MotoGP: Jorge Martin 'Felt Like A Fool' After Ducatti Snub

Saajan Jogia | Sep 14, 2024

Apr 13, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Jorge Martin (89) of Spain and Prima Pramac Racing waves to the fans after the Americas Grand Prix sprint race at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

MotoGP points leader Jorge Martin made a big claim in a recent interview after the San Marino GP that he is currently “the best rider" in MotoGP, though he admits there's still room to “polish things.” Last season, Martin finished runner-up to Francesco Bagnaia and has led the 2024 championship for most of the year. Despite this, Ducatti chose not to promote him, making him feel like a "fool".

However, a disastrous race at Misano saw his lead shrink from 26 points to just seven. In an attempt to anticipate worsening weather, Martin made the call to switch his Ducati to wet weather tires after a few drops of rain. However, the rain quickly stopped, forcing him to pit again and revert to slicks, dropping him to fifteenth place. He secured just one point in the race, missing the chance to keep a stronger lead over Bagnaia.

Currently at 312 points, 7 points over Bagnaia in second, the 26-year-old Spaniard was asked who was the best rider on the MotoGP grid in an interview with DAZN. As reported by Crash.net, he said:

“It's very difficult.

“What does being the best rider mean? It's very ambiguous, it's very difficult.

“There's a high level, the four of us who are there in the fight, the four with Ducati, Pecco [Bagnaia], Marc [Marquez], Enea [Bastianini] and I are one step ahead - that's clear.

“At the moment, it may seem arrogant, but I think I'm the best rider there is.

“I have to polish things, work and improve, that's something I can't stop doing, because if not, in the end, in half a year you go from first to eighth.

“But I think I'm the fastest there is, and the numbers show it, it's not just me saying it.”

In the same interview, Martin admitted he "felt like a fool" after Ducati reversed its decision to promote him to the factory MotoGP team for 2025, choosing Marc Marquez instead. He added:

“It was more frustration that I wasn't going, not that they took Marquez, [might have] renewed Enea [Bastianini].

“It was more frustration, that after fighting it so hard, trying to prove myself to someone and they didn't care what I proved, that I felt more frustrated, like, 'I am a fool,' like being behind that so much and it didn't really matter.

“In the end it was just that, I was the one who handled it the best out of my environment, it wasn't as hard as it seemed.

“It was happy at the same time that moment because I felt like I could go somewhere else that they loved me a lot.”

In 2025, Martin will move to the factory Aprilia team alongside Marco Bezzecchi, while Pramac Racing will part ways with Ducati and switch to Yamaha machinery.