Martin in "pain" when Ducati didn’t promote him to factory MotoGP team

The Pramac rider was locked in a head-to-head duel with Gresini’s Enea Bastianini across the 2022 campaign to secure the factory seat being vacated by Jack Miller, who signed a two-year deal with KTM.

With Bastianini winning four races in 2022 on a 2021-spec bike and finishing third in the championship, he was given the nod to join world champion Francesco Bagnaia at the factory Ducati squad.

Martin, meanwhile, remains at Pramac on a factory contract with machine parity to Bagnaia and Bastianini.

The one-time MotoGP race winner will not see a factory team Ducati seat until 2025 at the earliest, with Bastianini and Bagnaia signed up for two more years, while Martin in recent weeks has been linked to Yamaha.

Commenting on Ducati denying him a factory team step at the Americas Grand Prix, Martin said: “For sure, I had pain in the moment they told me I wasn’t going there because I thought I was going.

“So, then there was this big change in the middle of the season.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“At least I have the same material as the factory riders, because last year I had different [machinery].

“And I feel like now, there is no excuses. It’s just myself [who can prove my worth].

“I feel confident. I did a few mistakes in qualifying [in Austin], so I need to improve these moments.

“But I feel fast from the first test, every race I’ve been super comPetitive.

“So, I feel like I am constant, I can do really good races. For sure my target is to do a great job and maybe I can be close to Pecco in red.”

Bastianini’s factory Ducati switch hasn’t gone to plan so far in 2023, with the Italian sidelined since the Portugal sprint on the opening weekend of the campaign when he suffered a broken shoulder in a collision with Luca Marini.

Martin currently sits 11th in the standings on 29 points after crashing out on the opening lap of the Americas GP and taking Gresini’s Alex Marquez with him.