Without the reigning world champion in Jorge Martin, the 2025 season has proved one thing so far, and it’s been the same story of yesteryear. Domination of the Borgo Panigale outfit, with its machinery having the paddock in a chokehold.
So far, it seems as if victory only comes to the hands of a Ducati rider, but all this attention is directing attention away from a much greater issue. MotoGP’s reigning world champion is still absent from the grid, having to start later, and with much less experience with his machinery compared to his rivals.
Martin is still sidelined and will miss the upcoming third round at the Circuit of the Americas after an injury sustained in pre-season testing before the Spaniard even had a chance to get acquainted with his new machinery.
Undoubtedly this is not a great start for the Spaniard, jumping ship over to Aprilia after the red garage has passed on his promotion once more, this time for Marc Marquez. In replacing Aleix Espargaro, the captain, usurping the role of frontman of the Noale outfit.
While Martin expects to make his return to Qatar, the lack of time on the saddle still remains a major talking point in the paddock. Aprilia’s plan to lobby for a rule change to allow their injured rider to partake in private testing before returning to the grid has garnered not only dissatisfaction from Ducati, but also Jack Miller and Marc Marquez specifically.
Miller claimed that no exceptions were made for Marquez after he sustained a major injury in the 2020 season opener. The Australian further stated, “The rules are the rules, it’s unfortunate for [Martin], but those are the cards they have been dealt this year.”
As unfortunate as it is, it seems certain that no rule change would be permitted for the reigning world champion, which only further compounds to his already troubled start to the season.
With Ducati looking as strong as ever in 2025, Martin’s lack of time on the RS-GP does him no favours. But Jorge Martin is a world-champion calibre rider for a reason, and the Spaniard looks forward to bringing his Aprilia partnership to new heights.
“You have to adapt and learn…I like challenges, and there’s no bigger challenge than winning with a bike that’s never been champion. Everything happens for a reason. This setback will make us come back stronger.”
