Opinion: Should Jorge Martin leave Ducati

January 10, 2023 January 10, 2023

Lately there have been rumours circulating about Pramac Ducati rider, Jorge Martin. Supposedly the Spaniard could leave Ducati at the end of 2023.

While the 2023 season is yet to start the rumour mill for the 2024 season has already begun turning. Martin has been the first rider to start off a very early silly season.

The Spanish rider joined MotoGP in 2021 with Pramac Ducati, where he will still be in 2023. In the two seasons Martin has contested in MotoGP he has stood on the podium eight times, one of these podiums was also a race win for ‘The Martinator’.

However, the Spaniard was in the race for a Factory Ducati seat for the 2023 season. But the 24-year-old lost out to Italian rider, Enea Bastianini. Even though Martin has been supposedly offered the same deal as Bastianini, financially and technically, it still looks like he might want out of Ducati all together.

Martin is supposedly unhappy that he was overlooked by Ducati for the factory ride. He supposedly does not want to just ride a factory Ducati, but wants to represent the factory team. Even though Martin’s contract ends at the end of 2024 he apparently has a clause that allows him to leave at the end of 2023. Which is where Yamaha come into the equation.

Current Monster Energy Yamaha rider, Franco Morbidelli, is out of contract at the end of 2023. Quite frankly Morbidelli had a shocking 2022 season, his best result was seventh and he finished 19th overall. Morbidelli’s poor form is obvious when compared to his teammate who was runner up in the championship and won three races.

If Yamaha do not extend Morbidelli’s contract for 2024, then Martin is supposedly a rider who could take his place. But would this be a good move for Martin career wise?

Franco Morbidelli demonstrating how poor his 2022 season went

Should Martin join Yamaha?

As it stands performance wise it seems somewhat clear that Ducati have a better overall package than Yamaha. In 2022 five of the eight Ducati riders featured in the top fifteen in the standings. Whereas, Yamaha only had one of their five riders throughout the season in the top ten.

This season Yamaha will also lose two of their bikes on the grid. Meaning for the first time in many years there will only be two Yamaha bikes on the MotoGP grid. This will mean less data for development will be picked up by Yamaha. Whereas Ducati still have eight bikes and their development for 2023 is seemingly going the right way. When Yamaha seemed to be lost development wise after the Valencia test.

Martin is a rather aggressive rider as well that suits a V4 bike, which the Yamaha is not. In the past smooth relaxed rider have been able to benefit from the Yamaha’s characteristics. Martin benefits from the Ducati from its aggressive top speed and acceleration, again something Yamaha do not have.

Although that does not mean that Yamaha will not turn their fortunes around and develop a strong bike for 2023 and 2024. If Yamaha come out with a bike that Martin believes he can be competitive on then he should make the jump. But if the Spaniard purely leaves because he is irritated at Ducati’s decision then it would be the wrong move for a rider who is clearly competitive at Ducati.