Jorge Martin has lifted the lid on the contract saga that kept him out of a factory Ducati seat, saying motorcycling's biggest manufacturers "play games" with their riders and recalling the moment he was told a signed deal would not be honoured.
The 2024 MotoGP world champion, now with Aprilia, spent years trying to earn a place in Ducati's works team. In a wide-ranging interview he revealed it slipped away twice — first to Enea Bastianini, then to Marc Marquez.
"In 2022, I had already signed the contract for 2023 to be a factory rider, and at a certain point they told me, 'You're not going there; we don't want you; we want another rider,'" Martin said. "Then we signed another contract, and I accepted the situation because I was happy with the Pramac team I was on. I had a factory bike, so, all things considered, the situation wasn't that different."
The second snub stung more, coming while he was fighting for the championship. Ducati ultimately chose Marquez for the seat Martin coveted.
"The following year, I was in the running for the title. In the final races, I was very close to victory, and they wanted me back on the factory team, but they already had a contract with another rider," he said. "Contracts mean nothing to the big manufacturers; they play games with us riders."
Martin pointed to Marquez's standing as the decisive factor, reaching for a Formula 1 parallel to make the point.
"I think he was the only one who could have done it. When I think back on it, it also reminds me of when Carlos Sainz lost his seat to Hamilton," Martin said. "Marquez's words carry a lot of weight, and if he wanted that bike, he would have taken it. There was nothing I could do. I was leading the championship by 40 points, and that was the only thing I could control."
Rather than dwell on the rejection, Martin says it freed him. With his future settled at Aprilia, he committed fully to the 2024 run-in and went on to win the title on Pramac's Ducati.
"I'm also grateful to Ducati, because I didn't have to worry about my future anymore," he said. "If I'd kept thinking about it for the rest of the races, maybe I wouldn't have performed at my highest level."
The most striking part of his account had nothing to do with contracts. Martin revealed how close he came to quitting after losing the 2023 title fight to Francesco Bagnaia at the Valencia finale.
"After losing the championship in Valencia, I didn't want to keep racing anymore. I'd given it my all, fighting like crazy for 25 years, and I'd finished second. By February, I didn't want to race," he said. "That's when I realized I needed help. I started working with a psychologist, and he told me I was afraid of losing again."
That work, he says, reframed how he sees the sport.
"Victory isn't the result; it's the story of your career. When I realized that, I started to enjoy the process and the riding more, because before I wasn't having fun riding — I was only doing it because it was my job. That's when I changed my mindset and started to learn more about myself."
As for what a Ducati factory ride might have delivered, Martin is content to let it go.
"We'll never know what might have happened. Maybe I would have won three more titles with Ducati, or maybe not. You never know," he said. "Now I'm very happy to be riding an Aprilia; the bike works great, and I'm enjoying the moment."
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*Originally published on [Motorsports](https://motorsports.global/article/martin-ducati-played-games-and-broke-its-factory-promise). Visit for full coverage.*