reason why Bagnaia experienced such difficulties during the term.
While it probably wasn’t the first time that Ducati backed out of a pre-made agreement, it also wasn’t the last.
Ducati backed out of a ‘commitment’ with Fermin Aldeguer that would have seen him race atop factory machinery at Gresini during his sophomore season in the premier class.
The Italian constructor changed their mind following Alex Marquez’s impressive results last season, and opted to reward him with a new bike instead.
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Paolo Campinoti also cleared up his past comments about Marc Marquez
Campinoti was also reminded of a quote he said during the previous season, where he declared that Pramac doesn’t need Marquez to compete at the top, as they fared well without him and will continue to do so.
The team chief took a moment to clear up any left-field conclusions that may have come from the verdict, saying, “Obviously, it would be foolish to say you don’t like having Marc Marquez.
“But it’s also true that we won the world championship without him, we won the team championship, the riders’ championship.
“So in the end, I wanted to say that if he has to be sacrificed, it’s better if he doesn’t come, right? We’ve managed to demonstrate that even without him, we could achieve important results.
“I repeat, he’s an undisputed rider; I don’t want to come across as, how shall I put it, blasphemous.
“He’s certainly the best rider there is, but it’s also true that we’re one of the best teams on the grid, so we don’t feel, let’s say, inferior to him.”
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