Ducati’s concern a🥃bout “risk” led to their link-u💖p with Marc Marquez, it has been suggested.

Marquez 🔯swapped Honda for Gresini Ducati a year ago and excelled in 2024 on a year-old machine, mounting a title challenge which only fell away in the final rounds.

But he did enough 𒊎to earn a call-up to the official Ducati team this year, giving him the best machinery on the grid.

The casualty of the manufacturer's decis🔯ion was Jorge Martin, who won the MotoGP title on a Ducati but has now joined Aprilia.

“I wasn't surprised,” Wayne Gardner told about the decision to p🎃ick Marquez instead of Martin.

“To be honest, if it had been me, I probably would h🅠ave sta𝔍yed with Jorge.

“But h🌄ey, Marc is a very talented rider, there i🥂s no doubt. They are both Spanish riders, right?

“I think what Ducati did was remove Marquez fr🐽om the comp🦩etition.

“It is better to have him working with t🌊🙈hem than against them.

“They know how good Marc is. He seems to have improved a lot sin൩ce hꦅe joined Ducati.

“Ducati obviously has the best bike on the grid, and it has been that♌ way for many year🐽s.

“And Marc has been coping with the Honda, thℱat's why he had so many crashꦓes.

“He still has quite a few crashes, but now it has a little more consꦇistency, and I guess that's because the bike is much better.

“But from Ducati's point of view, theꦜy cannot risk having Marquez on a rival team.

“It is better to put 🧜him on their team, and then they know that they are going to win with Pecco or with Marquez next year.

“So they had to make a decision, and that꧋'s how it happened.

“And now Martin is going to Aprilia; I think it’s going to be incredible with𝕴 th🦋at bike.

“I think that will make the championship even more intereꦜsting, to be honest.”

Marquez put Ducati in a difficult position when, last summer, they were considering theirဣ 2025 line-up.

He made it clear that Pramac, even🏅 on a factory-spec bike,ဣ was not an option.

It caused Ducati to U-turn from their original p🍒lan to reward Martin.

Martin signed for Aprilia as a result, then comple🍎t🍒ed a dream season to end as MotoGP champion.

He could now run the #1 on an Aprilia in 2025.