The MotoGP silly season is in full swing heading into Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, with all eyes on the battle to fill the vacant factory seat at Ducati alongside Francesco Bagnaia.
During the week, current championship leader and Pramac rider Jorge Martin emerged as the favourite to replace Enea Bastianini in Ducati’s line-up for 2025, although no confirmation has been forthcoming from the squad.
Martin’s potential graduation to the works Ducati team has opened up a coveted seat at Pramac for Marc Marquez, but the Spaniard ruled out moving to the Italian squad next year – stressing he would like to either continue with Gresini on a 2025-spec bike or take the place currently occupied by Bastianini.
Marquez’s stance against moving from one satellite bike to another, albeit one that gets latest-spec machinery and factory support, has led to a complex battle within Ducati.
The situation is complicated further by the fact that Ducati is currently capable of only supplying four full-factory bikes, with Pramac set to be the only satellite team to get its hands on them if it agrees a new contract with the Italian marque. This means that, at present, there is no room for Marquez to get anything more recent than a year-old bike at Gresini in 2025.
This has opened up the possibility of the six-time MotoGP champion leaving the Ducati fold after just one season, with it being suggested that he has an offer from other manufacturers, including KTM.
However, Tech3 GasGas rider Acosta quashed these suggestions at Mugello, clarifying that he will team up with incumbent Brad Binder when he moves up to the Austrian marque’s factory team next year.
“Yes, I’ll be with Brad, he’s under contract [until 2026],” he said.
When asked about rumours linking Marquez to riding a RC16 next year, Acosta likened the current state-of-affairs at Ducati to a television show.
“I don’t know, ask Pit [Beirer, KTM’s sporting director].” he said. “I don’t know if that’s out of the question. At the end of the day this Ducati thing looks like a soap opera, every weekend we have a different answer but nobody knows anything.”
On Saturday, KTM announced that Acosta will be promoted to its main team in 2025 as part of a new contract, replacing four-time MotoGP race winner Jack Miller.
The 20-year-old was delighted to secure a move to the ‘orange team’ less than seven rounds into the season, having impressed his bosses with podiums in Portimao and Austin and further sprint race podiums at Jerez, Catalunya and Mugello.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m happy with the team they’ve given me this year, with everything they’re giving me and with making the step to the official team to wear orange again,” he said.
“I’m happy, yesterday they showed me the photo of when I signed my first contract to go to Moto3 in 2020, in Valencia, and I look like a child.
“Look at how hard it took me to get there and how quickly we’ve gotten here to where we are now. It’s the return home, dressing in orange again, was one of the goals of the year if everything went the way we wanted.
“Happy to take all my team there and to see all the support they are giving us to be closer to the first. I think all their effort and mine is paying off.”
Source link: Acosta does not expect Marquez to join KTM; Ducati “looks like a soap opera”