Ducati Lenovo Team sign Marc Marquez

One of the first major moves in MotoGP’s rider market for 2025 was announced in June, with Marc Marquez signing with the factory Ducati team. As Francesco Bagnaia had extended his contract with the Ducati Lenovo Team back in March, it means Marquez’s arrival will come at the expense of Enea Bastianini, who has been with the squad since 2023. 

Marquez joined the Gresini Ducati MotoGP satellite team this year after eleven seasons with the Repsol Honda factory team, where he achieved all six of his premier class world championships. The switch from Honda’s RC213V to a year-old Desmosedici GP has already produced eight podiums (across sprint and long format races) at time of writing, with a win considered highly likely before the end of this season. For comparison, Marquez achieved only five podiums across his final two seasons with Honda and his most recent race win on the RC213V was in 2021.

"I am very happy to be able to wear the red colours of the factory Ducati team in MotoGP next season,” Marquez said. “From the first contact with the Desmosedici GP, I enjoyed riding it and adapted well straight away. From that moment on, I knew that my goal was to continue this path, to continue to grow, and to move to the team where Pecco Bagnaia has been the World Champion for two years in a row.

“I am happy to be able to take this big step in 2025 and grateful for the trust Ducati has placed in me."

Marquez will join Ducati Lenovo Team on a two-year deal, but the decision to sign the 31-year-old, instead of chasing younger talent like Jorge Martin, or even retaining Bastianini, was not an automatic one, according to Ducati Corse General Manager, Gigi Dall’Igna.

“Deciding on Bagnaia's new teammate in the Ducati Lenovo Team was not easy, as we had a list of very strong riders to choose from. In the end, our choice fell on an unquestionable talent like Marc Marquez. In just a few races, he has managed to adapt perfectly to our Desmosedici GP, and his innate ambition pushes him to grow continuously.”