Ducati react to “collateral damage” of choosing Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez joining the factory Ducati team for the 2025 MotoGP season has directly impacted the Italian manufacturer in three big ways.

The first is Ducati has lost Jorge Martin as a result, with the Spaniard joining Aprilia.

Following Martin’s decision to leave Ducati, Marco Bezzecchi did the same as his hopes of becoming a factory rider looked closed unless he moved brands.

The third big impact it created was Pramac leaving Ducati for Yamaha, as team boss Paolo Campinoti admitted that overlooking Martin for Marquez was one of the reasons they chose to join Yamaha instead of renewing their long-term partnership with Ducati.

Speaking ahead of the Dutch MotoGP last weekend, Tardozzi told TNT sports: “The decision was taken and it took a while to take because having Enea, Jorge Martin and Marc with the possibility to come to us, it was a difficult decision, a really difficult decision.

“It took a few weeks to decide and finally we made the decision in Mugello.

“The factory, the CEO, Gigi Dall’Igna, Mauro Grassilli were always involved in this decision and it took a lot of discussion and a lot of data to see, but finally, it’s Marc.”

Responding to claims that Marquez joining the factory team has created ‘collateral damage’, Tardozzi did not agree.

“We took the decision a while ago, four years ago to have a new era with new riders and those riders have grown up,” added the Lenovo Ducati team manager.

“Finally, every one of them grew up too and we decided to take the right riders.”