What if the transfer market experienced a last minute twist with Jorge Martin? Until then, according to our contacts in the paddock, the situation was quite clear at Ducati: the red bike left by Jack Miller will go to either Jorge Martin or Enea Bastianini and whoever is not chosen will have lost nothing since he will be at Pramac, with the same motorcycle with identical development and technical support, all with a contract having the same duration of two years. Incidentally, this definitely pushes Joan Mir into the arms of Repsol Honda... Everything would be for the best in the best of all worlds if Jorge Martin had not intervened to force destiny...
At Ducati, we seem to be managing our business well with drivers who each manage to shine in turn with the GP21 or the GP22. Incidentally, it is the only brand that shows itself in unison, the others having a leader without whom everything would be lost. But this has a disadvantage: sharing of points and internal competition. A fratricidal struggle which results in particular between Enea Bastianini et Jorge Martin for the gain of space next to Pecco Bagnaia in the official box.
If we look at the general classification after nine rounds, the position seems promised to the Italian on merit. The four abandonments that George Martin regrets at this stage of the season weigh heavily on his record materialized by the 12th position in the championship with 51 points, against the 94 thatEnea Bastianini has garnered, including three successes. But, good prince, Ducati took into account the parameters of a GP22 not yet mature plus that of an operated hand, to postpone his decision, in order to form a fairer opinion.
An extension which the “Martinator” welcomes, who hopes that Ducati will wait until the end of August to get back on his feet and add new podiums to his list of achievements: “ after the summer break, very good tracks will come for me, like Austria, Silverstone or Aragón. There I will be able to be very competitive and I hope to show that I can be at the factory next year ". Then he specifies: “ the future seemed almost clear, but now it seems we have to figure out where I'll be next year. Sometimes thinking about the future is hard to handle the pressure and be 100% focused, but I've learned that you can't be nervous about things you can't control ».
Jorge Martin: “Bastianini ? je pense que si vous regardez plus profondément, l’histoire est très différente"
However, George Martin does not let time slip away and clearly cannot wait for the verdict with arms crossed. So, before German Grand Prix, he makes this outing which will make waves in a calm sea desired by Borgo Panigale... He has no doubt of the results obtained by Enea Bastianini, but he believes that we need to look a little further to decide who the motorcycle will be intended for. Jack Miller : " if you look at the results it is clear that Enea Bastianini deserves this handlebar and I don't. But I think if you look deeper the story is very different ».
George Martin explains on Todocircuito : " he has a very good bike, it's the bike I did a lot of things with last year, but I don't think about that. PRAMAC is the best team I have ever been in, I am very happy for the family we are. But in case I'm not on a factory bike from Ducati, I'll look for a factory bike ". That's it, it's said. George Martin put the pressure back on Ducati. A sort of double or nothing, but also a message to teams looking for a future leader. And we obviously think of Honda...
